<b>Chapter </b><b>53 </b>
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Samuel hesitated for a moment. He wanted to say thatn had brought her home, but if even he lied to Reba, he wouldn’t deserve to be her most beloved child.
“What’s wrong?” Reba noticed the shift in his expression. “Wasn’t itn?”
Samuel shook his little head.
Reba’s heart skipped a beat. “Then who was it?”
Samuel lifted his gaze, his round eyes filled with conflict. After a moment’s thought, he confessed, “Dad.”
Reba froze when hearing the answer.
“Dad changed your clothes, too,” Samuel continued, deciding to tell her everything. “He took off your makeup, washed your face, and cleaned your body.”
Her expression hardened. Although she had suspected this oue, hearing it from Samuel still left her feelingplicated.
Jeffrey wanting her and Andrea to coexist was something Reba found repulsive, disgusting, and nauseating. Yet the small, painstaking details he had remembered after just one mention still managed to tug at her heartstrings.
She suddenly recalled a quote she had seen online that a scumbag was someone who was perfect in every way except loving his woman back.
Sometimes, she thought, ‘If you ignored the whole Andrea situation, Jeffrey could be genuinely considerate–attentive, warm, and even upfront about his infidelity. But that issue couldn’t be overlooked, <i>nor </i>could the hurtful, poisonous words
he said.‘
“Sorry, Mommy,” Samuel said when she didn’t respond right away, guilt clear on his little face. “I shouldn’t have let Dad
in.”
“Don’t be silly. You did nothing wrong.” Reba’s heart softened as she ruffled his hair. “Mommy just wants you to grow up happy and healthy.”
Samuel nodded obediently.
After breakfast, Reba pushed her troubles aside. She had everything timed perfectly, dropping Samuel at school before heading <b>to </b>the office.
During themute, she textedn. [Thanks for picking up Samuelst night.]
<b>Reba </b>turned the volume down before answering. “Thanks.<b>” </b>
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thought about bombarding her with messages after returning, he remembered Jeffrey had been there.
Jeffrey’s personality maden think he probably knew Reba’s phone password. If Jeffrey deleted his messages, it’d be game over. So he waited until now.
Reba paused and said, “If it wasn’t you, then who?” She had specifically notified the kindergarten teacher about the pickup arrangements. She thought her child shouldn’t have been released to anyone else.
“Jeffrey’s man collected him.”n’s resentment toward Jeffrey grew as he recalled arriving at an empty ssroom. “When I got there, the teacher said their old butler, Victor, had taken him. She even asked if you and Jeffrey hadn’t coordinated who would pick him up.”
Reba massaged her temples. Some people in their circle knew about the divorce, but the kindergarten teachers didn’t. Naturally, they’d just assume it was a mimunication between the parents.
“Are you sober now?”n hesitated before asking.
“Yes,” Reba replied.
“Nothing happenedst night, right?”n remembered being escorted downstairs by security, unceremoniously thrown into a car, and driven home without any chance to resist.
“No,” Reba said.
“That’s a relief,” Ian had been worried Jeffrey might take advantage of Reba after drinking. “I’ve found a few otherpanies and sent them to your email. Take a look.”
Reba was a bit puzzled.
Before she could speak,n exined, “Last night, you mentioned that Jeffrey became the new CEO of Primey Technologies. With him in charge, he’ll definitely stir up trouble. Let’s switchpanies for your peace of mind.”
Reba refused. “No need.”
“</i><i>Are </i>you worried about the 3 million penalty?”
“Not exactly,” Reba said and then added, “If Jeffrey wants to make things difficult, he can interfere with anypany I join. It’s better to keep things as they are.”
She knewn meant well, and that made her reluctant to drag him into her mess. Last night’s incident might have been Jeffrey’s way of warning her aboutn’s interference.
Hearing this,n swallowed his prepared arguments and finally said, “Call me anytime you need help. I’m at your service.”
Reba agreed, “Thanks.”
After arriving at thepany, Reba focused on her tasks.
Jane briefly discussed the work with her. Once the official matters were finished, Jane asked, “Did they give you any
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trouble duringst night’s dinner?”
Reba shook her head. “No.”
Jane gave a slight nod. “Good. Focus on your work then.”
Reba said, “Sure.”
Jeffrey didn’t show up all day. Reba spent the morning worrying about what he might be nning, but by the afternoon, with no sign of him, she finally rxed and could focus on her work.
As work hours neared their end, a message suddenly appeared in the work group chat.
Elmer: [I’m going on a two–month business trip. During this time, report all matters directly to Mr. Hanson, not through
me.]
The whole team responded with “Okay” in the chat.
Yet at that moment, Reba’s brow furrowed slightly.
Jane noticed her difort, assuming Jeffrey’s intimidating reputation was making her nervous. She assured her, “Don’t worry. I’llpile our team’s work before submitting it to Mr. Hanson. Just hand me yourpleted tasks.”
Reba was about to respond when Elmer sent another message to the group.
Elmer: [Just to rify. Everyone must report directly to Mr. Hanson. No going through me or any team leaders.]
The department erupted in chaos. Most of the employees had been transferred frompleted projects and were used to working with their team leaders. Now, they had to report directly to the CEO. It was driving them crazy.
Jane and Reba were both speechless.
“Since this is an advanced program, we have to report individually to Mr. Hanson?”
“Just kill me now<i>. </i>Online posts say the CEO of Hansón Group is a tyrant.”
“I want to resign.”
“Say that again after remembering the 3 million penalty for breach of contract.”
Amid the uproar, Reba also felt frustrated and cursed Jeffrey inwardly, but she quickly steadied herself. Her professionalpetence gave her confidence.
‘Even if Jeffrey causes problems, he can’t dy the project timeline. If things went wrong…‘ Reba thought, pausing. ‘Even if progress slows, Jeffrey can easily cover the gap.‘
As she thought about <b>this</b><b>, </b>a message from Jeffrey appeared on her phone: [I’m a man of my word. You drank up the wine in that bottle, so I won’t deliberately make things hard for you at work.]
Reba tried to rememberst night’s events but couldn’t. ording to him, she had finished the drink.
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She decided not to reply. Asking about it would confirm that she had forgotten. If he tried to change his story, she
wouldn’t have any leverage. After collecting herself, she returned to her work.
Meanwhile, at Stanley’s upscale bar, Richard had been washing sses for days, and his patience was wearing thin. As the formerpany owner, he felt humiliated about cleaning sses at a bar.
Suppressing his rage, he approached manager Brady with a fake smile. “Mr. Shaw, my contract says I work five days on,
two off. I’ve worked six. Can I take a break?”
“You can go,” Brady said, recalling Stanley’s instructions to treat Richard like any other employee, so he didn’t interfere.
Richard thanked him sweetly. But the moment he stepped outside, venom filled his eyes. ‘That wretched girl… she’d pay for this,‘ he thought.
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