Chapter 11
What a pain in the ass!
Roxanne clenched her fists, itching to sock Oliver one. He was so detestable, but she didn''t want to
cause a scene in the office, giving their employees a show and the impression that the two presidents
were at odds with each other. It would affect their work. Plus, she felt like punching Oliver would just
dirty her hand.
She slowly unclenched her fist, doing her best to quench her fury, then cut to the chase, "Oliver, I just
had Chloe sign a contract and stamped it with thepany seal. If you don''t let Chloe work, I''ll have
her take this contract to court and sue you. You are thepany''s legal representative after all. Labor
arbitration is really protective of smallpanies and their employees right now. If you don''t mind a
Oliver was aware of this. He hadn''t expected Chloe to be so resolute. He fumed, "Roxanne, did you tell
Chloe about the business trip?" Otherwise, why would Chloe suddenly insist oning to work?
"Oliver, how can you even bring up such disgusting stuff?"
"I''ve got no shame in bringing it up. Nothing really happened between us. Did you badmouth me to
Chloe to ruin our marriage?"
"You...I..." Roxanne was at a loss for words. How could there be such an unreasonable man like Oliver
in this world? Even she, someone good at controlling her emotions, was pissed off to the point of
getting a headache.
Oliver continued to push her, "Why would Chloe pick a fight with me? It''s because you''ve been stirring
the pot. Why are you so spiteful? I just said I liked you, it''s not like I did anything to you. Are you just
happy watching us fight?"
Roxanne was about to blow her top. But it was impossible tomunicate with a man like this using
She didn''t want her emotions to be controlled by others. She quickly suppressed her anger, regained
her rationality and calmness, and said, "Oliver, Chloe doesn''t need me to tell her anything to find her
own way. You know exactly how outstanding she was before marrying you. Besides, as long as I,
Roxanne, am here, I won''t let you bully Chloe. I''ve turned down your proposal. If you want to get back
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at me, bring it on. I''m not afraid of anyone."
She said the most resolute and intimidating words in the calmest and most straightforward manner.
Oliver indeed didn''t dare to underestimate her and started to feel a bit scared. This woman was really
tough to deal with.
When Oliver got home that night, he found that Chloe was giving him the cold shoulder. Even when he
tried to talk to her, she remained icy. When Chloe was out on the balcony collecting clothes, Oliver
followed her out, feeling a bit scared. "Chloe, did Roxanne say anything bad about me to you?"
After taking the clothes, Chloe sorted them one by one, her face expressionless and cold.
"Chloe, did you find out about what happened during thest business trip between me and Roxanne?"
Chloe didn''t want to bring up that incident that hadpletely shattered her.
Oliver started to defend himself, "Chloe, it was Roxanne who seduced me. She wanted to sleep with
me, but I rejected her. Chloe, if Roxanne told you anything bad about me, you must not believe it. It''s
really her who seduced me. Maybe she''s just too lonely without a boyfriend and thinks I''m handsome.
You can''t just trust a stranger over your own husband."
Chloe, who was tidying up her clothes, paused in her movements. She looked at this shameless and
despicable man. He was the one pursuing her friend, and now he was ming her in return? What a
shameless bastard!
Then Oliver started to coax and tter her: "Chloe, don''t be mad ande back to work. Just stay
home and take care of the kids and mom. Mom''s back isn''t doing well, and if you leave the child for her
to take care of, how can she handle it? Besides, you''re such a sensible person, how could you bear to
let her work so hard?"
The man in front of her hadpletely disillusioned Chloe. Every time she had a conflict with her
mother-inw, he would coax her like this, asking her to be more understanding and amodate the
elderly. Was it because she was too easy topromise, too boundary-less, too kind, that it allowed
this family to bully her so brazenly? Now she didn''t want to be so unprincipled anymore.
"Oliver, letting your mother take care of the household chores while she''s with the kids is a burden, and
I should just bear all of this, right? I''m swamped every day, your mother says she can''t carry the child,
and yet I have to carry the sleeping infant to school. I''m carrying the child every day until my back
hurts, have you ever cared about me?"
She had said these things to Oliver before, but he always said she was young and should notpare
to the elderly. Later, she got tired of repeating herself.
"Yes, you''re a good son, you can''t bear to see your mom suffer. The child is mine, and I know I have no
right to ask her to help me. But she''s your mom, if she doesn''t help me, why should I be so kind to her?
If you think it''s too hard for your mom to take care of the child, then youe back and take care of the
child and her, I can go to work, and I can also make money. After all, the child is yours and your mom is
yours. I’m not gonnae back to be your free nanny..."
"How can you be so unreasonable..." Oliver was furious, "you are just..."
Chloe firmly said, "And another thing, Oliver, don''t try to me Roxanne for your actions. I don''t even
want to mention those dirty thoughts in your mind."
"How can you trust that bitch over your own husband."
"Don''t you dare speak about my friend like that."
"Why are you always defending others?" Oliver was outwardly righteous but inwardly fearful.
Chloe said with a mix of sadness and disappointment, "Oliver, for the sake of our two children, let''s just
live like this, but don''t ever try to control me in the future, and don''t expect me to act like an unpaid
nanny."
Chloe picked up the pile of neatly folded clothes and walked into the living room. Just as she was
passing by Oliver, he quickly stepped forward and grabbed her arm. When she was about to break
free, their eldest daughter, Aria, ran out of her room. In order not to let their daughter see them arguing,
she didn''t react violently.
"Mom, I''ve finished reading my book. I''m going to bed now. You have to give me a hug before I sleep."
"Alright, I wille over once I have done organizing the clothes."
No matter how upset or hurt she felt, Chloe always wore her softest smile in front of her daughter. But
no one knew the pain and helplessness she hid beneath that smile. Only after her daughter went back
to her room did Chloe walk away from Oliver. "I don''t want to argue with you in front of the kid. We can
discuss this when the kid isn''t around."
After getting the two kids to bed, Chloe dialed Roxanne. It was already half past ten.
Roxanne was about to hit the sack when she got Chloe''s call. She nced at Harrison who just came
out from the bathroom. "Chloe wants me to head out for a bit, wanna tag along? Chloe''s my best friend,
I''d love for you to meet her."
Her friends were all like her, bottom of the societal barrel. They meant zilch to him. Without a moment''s
hesitation, Harrison said, "Nah, not interested."
Roxanne really wanted Chloe to meet Harrison. She tried again, "Come on, let''s go. We''ll grab some
barbecue together. The roadside joint has delicious barbecue."
Those kind of dingy ces, not his bag. He never touched them. "I don''t do BBQ. Go on your own."
Harrison''s father, Vincent, sitting on the couch, shot Harrison a stern look. "Just go with Anne. It''s not
safe for her toe back alone at this hour."
"If it''s not safe, she shouldn''t be going out." Harrison shot back, then retreated to his room.
Vincent tried tofort Roxanne with a few words. Roxanne just shrugged with a casualugh. "It''s
cool. Just a quick run. Want me to bring you somete-night munchies?"
"Late-night munchies?" Vincent didn''t dote-night snacks. He was on a health kick, no food after eight.
But he needed a solid excuse to wait up for his daughter-inw. So he lit up, "Sure, whatever you want
to get."
"Dad, how about I get you some pho? Good?"
"Sounds good to me."
With that, Roxanne hurried off to find Chloe.
Vincent watched his daughter-inw leave with worry, then barged into Harrison and Roxanne''s room
without knocking. At that moment, Harrison was sniffing Roxanne''s pillow. He found her scent intriguing
and wanted a closer whiff. Vincent''s sudden entrance startled him. He quickly hid the pillow behind his
back and snapped, "Ever heard of knocking?"
Vincent shot back, "Why didn''t you go with Roxanne? She asked you to meet her friend, you should''ve
gone. You could''ve made sure she got back safe. Don''t you care about your wife at all as her
husband?"
"Dad." Harrison retorted, "You are well aware of how we ended up getting married. I''ve already agreed
to live in with her, and that''s quite a stretch already. You have no right to demand I shower her with
excessive care and affection."