Chapter 172


    Back in the day, Alexander had asked Chloe to pretend to be his girlfriend as a favor.


    So Chloe had seen thising.


    But when Alexander made their "rtionship" public at school, Chloe was still caught off guard.


    This meant that whether Chloe agreed to it or not, everyone at school would know she was the


    girlfriend of Mr. Alexander, the secondrgest shareholder of the Rodriguez Group.


    Who would dare look down on her daughter, Aria, from now on?


    Chloe could hardly contain her emotions as she looked at the people around her; their expressions of


    shock, envy, and fear were all obvious.


    She suddenly realized that money and power really didmand respect.


    This revtion boosted Chloe''s confidence.


    She red at the dumbfounded Mrs. Grace and said firmly, "Yeah, you bullied my daughter, and you''re


    not going to get away with it."


    With that, she took Aria''s hand in hers,forting her daughter so she would no longer be afraid.


    Alexander cooperatively took Aria''s other hand.


    The three of them, hand in hand, looked like a happy family.


    People around them could hardly believe that the secondrgest shareholder of the Rodriguez Group


    would fall for a divorced woman with freckles on her face.


    To them, this woman was nowhere near good enough for Mr. Alexander.


    But the scene in front of them forced them to acknowledge that Mr. Alexander was truly protecting


    them.


    Aria looked at her mom and then at Mr. Alexander, who was holding her hand.


    Mr. Alexander, with his handsome figure, was like a mountain, giving her a sense of security.


    How she wished Mr. Alexander could be her father.


    Even though she had lived with her biological father, Oliver, for seven years, she had never been cared


    for like this.


    Aria wished Mr. Alexander could be with her mom.


    At this moment, Alexander asked Mr. Joseph. "Mr. Joseph, is everything I asked you to arrange


    yesterday ready?"


    "Yes." Mr. Joseph nodded repeatedly. "All the students have gathered on the yground, waiting for


    your word."


    Though Alexander was of higher social status, he always treated Mr. Joseph with respect and courtesy.


    "Thank you."


    Upon hearing this, Mr. Joseph, who was just shocked by the news about Chloe and Alexander being


    together, breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Standing up for students and maintaining school


    discipline is my duty. I failed in my duty when Aria was wrongly used. I should bear most of the


    responsibility."


    Mr. Charles also quickly added. "I''m to me too. Aria, Chloe, I''m really sorry. I''ve failed to discipline


    my students."


    Mr. Joseph continued. "Today, Laura and her mother will apologize to Aria in front of the whole school,


    so people can treat her with respect. Also, we need to rectify the school''s atmosphere."


    Alexander replied. "Then what are we waiting for?"


    Led by Mr. Joseph, they all headed to the school''s yground.


    Under the stage, all the students and teachers stood neatly.


    The principal went on stage and delivered a brief but precise speech.


    He borated on the misunderstandings and bullying that Aria had suffered and clearly exined the


    whole thing.


    At the same time, he also admitted his negligence in supervision.


    Then the principal invited Aria to the stage and asked Laura and her mother to apologize to Aria in front


    of everyone.


    At this moment, Alexander and Chloe apanied Aria on stage.


    How could Laura and her mother not apologize? They had clearly bullied Aria and mocked her and her


    mother.


    Plus, Alexander''s presence was quite intimidating.


    They apologized profusely.


    At this point, Aria felt all the wrongs against her had been righted. She no longer needed to worry about


    being looked at differently. She no longer needed to worry about being talked about behind her back as


    well as beingbeled as a thief and a bad student.


    She could hold her head high and walk freely anywhere in the school.


    She no longer needed to be afraid.


    Mr. Alexander earned all of this for her.


    Aria looked up at the handsome Alexander with nothing but gratitude in her eyes. "Mr. Alexander, thank


    you. You helped me gain justice."


    Alexander lightly ruffled Aria''s hair.


    He didn''t know if Aria was teary-eyed because she was moved or for some other reason.


    He reached out his hand, gently wiped away her tears, and thenforted her softly. "Silly girl, I think


    of you as my own daughter. I''m happy to do these things for you. You don''t need to be formal with me."


    Aria''s heart was once again filled with warmth. She had been misunderstood and bullied; her heart was


    dark and gloomy, and there was no light.


    If it weren''t for Mr. Alexander, she might have hated going back to school.


    Even if she transferred to another school, she might have lost interest in studying.


    Mr. Alexander was like a ray of sunshine that pierced through the dark clouds, illuminating her gloomy


    heart.


    Their eyes met. One was full of love. The other was full of admiration and respect.


    Alexander had always loved children.


    Like Vincent and Harrison, he was especially fond of girls.Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    He had always wanted Hazel to have a daughter for him.


    But it never happened.


    Alexander was quite disappointed.


    This time, he truly treated Aria as his own daughter.


    He gently stroked her head. "Tell me, do you still want to study at this school?"


    "Yes." Aria nodded firmly. She had gained justice. She still loved her school.


    Understanding this, Alexander nodded and announced a piece of good news to all the students and


    teachers.


    "I''m going to personally donate ten million dors to the school to spruce up the facilities and boost


    teacher and student benefits. If the kids or teachers need anything, they can go straight to the principal.


    I''ll send my guys over to set up a special project team to make sure the funds are used properly."


    Ten million dors!


    The school had never seen a donation this huge before.


    How many things could this improve?


    The teachers and students were jumping for joy.


    At this point, Chloe came around from behind her daughter, gently tugged at Alexander''s sleeve, and


    whispered a reminder to him, "Mr. Alexander, you really don''t need to spend so much for Aria."


    That was a hell of a lot of money! Chloe had never seen this much money before. She was feeling


    really uneasy.


    Her voice waspletely drowned out, probably because the apuse was just too loud.


    But Alexander could feel someone gently tugging at his sleeve.


    He looked to the side and saw Chloe''s somewhat rough hands.


    Compared to Hazel''s smooth hands, which were manicured with pink nail polish, Chloe''s hands


    seemed rough and aged.


    Alexander had never interacted with a housewife before.


    In fact, most housewives in their thirties have hands like this due to a poor marriage and frequent


    housework.


    Alexander stared at the somewhat rough hands for a while. He didn''t know what he was feeling right


    now.


    She used to be a delicate woman; why did she have to bear the pressures of marriage and life?


    These were clearly slender, elegant, and beautiful hands, but they had be rough due to constant


    housework.


    If she were his wife, he would never let her do all that heavy housework.


    As he looked at her hands for a while, Chloe began to feel really awkward and shyly pulled her hands


    back, hiding them behind her.


    Was it because her hands were too rough?


    She didn''t dare show her hands again.


    Alexander knew she had something to say to him, but the apuse was still going on, so he had to get


    closer to hear Chloe''s voice.


    So he leaned in toward her. "What did you say just now?"


    Because Alexander was staring at her hands, Chloe was pretty tense. She forgot what she wanted to


    say when she tugged at his sleeve.


    Alexander thought it was because the apuse was too loud and she didn''t hear him.


    So he leaned in closer to her ear again and asked, "Chloe, sorry, it was too noisy just now. What did


    you say? I didn''t hear you."


    Since they were so close, Alexander''s warm breath brushed against Chloe''s ear.


    It was warm and soft, and a little ticklish.


    Chloe''s heart was racing.


    Thank God she was calm and past her girlish years.


    Otherwise, her face would be blushing by now.


    Even though she was a bit embarrassed, she quickly fixed the hair by her ear to cover up her fluster.


    Then she looked at him and replied, "Mr. Alexander, donating ten million dors to the school for Aria is


    just too much."


    She said a few more things, but Alexander didn''t catch them, so he leaned in closer to her ear again


    and asked, "What did you say? Can you speak up a bit?"


    Chloe had no choice but to do the same and lean in closer to his ear, repeating what she said.


    At this moment, her soft voice was right in Alexander''s ear, along with her scent.


    Her scent was simr to Roxanne''s; the cheap shampoo and shower gel smelled real, not like those


    fancy perfumes that seem dreamy and overpowering.


    This real smell made Alexander realize how simple and beautiful the lives of ordinary people were.


    More precisely, Chloe was beautiful.


    At this moment, Alexander didn''t realize it, but every time Chloe got close to him, he felt happy.


    But whenever he was taking care of Hazel, he was always cautious, afraid that doing something wrong


    would make Hazel angry. He was always on high alert, never daring to let his guard down.


    But with Chloe, he felt rxed. His mood was always calm and happy.


    He leaned into Chloe''s ear again, and he saw Chloe''s beautiful earlobe.


    Even though this woman''s hands were rough and her face was a bit yellow and spotted, her earlobes


    were really beautiful.


    He forgot why he leaned into her.


    Chloe blinked at him.


    Why was Mr. Alexander looking at her like that?


    "Mr. Alexander?" She was all puzzled.


    Alexander smiled slightly. "You''re actually very beautiful; you''re just not wearing makeup; you''d be even


    more beautiful if you did."


    What?


    She was telling him the donation was too much. Why was he suddenly saying she''d be more beautiful


    with makeup?


    Her heart started beating even faster. "Mr. Alexander, I was saying you don''t have to donate so much


    money for Aria."


    "It''s okay, Aria likes this school; let her continue here. I''ll pay big bucks to hire teachers from top


    schools to teach Aria''s ss; those teachers will take good care of Aria in the future. Don''t stress; ten


    million dors is just chump change to me."


    Ten million dors was chump change?


    Even though she knew he was rich, this was too extravagant, right?


    Aria looked up and saw them going back and forth.


    They seemed like a boyfriend and girlfriend in love.


    Aria smiled slightly.


    That day, all the bullying and grievances Aria suffered at school were pacified by Alexander.


    Aria stayed in school.


    Alexander drove Chloe to work in his ck Rolls-Royce.


    In the car, Chloe sat next to him with about half a meter between them.


    Chloe was still very formal.


    She had a lot of words of gratitude she wanted to say but didn''t know how to start.


    Just as she was about to speak, Alexander looked at her at the same time, ready to say something.


    "You go first."


    Chloe responded. "Please, you go first."


    Alexander frowned. "I have a request for you."


    "What request?" Chloe was a bit uneasy. Did she do something wrong that made Mr. Alexander


    unhappy?


    "Can you stop being so polite and formal with me?" Alexander was not satisfied.


    He continued. "You don''t always have to see me as superior. We''re all equal, rich or poor; we all go


    through birth, aging, sickness, and death in this world. There''s no hierarchy."


    Even though Mr. Alexander was filthy rich, she knew that he wasn''t arrogant at all. The more she hung


    out with him, the more she found him to be a real gentleman and quite chill.


    While staring at his handsome face, Chloe was deep in thought.


    Did all rich dudes act like Alexander?


    She had never mingled with the rich before and had no clue about their world.


    "Why do you keep staring at me?" Alexander chuckled. "Am I that good-looking?"


    "No, it''s not like that..." Chloe quickly averted her eyes.


    Alexander frowned. "So, you''re saying I''m not handsome?"


    "No, not at all." Chloe vigorously shook her head. “Mr. Alexander, you’re quite a looker; there aren’t


    many of your kind walking around on the streets. My bestie''s husband is handsome too; you guys are


    quite the catch."


    Alexander thought to himself. How could Harrison not be handsome?


    She looked at him and thought his short hair gave off a masculine vibe.


    He was also quite mature and gentlemanly.


    Having such a great guy publicly dere her as his girlfriend in front of the entire school was like hitting


    the jackpot for Chloe.


    But this girlfriend title was just for show.


    While she was sighing internally, Alexander spoke again, "Alright, enough with the jokes. I''ve already


    told Mr. Joseph to expel Laura, that ill-behaved student. You won''t have to worry about Aria getting


    bullied by her ssmates anymore."


    "Expelled?" Chloe was taken aback. "Mrs. Grace is quite the devil; won''t she secretly retaliate?"


    Mr. Joseph didn''t mention this earlier.


    "I''ve already thought of that." Alexander said, "Laura''s dad is a boss of a constructionpany; I''ll


    have someone talk to him. As long as he wants to live in Seraphim Haven, he''ll keep a low profile."


    Rich and powerful people got things done just like that?


    With just a word, he solved a problem she couldn''t solve despite exhausting all her connections and


    efforts.


    Chloe looked at him and firmly said, "Mr. Alexander, about the deal of me pretending to be your


    girlfriend, I''m in. Rest assured, I might be a second-hand woman, but I have my ways of dealing with


    people like Hazel. Just sit back and watch; I''ll make sure Hazel gets out of your life and stops bothering


    you, so you can have a peaceful and quiet life."