Xavia clenched her fists. Her fingernails dug into her palm. Ignoring the pain, she calmed herself and restarted the performance. However, it was far from satisfactory. Even the non-musicians in the audience could tell that something was amiss.This was undoubtedly a significant mishap in her career."What's going on? Is there something wrong with my hearing?" someone wondered aloud."Her performance is so… It's even worse than my nephew," another voice said."Maybe Vee isn't feeling well today. Let's cut her some slack," a sympathetic voice offered.Finally, her manager backstage decided to come out and apologized on behalf of Xavia and her team. "We are terribly sorry about today’s performance. Vee has been battling a cold for several days, and she’s not at her best. We'll refund all the tickets for today's show."Agitated, Xavia asked, "What? You're refunding all the tickets?""Yes. You're the one who messed up the performance, so you need to clean up the mess," the manager s
Xavia's face was pale as she stared at the white wreath in front of her. Through the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of a fruit knife on the table in the backstage resting room. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed by the feeling of tearing Noah and Chloe to pieces.Her manager did not notice the changes in her demeanor. He nervously pointed at Noah and stammered, "M-Mr. Noah, we never slighted you in any way. Why are you treating us this way? Did someone make you do this?"Before Noah could respond, Chloe walked up to the stage and sneered. "We're just telling the truth. I have the right to let her fans know the truth, don't I?""Oh my gosh. Is all that real?""I can't believe I thought Vee was a faithful woman. Joseph must've discovered her true nature a long time ago.""That short-haired woman’s Chloe. She's Joseph’s ex-wife, right? She did Vee one dirty. Today is supposed to be Vee's concert, but she presented Vee with a wreath. How wicked."Stop calling her Vee. It's sickening
Noah craned his neck to look at her phone. "Joseph?"Chloe rejected the call and said, "Yeah. Who else would be so concerned about Xavia?"Chuckling, Noah continued, "He won't give up so easily."In the next second, Chloe's phone rang again. It was the same number. She did not answer, nor did she block his number. While Xavia had messed with her relationship, the person who truly disappointed her was Joseph. Though she could not do anything to him, she would strive to make his life a living hell.*In a private lounge, Samuel scrolled through the news on his phone and laughed uproariously. "Hahahaha, this is comedy gold. Look at Xavia. She’s as pale as a corpse."Nathan chuckled. "Yeah, this is the first time I've seen her lose her composure like this. Chloe really went all out this time. She has a different vibe about her now.”Chloe was incapable of such ruthlessness in the past. Stroking his chin, Samuel nodded in agreement. "She cut her long hair short. But Joe, it's bette
Chloe was half awake as she glanced at her phone. She suddenly saw something that caused her to spring up from the bed. As her mind gradually cleared, she looked at her phone again before setting it aside to freshen up.During breakfast, Desmond frowned and said, "I saw the announcement from the Whitman Group. Joseph seems to be siding with you."This was not a good thing. Rather than siding with Chloe, Desmond hoped that Joseph would fall out with them. After all, the Sullivans were a powerful family. It would save Chloe and Noah a lot of unnecessary trouble when they got married later.Taking a bite of her sandwich, Chloe said nonchalantly, "Is it possible that Joseph isn't taking my side, but rather, he has been wanting to cut ties with Xavia for a long time? Besides, this will benefit his son too."The press release stated three points. First, Joseph and Xavia were never married and their child was raised solely by Joseph. Second, both parties never interfered in each other's r
And it was not only the members of the board who knew. Exotic Star’s official website had even made an announcement. Noah was the sole inheritor of the company, and this was good news. All the jewelry under the brand was having an 88% discount. Soon, not only the internal staff but everyone in Docwood knew about it.Desmond had left no room for Chloe to back out."How could you not tell us this, Ms. Chloe? We'll have to address you as Mrs. Chloe soon.""That's right. Mr. Noah’s a good man. Many women in the office tried to woo him, but he just gave them the cold shoulder. I'm sure he'll treat you well after you guys are married.""You're engaged to Noah?" a voice interrupted.Chloe glanced at Frieda, who had a puzzled expression on her face. Chloe raised her eyebrows and asked, "Yeah? Anything wrong with that?""I'm just asking.""Well, I believe you’ve already heard everyone talking about it, right?"After Chloe’s confirmation, Frieda's brow furrowed even tighter and a hint of
Chloe stared at Joseph for a while before chuckling. "Oh, come on. If you still like me, just say it. No need to say such offensive words. Your intimidation won't work on me.""I'm intimidating you?""Yes, that's exactly what you're doing. You're using disapproval and demeaning tactics to satisfy your ego, aiming to make me feel inferior and achieve your purpose," Chloe replied."I'm not that despicable," Joseph retorted."Well then, where did you get the idea that I relied on Noah to get into Exotic Star? Even if I did, what's wrong with that? I got the man and the job. It's a win-win situation. If you genuinely care for me, you should bless me instead of nitpicking and making me feel like you still have lingering feelings for me."Joseph fell silent and his furrowed brows slowly relaxed. Had she finally figured it out? If he had let her go, why would he care about her relationship with Noah?Chloe tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes sparkled as she teased, "Oh? Did
Joseph was stumped. His anger flared up. "Didn’t you do this too when you flirted with me in the past?""I did this? Oh please. Have you run out of ideas, Mr. Joseph? You keep repeating the same lines. Aren't you tired of it?" she mocked.She did not wish to waste any more time with Joseph, and more importantly, she should not provoke him any further. She decided to end the charade and dashed off."Chloe!""Goodbye, Mr. Joseph."*When Chloe stepped into her office, she found Noah sitting inside and her desk laden with her favorite dishes.His gaze fell on the takeaway box in her hand. He chuckled. "There’s no need for you to go out and buy lunch from now on. Just let me know what you want to eat and I'll get my assistant to take care of it.""That's too troublesome. Getting food from downstairs is more convenient.""That works too. Let's go together from now on. I'll come look for you during lunch break.""Okay."Suddenly, Noah noticed something. He paused for a few seconds
“What? Do all of us need to take off our clothes?" one woman asked.They had not expected Joseph, who looked reserved and aloof, to be into this kind of thing.Impatiently, Joseph nodded. "Yes, all of you." He refused to believe that he was indifferent to any woman other than Chloe for the rest of his life.Though the women felt a bit shy, they did not want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and began to undress.Ten minutes later, Joseph growled, "Get out!"Lucas sighed. He knew things would turn out this way. He went inside and escorted the women out. Carefully assessing Joseph's expression, Lucas asked, "Sir, did you find them unsatisfactory? Should I find a few more?""No."There was only one person in Joseph’s heart. Regardless of how stunning other women might be, they were all just a piece of flesh. None of them could stir any emotion in him.But Chloe was now engaged to Noah, so he had to make a choice—should he continue or let go? If he chose to continue, woul