Chapter 520 Both Were Irrational
In the elevator, the vibe between them was straight-up suffocating.
The digital display was ticking up to the top floor.
Those red numbers were like daggers to Susan's eyes, making her even more uneasy.
She and Caleb stood side by side, staring at the elevator buttons.
'Susan, where's your usual sass? Isn't it always Caleb sticking to you like glue, and you find him annoying? Why are you freaking out now? What's there to be scared of? So what if he's the VP of the company? He's still the father of my kid, still Caleb.' Susan was trying hard to psych herself up...
"Flowers, did your friend send them?" Caleb's cold voice cut through the tension.
Susan panicked for a sec. "No..."
"Didn't you always say your relationship is aboveboard, just good friends? Then why deny it?" Caleb sneered.
Susan was stunned. 'Yeah, our relationship is aboveboard, why should I deny it? It makes me look guilty. But how could he blame me? He's the one being petty; I just don't want to cause unnecessary drama.'
"He did send them," Susan nodded.
"This is what you call a friend?" Caleb asked.
"Can't friends give flowers? It's a normal gesture." Susan shot back.
"In my book, a guy giving a girl flowers means he's into her." Caleb replied.
Susan explained, "That's a narrow-minded view. There are still pure friendships in the world. Michael and I are just..."
He suddenly grabbed her wrist and pressed her against the elevator wall.
The move seemed heavy, but it didn't hurt Susan. She was just pinned against the elevator wall like a mosquito, completely controlled.
"Caleb..." She was caught off guard and panicked. "What are you doing? Let go of me, this is the company."
Caleb asked angrily, "So he can send you flowers at the company, but I can't do this?"
Susan retorted, "That's not the point. You're the VP of the company. What if someone sees us like this..."
Caleb interrupted, "So I really embarrass you, and your friend is more respectable than me?"
Susan was speechless. 'What's wrong with him? Why is he being so stubborn and unreasonable?'
Susan said, "Let go first, let's talk properly, okay? The elevator could open any second."
Caleb replied, "Talk properly? Haven't I talked to you properly before? I've clearly told you I don't like you hanging out with him. But just last night I told you, and the next morning you ignored my video call for him."
"When did I ignore your video call? I didn't..." Susan was puzzled.
Caleb continued, "Not only did you keep meeting him, but you also took my son to play with him. You seemed to have a blast." Caleb was super upset.
"How do you know..." Susan was puzzled. "He came to see me as a friend, and he has kids. It's normal for them to play together. He likes kids too. He's married with kids."
"Who says being married means he can't have intentions towards you? And are you sure he's not divorced?" Caleb retorted.
Susan thought Caleb was being ridiculously stubborn, to the point of being unreasonable. "His marriage is happy. Why are you cursing him to get divorced? You're so mean-spirited."
Caleb replied, "Yeah, I'm mean-spirited, but you have no problem? Can't you keep your distance from him? Can you imagine how I felt seeing the three of you having so much fun? You're my woman, that's my son."
'How did he see it? Drone? Surveillance?' Susan's mind was filled with such guesses, and she frowned. "Caleb, are you spying on me?"
'What does she take me for?' Caleb was seriously pissed. "I wouldn't stoop that low."
"Then how do you know?" Susan pressed.
Caleb didn't answer her but shot back, "You really don't want me to know? You think you're safe at home and can do whatever you want behind my back?"
Susan hated that phrase. "What do you mean 'do whatever I want'? What did I do wrong?"
Caleb asked, "Isn't it wrong to be too close to another guy?"
Susan explained, "First, the guy you're talking about is my long-time friend. We're just friends, nothing more. Second, I'm not your woman yet, you're overstepping."
Caleb retorted, "Who says you're not my woman? We have a kid together."
"But we haven't defined our relationship. As long as I don't acknowledge it, we're not in a relationship." Susan was getting angry and spoke harshly.
Caleb asked, "So you're planning to drag this out, and as long as you don't acknowledge it, you can get close to other guys without being wrong? You can even be justified?"
The problem was she wasn't even getting close to Michael, just normal friendly interactions.
Susan was furious and coldly said, "Theoretically, yes."
If she were rational, she wouldn't speak like this. But she wasn't rational now, only angry.
Caleb's heart felt like it was hit by a heavy hammer, his eyebrows tightly knitted.
Caleb thought, 'She refused to fully accept me just for this freedom? I thought she was just temporarily stuck on a mental block, thinking it would naturally resolve over time, tirelessly trying to please her. But this is her plan all along. I pride myself on being smart, yet she plays me like a fool.'
Caleb commanded, "I won't hold the past against you, but don't see him again."
"No." Susan refused bluntly.
"No?" Caleb's eyebrows knitted as if he wanted to kill someone.
Susan continued, "Even if we were in a relationship, I wouldn't break up with my friends for my boyfriend."
"Is he so important?" Caleb's stomach churned with jealousy, making him irrational.
"It's not about his importance, it's about principles." Susan replied.
"To me, it's about priorities. If you think he's more important than me, then you would agree." Caleb retorted.
Susan couldn't communicate with him. Caleb was completely stuck in his stubbornness, and he wouldn't listen or believe anything she said.
Susan replied, "If you insist on thinking that way, then I don't want to explain."
Caleb asked, "Don't want to explain or can't explain? Is that an admission?"
Susan closed her eyes. They were both irrational now, continuing would only lead to a fight, but she didn't want to fight.
She looked up, meeting Caleb's eyes coldly. "This is the company, I don't want to argue here."
"Susan!" Caleb shouted.
Susan said coldly, "You know I hate bringing personal matters into work. Don't cross my line."
'She has boundaries, but do I not?' Caleb was filled with anger. He really wanted to drag her back to the office and punish her severely, and he could do that. But he didn't want to cross her line.
This was out of respect and love for her.
Even someone like him had reservations.
Caleb's throat moved up and down, restraining his anger.
Susan twisted her wrist a few times, pulled her hand out, and immediately pressed the button for the next floor.
As soon as the elevator door opened, she quickly escaped.
"Susan!" Caleb tried to grab her but only caught air. Susan ran without looking back, as if avoiding a plague.
Caleb's fingers tightened one by one into a fist.
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