Wait as she might, Chloe Austin never saw any sign of Caden Sterling.
Losing her patience, she called his number, only to be met with a cold, automated voice telling her the call couldn’t be connected.
“Caden, are you playing me for a fool?”
Gritting her teeth, Chloe dialed his number again.
“Miss Austin, Mrs.
Sterling sent me to tell you that he had to go on a business trip,” the Morgan family’s driver said, running over to deliver the message.
“She apologizes for making you wait so long.
They only just remembered.”
Hearing this, Chloe let out a cold laugh.
“I see.
So you’re the one messing with me, Vivian Sullivan.”
Chloe’s gaze fell on the driver.
Although she didn’t want to make things difficult for him, she couldn’t hold back when she saw his gloating expression.
“Mrs.
Sterling?
We haven’t even divorced yet, and you’ve already changed how you address her,” Chloe remarked.
“Then again, it makes sense.
No wonder you’ve survived in the Morgan family for so long—you really know which way the wind blows.”
“Where is the divorce agreement?” she asked, putting away her arrogant attitude and furrowing her brows.
Mocked by Chloe, the driver reluctantly lowered his head.
“Miss Austin, I’m afraid you’re asking the wrong person.
You’d be better off asking Mrs.
Sterling and President Sterling.”
“Fine.
Where is your President Sterling?” Chloe stared sharply at the driver, as if trying to see right through him.
“President Sterling is on a business trip,” the driver replied.
“He should be on the plane by now.
Why don’t you call him yourself a little later?
If you really can’t wait, Mrs.
Sterling is in the car right now…”
“I see.
So Vivian is waiting for me in the car,” Chloe said.
“You should have said so earlier.
If she wants to see me, she should just come out and say it.
Why beat around the bush?”
Chloe tossed her bag to the driver and slowly walked toward the car.
Vivian Sullivan rolled down the window, and Chloe offered her a tight smile.
“I thought you’d be running around like a headless chicken over the Amore scandal.
It seems your life hasn’t been as miserable lately as I imagined.”
“Right back at you.
You don’t look as pathetic as I pictured, either,” Vivian shot back.
She took off her sunglasses, her bright red lips parting in a smug smile.
“What’s the matter?
Did you find your scapegoat?” Chloe asked, feigning interest in Vivian’s affairs while actually mocking her.
“Who is the poor sap?
Do I know them?”
“You should worry about yourself,” Vivian sneered.
“If it weren’t for your background, who knows where you’d be right now.
I don’t even know how someone like you ended up as the young lady of the Austin family.”
“What about me?
No matter how bad I am, I’m still the only daughter of the Austin family,” Chloe retorted as she opened the car door, got inside, and met Vivian’s gaze head-on.
“But what about you?
Without Caden, what do you have?
Your fake fame and traffic—which of those wasn’t arranged by him?”
The driver didn’t dare to get back into the vehicle, choosing instead to stand outside in the baking sun.
“Chloe Austin, it’s your own fault you couldn’t keep Caden’s heart.
Don’t blame others,” Vivian spat.
“Besides, you’re the johnny-come-lately.
I’m the one who grew up with Brother Caden.”
“Yeah, so what?
He still chose me in the beginning.
What you’re wearing right now is nothing but my sloppy seconds.
Only you would be so proud of it.
Anyone else wouldn’t have the stomach for it,” Chloe shot back.
“We haven’t even divorced yet, and you’re already fighting to be Mrs.
Sterling.
You’re the only one who actually cares about that position, aren’t you?”
Vivian’s face contorted with anger.
Chloe loved seeing that exact expression.
“Chloe, you’re a classless woman!
To think someone like you came from the Austin family—is this the kind of upbringing the Austins provide?”
“Watch your mouth.
You have no right to talk about my family,” Chloe snapped.
“If I remember correctly, you came from some small town.
It’s just a shame that you’re a stain on your hometown.”
Chloe grabbed Vivian’s hand and glared at her.
Intimidated by Chloe’s sudden burst of presence, Vivian flinched, but she refused to back down so easily.
“So what?
I may be from a small town, but now I’m a famous actress.
And you?
You’re just a washed-up designer.
Your mother probably knows that if you went off to be a designer somewhere else, you’d embarrass the family business!”
Chloe looked at Vivian with a teasing glint in her eyes before swinging her hand.
SLAP!
A crisp blow landed across Vivian’s face.
“If I didn’t give you that slap, you really wouldn’t have let this go, would you?”
Vivian reached out with both hands to strangle Chloe, but Chloe shoved her away and stepped out of the car.
“If you have the guts, chase me outside.
Let everyone see what this famous actress is really like behind closed doors…” Chloe provoked.
Suddenly, she remembered that she was pregnant and couldn’t afford to be so impulsive, swallowing the rest of her words.
Of course, Vivian didn’t have the guts.
While not everyone would recognize Chloe, someone would absolutely recognize Vivian Sullivan.
“Mrs.
Sterling, President Sterling told me to take you to the set.
Are you finished here?”
The driver’s words broke the tense silence between the two women and gave Vivian an out.
She gladly took it, leaving Chloe to hail a cab home.
“Chloe, you’re back so early today!
Perfect timing, I haven’t started cooking yet.
Is there anything special you’d like to eat?
I can still change the menu,” Aunt Miller said warmly, taking Chloe’s coat and noticing her exhausted face.
“Anything is fine, Aunt Miller.
I’m going to lie down for a bit.”
Chloe fell asleep shortly after leaning back on the sofa.
Aunt Miller was just wondering how Chloe could fall asleep anywhere lately when she smelled something burning from the kitchen.
“Oh no, no, my dish!”
Without a moment to grab a blanket for Chloe, Aunt Miller rushed to check on her cooking.
Seeing the burnt food, she had no choice but to dump the contents of the pan.
There was still some seafood in the fridge, so she decided to make a seafood glass noodle pot instead, then chopped up some beef brisket to stew.
When Aunt Miller finally returned to cover Chloe with a blanket, Chloe’s phone screen lit up with a new message notification.
Aunt Miller didn’t mean to pry, but she caught sight of a familiar profile picture—it was her daughter, Zara Miller’s WhatsApp avatar.
With a lot on her mind, Aunt Miller finished preparing the meal, albeit a bit frantically.
“Chloe, time to eat.
Eat quickly before you go back to sleep.”
Startled awake, Chloe dazedly picked up her chopsticks and began to eat bite by bite.
It took her several minutes to fully wake up.
“Chloe, I wanted to ask you a few things.
It might touch upon company matters a bit.
Do you mind?”
Caught completely off guard, Chloe simply nodded.
Aunt Miller was pleasantly surprised by her easy agreement.