Chapter 316

Chapter 316 I Won’t Force You, Don’t Define Our Relationship

“No!” Chloe refused without hesitation.

Joseph’s expression twisted into a sneer. “Would you be willing to do it if it were Icarus?”

Deep furrows appeared on Chloe’s forehead as she glared at him. “Who gave you the audacity to

make such assumptions about me?”

“And yet, isn’t that who you are?” Joseph retorted.

“Whatever. Suit yourself.”

Chloe’s frustration grew, causing her to avert her gaze and look out the window.

Sensing an implicit admission in her reaction, Joseph was consumed by anger. He abruptly stood up,

creating a resounding slam as he stormed out of the room.

The footsteps outside gradually faded until they disappeared entirely.

Chloe curled up, hugging herself tightly. Her pale face bore an overwhelming sense of

bitterness.

After Joseph left, he did not appear again until she was discharged from the hospital.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. The caregiver who had been taking care of her

accompanied her to Aesper and stayed at her house for two more days. Only when she saw that Chloe

was moving around with ease did she finally feel at ease to leave.

Before leaving, the caregiver said, “Ms. Chloe, I hope you won’t find this offensive. Mr. Joseph may

seem cold, but he genuinely cares about your well-being. He calls every day to ask about your health.”

Chloe froze. “Is that true?”

“Yes. He was the one who asked me to accompany you to Aesper. He instructed me to take good care

of you. Today’s my last day here, and I can tell that you both have feelings for each. other, so I don’t

want to witness the continued misunderstandings between you two. As a woman, I understand that it’s

not easy for you either.”

Chloe lowered her head and let out a long sigh. “I understand. I’ll talk to him properly.”

Not long after the caregiver left, an unexpected visitor arrived.

Jane, who had not been seen in a long time, somehow found her way there. She swaggered in and

looked at the recently recovered Chloe, laughing provocatively. “I told you that you’d be kicked out once

Xavia returned. And now Joseph doesn’t want you anymore. Serves you right!”

Chloe remained unfazed, smiling slyly. “Joseph doesn’t want me, but does he want you?”

Γ

“Why you!”

“Please leave my house, or I will call the police.”

She believed it was necessary to move out quickly. Her house was lacking security.

“Why are you so worked up? It’s been some time since we last saw each other. Don’t you wanna

chat?”

“No, I don’t want to,” Chloe replied without any hesitation.

Jane sneered and said, “Xavia’s pregnant.”

Surprised, Chloe raised her gaze. “How do you know that?”

“That’s none of your concern. Cherish the remaining time you have with Joseph,” Jane

continued.

Chloe was struck by those words like a bolt of lightning, impaling her heart with an invisible blade and

causing her body to tremble with anguish. Her mind went blank, and she stumbled, clutching the sofa

as she sat down.

At that moment, she understood the truth of the saying, “There is no greater sorrow than a

heart that is dead.”

She could not believe that Xavia had gotten pregnant after just one night… It must have been

more than just one night.

For the next two days, Chloe confined herself to her home, only making a phone call to Emily, while the

rest of her time was spent in seclusion. On the third day, she had to go to the Grahams to discuss the

progress of the project. She dragged herself out of bed, freshened up, and concealed her weary face

with makeup.

As she stepped out of the house, Icarus was waiting outside in the car. It seemed to her that he had

been there for quite some time.

“Wh-Why are you here?” she asked.

“I happened to glance at your office’s monthly schedule and snapped a picture, thinking I could be your

driver,” Icarus said. He was impeccably dressed in a black shirt and the glimmer from his gold-rimmed

glasses bestowed upon him an air of sophistication and competence.

Chloe wanted to smile at him, but she found even the simplest movement of curling her lips to be

exhausting, so she gave up. Along the way, she noticed that the leaves outside the car window were

showing signs of turning yellow. It seemed that Fall had arrived.

These past few days, Chloe had been thinking about how to resolve the relationship between her and

Icarus. Summoning her strength, she said, “I need to discuss something with you.”

“Oh, isn’t that the endorsement you did for Exotic Star? It came out to the market pretty

quickly,” Icarus said, seemingly not to have heard her. He pointed to the billboards on the side. of the

road and praised, “Chloe, you look stunning.”

Chloe’s train of thought was interrupted and she followed his gaze. In the city center streets, there were

Exotic Star billboards every fifty meters, featuring her in a black evening gown. Her slender neck was

graced by a radiant diamond necklace, while an irresistible aura of grace, elegance, and enchanting

allure surrounded her.

Chloe was momentarily stunned, never realizing she could be so beautiful. “The photo editor is truly

skilled!’ Witnessing this scene, she suddenly remembered that Noah had her a message, and she had

not replied all this time.

payment

Chloe took out her phone and found the conversation with Noah, confirming that he had indeed

informed her a few days ago about the ad going on the market and that the would be deposited into her

account. At the end of his message, he expressed deep apologies, stating that on the day of the shoot,

he should have arranged for someone to escort her back to Aesper.

It seemed that Noah had also become aware of Calvin’s act of imprisoning her.

Chloe did not reply immediately. Instead, she checked her bank account and found 30 million. dollars

had been added to it. Seeing this substantial sum of money, her mood finally improved

a bit.

In the end, one had to rely on oneself. If she had listened to Joseph and had not gone to the Docwood

for the audition, she would have been left with nothing-neither money nor freedom.

“We’re here,” Icarus announced as he parked the car in front of Graham Group’s main building.

Chloe reached out to unfasten her seatbelt and said, “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Chloe. I hope you won’t rush to define our relationship. We can just be

ordinary friends. You don’t need to put pressure on yourself, and I won’t force you either, all right?”

Icarus said sincerely.