75 Chapter 75

"Ah, Sir, speaking about your wife…."

"Hm? What about her?"

"I've been absent for a while, and I'm not sure what happened between you and your wife," Maria said. "I thought she was okay with your lifestyle."

"Oh, she is fine with it. But sometimes, a woman can be defiant, so you need to put her in her place, so she knows what she can and cannot do," Vincent replied with a sneer.

"I see. I thought you might need my help someway, Mr. Gray," Maria offered.

"Oh, no need, I can handle this. I just don't see the urgency. She will return to me in the end," Vincent said. "After all, this lifestyle of mine comes from my late father, and it's widely accepted in my family. Even my mom allows me to cheat without repercussion. My wife has no saying in my lifestyle."

"Indeed, she had been married to you for ten years. Maybe she is just a little tired," Maria agreed.

"You can leave now. I'm going to call Vernon, so we can meet while talking about this contract."

"Yes, Sir."

**

Vernon had just finished a meeting in the morning. He was dazed the whole time, not because there was something difficult that the company had to handle.

The company was doing well, so he should be able to relax.

But in fact, he didn't.

He kept thinking about the possibility of the dream last night… that might not be a dream.

'Fuck, what if she heard everything? That's so fucking gross, dude!'

'No, if she heard everything, she shouldn't act so calm the next morning, right? But how come I woke up with bandaged fist and a blanket? She definitely did something while I was asleep.'

'No, Vernon, think about it. Maybe it's all just in your head. You're panicking for absolutely no reason!'

Diamond tailed Vernon as they returned from the meeting room to his office. They were inside the elevator when Diamond glanced at her boss and observed his behavior.

'What's in his head anyway? I don't think it's about work because there's no trouble at all,' Diamond wondered.

'Besides, what's with his sudden mood change? He was so peeved in the morning as if a small greeting would make him snap. He had Chloe's lunch bag in his hand before, but that poor bag almost got thrown to the wall before I saved it.'

Diamond remembered that Mr. Phoenix Gray went to the office in the morning as if he wanted to unleash all the rage in the world. When Diamond entered the office and asked what was wrong, she caught him checking the lunch made by Chloe.

Then, when he got caught, he said he wanted to throw this lunch bag away.

But now, he looked very skittish and anxious, as if there was something that concerned him a lot.

'',

Diamond rarely saw this expression coming from her boss. Vernon Phoenix Gray was always a risk-taker. He had the devil-may-care attitude about almost— if not everything.

'Maybe it's about Chloe? Ah, I'm not sure either… what makes her different than the rest of the women he bedded? Other than the fact that she is his sister-in-law and worked as a maid— and sex partner in bed,' Diamond pondered.

Honestly, she also wasn't sure about Mr. Phoenix Gray and all of his antics. There was no guarantee whether the way he treated Chloe was just a part of a scheme, a way to pass the time, or that… he might actually have some feelings for her.

'Ah, why am I beating my head over this anyway? I know how unpredictable he is. I just need to make sure that Chloe doesn't get hurt.'

"Diamond."

"Yes, Sir?"

"I know that you must've been warming up to that woman—"

"—You mean Chloe?"

"… Make sure that she doesn't know anything. You should know what to say and what not," Vernon reminded her.

Honestly, Diamond didn't really care about whatever secret it was. At first, she had zero care about Chloe.

But now that Diamond had already pledged to protect her in whatever way possible, she would only filter out stuff that would harm Chloe. So she might have to spill one thing or two towards her in the future.

"Understood, Sir," Diamond nodded gently.

Ding!

The lift stopped at their floor, and Diamond followed the boss until he stopped in front of the CEO's office door.

He opened the door, but before he entered, Diamond asked first, "Sir, you seem to be spacing out and in a complicated mood today."

…

"Also, Sir, about your knuckles…." Diamond noticed in the morning that Mr. Phoenix Gray's hand was bandaged. It seemed terrible because his expression would clench whenever he accidentally hit his knuckle on the table or wall. "Do you have any problem that I can help with?"

'This chapter is updated by N(o)V(e)lB(i)n.',

…

"It's nothing. I was just stressed by work," Vernon replied. Though, both of them knew that was a complete lie. "About my knuckles… I accidentally hit the wall until it cracked."

'Oh, both are just complete lies. I've known him better than he expected,' Diamond thought. But she didn't want to hurt his fragile ego, so he bowed her head gently again.

"Understood, Sir. I'll return to work on a few documents again," Diamond said. She returned to her secretary's desk while Vernon entered his office.

He sat on the long sofa, staring at the lunch bag he almost threw, not because it was unpalatable— despite being a picky eater, Vernon always thought that Chloe's cooking was tolerable for his tastebud.

"There's no way she knows about it and still acts like there's nothing wrong. She is, in any way, a woman in need. If I show her too much kindness, she will take advantage of it."

Vernon tried to convince himself so he wouldn't feel too nervous, "It's okay, Vernon. Everything is under your control. Just don't be soft because she will take advantage of you."

"Vernon Phoenix Gray, remember your mission. You're here to ruin both of them, your brother and sister-in-law."