Chapter 10
Harrison was lost in thought again. Just three days with Roxanne, and his understanding of human nature was completely flipped on its head.
Vincent got up, gave his shoulder a light pat, and said again in a tone full of gravity, “Harrison, mate, the company’s interests and the family’s honor are all well and good, but I don’t want you to become some emotionless workaholic, like a damn robot. You really ought to try falling in love. Only with a sincere romance can you truly feel the warmth of the world, can you possibly experience true happiness.”
For the first time, Harrison deeply felt Vincent’s genuine concern and quietly responded, “Got it, thanks, Dad!”
Roxanne arrived at the office on her e-bike.
No sooner had she settled down than Chloe contacted her via WhatsApp.
[Anne, Oliver won’t let me go back to work. We had a big fight about it last night. Can you talk to him for me? I really want to return to work.]
Roxanne picked up her phone, found a secluded spot, and called Chloe.
“Chloe, what’s happened?”
“Anne…” Chloe’s voice was a little hoarse, obviously she’d been crying.
“Chloe, don’t cry. Take your time, what happened?”
“Oliver…” Chloe’s voice choked up, unable to continue, “He said all I’m good for is taking care of the baby, told me not to embarrass him back at the office. I didn’t agree, so we started fighting, and his mother chimed in to scold me. Roxanne, how could I be good for nothing but taking care of the baby? I’m not useless.”
“I know, I know, don’t be upset,” Roxanne hurried to comfort her. “You graduated university, you have a good education, and you know a second language. Don’t forget, you earned a bonus of nearly ten thousand dollars at your previous job. Oliver’s business wouldn’t have taken off if it weren’t for that bonus!”
“Exactly.” Chloe sounded both wronged and pained. “Oliver said if I insist on working, he’ll divorce me and said if we do divorce, I won’t get the kids.”
Roxanne was about to offer some comforting words when the sound of a baby crying came from the other end of the line. “Anne, Austin’s wet his pants, I have to change his diaper, I’ll call you back later.”
Without waiting for Roxanne’s response, Chloe hung up. Roxanne could hardly imagine how chaotic and tense Chloe’s life must’ve been after having a baby.
If she were Chloe’s husband, she would cherish Chloe double. But Chloe just had to be stuck with a guy like Oliver. If it wasn’t for the fact that Chloe had two kids, Roxanne would’ve urged her to divorce immediately.
By the time Chloe had finished taking care of the baby, half an hour had passed. In that half hour, Roxanne had been waiting for her call. “Sorry, Anne. I just changed Austin’s diaper and fed him. He fell asleep, but the moment I put him down, he started crying. I had to wait until he was sound asleep before I could call you.”
“Why are you saying sorry to me? You said Oliver wants to divorce you because you insist on going back to work?”
“I can handle a divorce, but if we really do go to court, the kids might end up with him because I don’t have an income. Aria and Austin are my life. I can’t leave them, and I can’t let that man raise them. He can’t take care of my babies.”
Thinking of her children, Chloe once again couldn’t stop herself from crying. Her voice filled with obvious choking and hoarseness. Roxanne felt awful, but she couldn’t find any words to comfort Chloe.
Reality was just that harsh. Having met a man like Oliver, even if Chloe wanted to divorce, she would hesitate because of the innocent children.
Although she hadn’t been a mother herself, and didn’t have her own children, Roxanne could deeply understand Chloe’s feelings. In this world, what mother could bear to be separated from her own children?
Roxanne thought of her own parents. If her mother could love her as deeply as Chloe did, how nice that would be.
With no time to wallow in her own emotional wounds from the past, Roxanne continued to comfort Chloe. “Chloe, you’re doing the right thing. You can’t give in to Oliver’s threats. You need to go out and work, make money. Otherwise, if he really divorces you and you have no income, you’ll really lose custody of the kids.”
“You take it easy. I’ll help you with the HR and business stuff at the office. I’ll arrange for you to return to work. Don’t worry.”
Chloe thought this advice made a lot of sense, Oliver, that jerk, he even had the nerve to make a move on her good friend. Even though
1/2
Roxanne rejected him, he was so unreliable that he’d go after other women sooner or later, and then he’d really abandon her without hesitation. She had to pull herself together.
The first step to doing that was to go out and work and earn money to secure her and her children’s lives.
That day, Roxanne helped Chloe with the onboarding process. Meanwhile, Oliver was in his office, playing with his phone. He opened a female college student’s profile, and the more he looked at it, the more attractive he found her.
Remembering the day he bumped into her at the coffee shop when she tripped in her high heels, he smirked at her delicate demeanor. He texted her. [Hey, cutie, what are you doing? There’s a new movie out, wanna watch it tonight?)
He waited a few minutes, but the “cutie” didn’t reply. He felt a bit let down.
Just then, Roxanne walked into his office, and Oliver hurriedly turned off his phone screen. “Why didn’t you knock before coming in?” “Are you doing something shady?” Roxanne questioned.
He looked flustered, and his eyes darted around, clearly something was up.
But Oliver brazened it out. “What shady business? I’m reviewing expense reports.”
“Great, sign this while you’re at it.
As soon as Oliver saw the situation, his face tightened up. “Did Chloe come to you about coming back to work?”
“I told you before, I wanted to hire an assistant who can speak a foreign language, and Chloe fits the bill,” Roxanne responded.
“Just because she studied it in university doesn’t mean she still knows it after all these years. She’s likely forgotten it all by now. She’s not the right fit, Oliver shot back.
“This is a product detail page that Chloe did, and it only took her 15 minutes.”
Roxanne handed Oliver the printed materials with an air of arrogance. Oliver was left speechless.
Oliver glanced at the materials. Chloe hadn’t studied for seven years, but she was still so proficient! Clearly, he had underestimated her. After a moment of contemplation, he grimly said, “If Chloe goes back to work, who will watch the kid? Who will take care of my sickly mom who can’t do any housework? Did she plan to dump all the chores on my mom? Is she trying to work my mom to death?”
Roxanne’s anger flared up again. She looked at Oliver in a mix of ridicule and fury before scoffing, “So your mom doing housework will wear her out, but Chloe won’t get tired?”
“She works her ass off and you don’t even have an ounce of sympathy or care for her. Instead, you criticize her for not being fashion savvy, for being too plain, for lacking ambition, and for not keeping up with the times. You won’t let her work, so how can a full-time housewife keep up with society? How can she look beautiful every day while juggling the kids?
“You expect her to take care of your kid and mom for free, all while being a strong, capable, and sophisticated woman. Do you think she’s a superhero?”
Oliver was left speechless by Roxanne’s rant, his face turning a sickly shade. But he gritted his teeth and said with renewed righteousness, “Didn’t Chloe choose this for herself? She did it willingly. Besides, this is our family business. What’s it to you? If I don’t let her work, then she won’t work.”
