Chloe gently pushed open the door and entered the study. Joseph remained with his back turned, his gaze fixed on the computer screen. His handsome face was dark and brooding, fueled by his intense frustration over the Whitman Group's recent months of losses. He had an irresistible urge to grab Jonathan and give him a good beating.He picked up his phone and called Jonathan, his voice carrying an obvious tone of frustration. "Terminate all the projects you invested in last quarter immediately. Also, I want you to voluntarily step down from the board of directors. Focus on your role as the administrative director and refrain from meddling in any senior-level projects."Chloe's heart skipped a beat. She could not help but wonder just how much damage Jonathan had caused the Whitman Group to provoke such anger from someone as influential and formidable as Joseph. The extent of the losses must have been significant for Joseph to be seething with such frustration."No! You can't do this to
Harold prohibited Chloe from going home tonight and arranged for her to have her own room so that she was not forced to stay with Joseph.She hid in the room. After gaining Harold's approval, she felt much more relaxed. She had not brought the laptop from her office with her, so she could only scroll through her phone to relieve her boredom.At that moment, Icarus replied to her message. [I was playing golf with my friends nearby that day. When I was just heading home when I bumped into you.]Chloe opened the map application on her phone and searched the area around City Hall. True enough, there was a golf course nearby. She felt quite embarrassed to have thought badly of him.Icarus texted her again. It was a link to an article. [Chloe, I know that you'll see this sooner or later, so I thought it’d be best to tell you earlier. There’s no need to get upset because of me or these Internet trolls.]She clicked on the link and saw that someone had secretly taken photographs of Ic
As she looked at him, Chloe's gaze filled with bewilderment before turning to shame and fury. She finally fell into deathly stillness. In mere seconds, she had lost all hope. Like a robot, she lay on the cold desk. Her fair and slim legs exposed themselves from under her silk pajamas. At the same time, her petite face was full of misery. Even so, she appeared extremely beautiful and bewitching. It was a kind of charm that came from extreme despair.Seeing her in that state, Joseph could not withhold his deep envy. He covered her from above and vigorously marked her body as his sole belonging. Men were born sensitive in this aspect.After a round, he pinched her soft cheeks. "Isn't this your first time?" Chloe stopped breathing. She blinked and stared at him with her watery eyes. It was as if she had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. "Can't you tell if this is my first time or not?" That action became a direct provocation in Joseph's eyes. He fumed with anger. His f
"I will."Ava started to scheme. At first, she had not understood why Calvin had brought her here. But now, she began to see the whole picture.Although Noah was a few years younger than her, they were about the same age. Other than pairing her off with Noah, what other reason could there be? Benjamin had done the same thing in the past. When two different parties came together to discuss business, they would bring their children along. If their children fell in love with each other, they could have a business marriage.Ava recalled Noah's youthful and charming face. Although he was not her cup of tea, he was indeed handsome, and he had Exotic Star. She found him acceptable."Mr. Desmond!" When Calvin saw the old man, he immediately went forward to support him.Desmond Sullivan was a man in his seventies, donning casual sports attire. His hair was white but his body was still healthy and strong. He looked like a kind old man one met at the door of a neighborhood.Noah stepped to
"If something happens to her, all of Exotic Star’s adverts have to be canceled. Who will be responsible for these losses? What's more, you did something to her in the hotel. Did you ever stop to think about how it could’ve affected Exotic Star? Will Grandpa help you if he learns about this inside story?"Calvin put on a cold front. "It's because Mr. Desmond doesn't know how Joseph treated his granddaughter.""Then you should have gone to Joseph.""I can't afford to offend the Whitman family, can I?""Just stop." Noah glanced at Ava and said slowly, "It takes two hands to clap. And I think that Luciana would never have given birth to such a troublemaker. Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?"Ava did not even resemble Luciana. In comparison, Chloe looked a lot more like Luciana. Or perhaps...Calvin had been misled by their ages and ignored the most crucial thing."Watch your tongue. What do you mean she’s a troublemaker? Ava was never afforded much love during her childhood. We
Joseph's long eyelashes kept the gloomy glint in his dark eyes hidden. At the same time, his voice was extremely cold. "She isn’t worth me going through so much trouble.”'Her body is filthy. I won’t allow her to come back unless she begs me. I won't be so forgiving toward her as I was to her before, let alone make her the madam of the Whitman family.'Harold, who was lying on the floor, was overcome by anger. Holding his heart, his expression turned unpleasant before he fainted for real.He blacked out because of his fury.*When Chloe got home, she was physically and mentally exhausted. She fell asleep and only woke up at dawn the next day.She glanced through her schedule and saw that she had promised to accompany Icarus to go and see a doctor for his scar that day. She scheduled the appointment for the afternoon and then texted Icarus to remind him about it. That way, he would not forget about the appointment.Chloe was not that busy that morning, so she had a meeting with h
Jane haughtily lifted her chin and declared, "Someone as insignificant as you wouldn't understand. I know the vice president of Cloude Hospital. Of course, I can find out about something like this."Based on Jane’s demeanor, it seemed unlikely that she was lying. However, if they were to assume it was true, there were numerous unexplainable aspects such as why would Xavia have kept this information hidden from Joseph. Considering her current physical condition, pregnancy entailed significant risks. Also, why had she chosen to go to Cloude City? There weren’t many tourist attractions in that small town.At that very moment, a young couple strolled past them."I've already told you. I can't get an abortion if I'm already six months pregnant. Are you trying to avoid paying the dowry?" the girl exclaimed."No, sweetheart. We will get married eventually. I promise I'll earn enough to pay the dowry in the future..."As Chloe observed the young couple as they slowly disappeared from sigh
The young man lifted his head and glanced at her, his eyes filled with the warmth of spring. "Ms. Chloe, are you here to visit Mr. Harold too?""Yes, are you here alone?""Yeah, the elders of my family are busy.""Could you do me a favor then?""Sure. Just tell me what you need, Ms. Chloe.""First, go inside and check if there’s anyone else in the ward. If it's empty, send me a message and I'll come in."A smile gradually appeared at the corner of Noah's mouth. "By 'other people,' do you mean Mr. Joseph?""Yes...""Okay, Ms. Chloe. Wait for my message.""You don't have to call me Ms. Chloe. You can just call me Coco, or since you're younger than me, Sister Coco. Of course, I don't mean to take advantage of you or anything!"The young man smiled, his lips about to utter a response when a little boy holding an ice cream accidentally bumped into him from behind. The little boy quickly apologized to Noah, saying, "I’m sorry, big brother. Please say it's okay!""...It's okay."A