Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Giselle didn’t even bat an eye. “I’m not interested.”
It was quite nice to be alone in the world. She didn’t need to worry about the consequences of her actions and could do whatever she wanted.
Linda was dead wrong if she thought she could threaten Giselle with that. The former was rendered speechless by Giselle not acting the way she’d expected.
Giselle looked around the living room, satisfied when she saw the mess she’d created. Then, she pulled out her phone and showed the QR code for her Venmo account. “Pay me the cleaning fees.”
She would need to hire someone to clean up the mess outside her condominium, and whoever caused it would have to pay for it.
Harold’s expression turned hideous. “What are you talking about? We might be rich, but we’re not idiots!”
The way he saw it, Giselle was being nonsensical. She’d gone insane after descending into poverty!
Charlotte felt diffident. She’d secretly hired the guy to make the mess outside Giselle’s condominium; Harold and Linda didn’t know about it.
She silently cursed Giselle for being a psycho. Then, she scanned the QR code before Giselle could say anything else. Her expression was hideous as she transferred ten thousand dollars to Giselle. “That should be enough, right? Hurry up and leave my house!”
Giselle was satisfied when she saw the notification informing her she’d received money. It didn’t really matter to her how much Charlotte gave her–the important thing was that she’d pissed the Grants off. And as expected, Charlotte was the one behind this.
Giselle mockingly cocked an eyebrow at Charlotte, which made the latter’s blood boil. Yet, Charlotte couldn’t do anything to her!
Seeing that Giselle was about to leave, Linda warned, “You’d better call off your engagement with Jonathan as soon as possible, Giselle! Lottie’s the one who should marry him!”
The Grant family’s business in Seaworth City had rapidly expanded in its early days. However, it had been on a downward trend since Harold had taken over. If not for Harold’s father, Vincent Grant, being good friends with Richard, Giselle couldn’t have gotten engaged to Jonathan.
Now that Giselle was no longer part of the Grant family, the engagement should’ve been between Charlotte and
Jonathan.
“Even if I don’t call off the engagement, she can be Jonathan’s mistress, can’t she? She seems to enjoy it,” Giselle retorted. Charlotte was perfectly fine hooking up with Jonathan without being promised anything, wasn’t she? She was the perfect mistress.
“Giselle!” The three Grants snapped.
Giselle turned and left, satisfied with her night’s work.
Outside, Chester stood beside his car and waited for her. His head was lowered, but his sharp jawline was still visible. He looked up when he heard footsteps, his iciness melting away when he saw Giselle. “Did they make things hard for you?”
She smiled; the gloom and doom in her heart had dissipated. “They should thank me for my kindness in not making things hard for them.“.
1/3
+15 BONUS
Chapter 10
After getting into the car, she posted on Instagram. “Cutting my losses.”
Just like that, her seven–year relationship ended.
Chester was the first to like the post. After a while, he asked, “Are you still going to stay at your place tonight?”
“Nah. I’ll head to a hotel.” Charlotte was the type who liked pulling dirty tricks from the shadows, and since she knew where Giselle lived… that was a recipe for danger. Giselle didn’t want to put her life at risk, so she knew she couldn’t stay in that condominium anymore.
She figured she would ask a realtor to sell it off. Then, she would work hard for a few more years before buying a new place.
Chester looked thoughtful. He brought Giselle to Seaworth City’s biggest five–star hotel. However, the front desk told them they were fully booked. He then brought her to a few other hotels, but the result was the same.
This baffled Giselle. It wasn’t the peak season for travels, nor were any special events being held. Why were all the hotels out of rooms?
Chester looked at her without even batting an eye. He said, “If you don’t mind, there are plenty of empty rooms at my place.”
Her first reaction was to turn him down. It was inappropriate enough for them to be alone–the situation was weirder since he was her ex’s uncle.
“It’s a small villa. You can stay on the first floor, and I’ll stay on the second. We won’t have anything to do with each other,” Chester explained.
When he saw Giselle frown, he added, “There’ve been many recent cases of single women getting harmed in the ⚫ middle of the night. It’s too late now, and it’s dangerous for you to be alone.”
Giselle’s hesitation dissipated. “Well, looks like I’ll have to trouble you for the night, Mr. Fordham.”
Chester had moved out of Fordham Manor to live alone since coming of age. His villa was in the suburbs, so it was quiet and spacious. It was decorated in a minimalistic style, with the main color scheme being black, white, and
gray.
Chester grabbed a clean pair of women’s lounge slippers from the shoe cupboard. He handed them to Giselle.
She looked at them thoughtfully and guessed she wasn’t the first woman to set foot there. Then again, it made sense. Chester was already 29–how could he not have dated anyone thus far? Other people in his age group were already married with kids.
People who were still single at this age either had standards too high for others to meet or something was wrong with them.
Chester could guess what she was thinking–maybe her gaze was too blunt. He said, “My sister dropped by before. She bought these but didn’t have the chance to wear them.
He was a germaphobe and extremely territorial. Even when it came to family, he kept an appropriate distance from them. In other words, Giselle was the first person to spend the night in his place.
She seemed awkward. He got her a glass of water and took off his waistcoat. Then, he undid the top two buttons of his shirt, revealing his sexy collarbones. The iciness he exuded faded, revealing hints of leisure and laziness.
Giselle dropped her gaze and clutched her glass.
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Chapter 10
+15 BONUS
Chester asked, “What are your plans for the future?”
“I’m going to focus on work. The bottom line is that I won’t starve to death.”
“You’re a relationship counselor, right?”
She looked up in surprise. “You know about that?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard a thing or two.” His eyes were like whirlpools as he looked at her.
Giselle said, “You can always come to me if you need any help, Mr. Fordham. I’ll give you a discount.”
He didn’t take his eyes off her. The light above his head made his features seem even more chiseled than usual, which dazed her.
Then, he asked, “Do you know how to pursue someone, Ms. Stone?”
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