Chapter 4
Once Charles had calmed down, he walked over and saw me holding a heavy gold bracelet. He even cracked a rare smile.
"My wife likes diamonds. Your taste is pretty down-to-earth," he said.
What did he know? Gold was going to be worth so much in the future.
I gave him a mock-annoyed look and took the bracelet to the register.
After paying, we found a café.
Charles gestured toward my belly.
"Are you aware of what's going on with your husband?" he asked.
As the chairman of Howard Group, he shouldn't have involved himself in something like this.
Yet, somehow, he still brought it up.
An idea crossed my mind.
"You mean Emilia James?" I asked.
He smiled, "So you already know."
He looked curious. "And you're okay with that?"
I licked my lips. "Sometimes, life pushes you down a path, whether you like it or not."
Charles didn't say anything else. He picked up his coffee and took a sip.
Seeing that half-smile on his face, I couldn't help but think of something else.
Charles's health wasn't great. After he remarried, his child was conceived with difficulty through medical technology.
He was always so aloof, completely absorbed in his work.
His second wife was also wealthy, and their marriage was to help his business reach new heights.
If Emilia was bound to come back, then Leon and I would end up divorced sooner or later.
So why shouldn't I start lining up my next move now?
At least Charles looked like a pretty decent catch.
Once that thought crossed my mind, I started paying extra attention to him.
Aside from dropping off meals for Leon like clockwork, I'd strike up a conversation with Charles every few days.
He always seemed incredibly busy, and most of the time, he'd only reply very late.
But no matter how late it was, he would always read every single message I sent.
Taking romance out of the equation, I would say he was honestly a rare, genuine friend.
I once asked him why he was willing to share so much with me.
He told me that he used to be so obsessed with work that he barely had any friends. After everything fell apart, he realized he didn't even have one person he could open up to.
Both times he was deeply heartbroken, I happened to be there. So in his eyes, I had become his friend.
Hearing that put my mind at ease a little.
As long as I didn't bother him too much, I figured I could keep things between us pretty chill.
*****
A few months later, I gave birth to a daughter.
Leon was cradling our baby girl and said he wanted to name her Amelia.
Amelia... He never gave up on Emilia, not for a moment.
Somehow, all the anger I'd held in for ten months suddenly exploded.
I started smashing things in the hospital room, so furious that I almost passed out.
Damn that asshole! My daughter was mine. How could he give her a name so similar to his old flame's?
Seeing how pissed I was, Leon rushed to say he was kidding.
Tears streamed down my face. "Leon, ever since you cheated, I haven't said a word. It's not that I don't care. I just thought your happiness mattered more.
"I put up with you loving Emilia. I put up with you never letting her go. But why do you have to give our daughter that name?
"Leon, I'm so scared! If Emilia comes back, will you abandon our daughter and me? Will the two of us end up starving on the streets?"
Leon hugged me and the baby, guilt all over his face. "I'm sorry, Rachel. I lost my head for a moment. I shouldn't have said those things.
"You can name our daughter whatever you want.
"Also, our company is about to get Series A funding. In a couple of days, I'll have my secretary transfer twenty percent of the shares to you, okay?"
I grabbed onto his shirt, crying so hard I could barely breathe.
Leon didn't dare say anything else. Right in front of me, he told his secretary to hurry up with the share transfer.
A few days later, he brought over the paperwork for me to sign.
Then he gently pinched my cheek.
"Look at you, getting all sensitive now that you're a mom. There, now you feel secure, no more crying, alright? Take care of yourself."
I leaned into his arms, gave a quiet "mm."
My eyes, cast downward, held no warmth at all.
Once Leon left for the office, I started looking at jewelry again.
There were still six months left before Emilia returned.
Once those two rekindled their romance, my daughter and I would be completely sidelined. Before that, I needed to grab as much as I could.
With 20% of Leon's company, I'd be getting nearly three million dollars a year.
Plus, jewelry counted as my personal property, so I made sure to buy more for myself.
And then there was real estate. Right now, Leon and I owned only one property together, so I needed to buy two more.
When he eventually brought up divorce, I could ask for more.
I was so busy quietly calculating in my head that I didn't even notice the hospital room door open.
Charles walked in. "What's got you so lost in thought?"
I swallowed the word "divorce" that was about to slip out.
"Thinking about you," I replied in a playful, flirtatious tone.
Charles's eyes narrowed.