Chapter 12 His Phone Is Always Unreachable
I was like, "Mom! I feel like absolute crap! Lately, it seems like Edward's cheating on me. Every day is just unbearable."
Mia sighed, "Diana, if you want to keep a man, you need to have a kid with him. Only with a child will your position be secure. Keeping Edward's heart is the only way the Cooper Family can have a foothold in Wind City!"
"The Cooper Group is also facing a ton of problems right now. I've been thinking, maybe we should sell our shares to recover some losses," I tried to discuss with my mom.
Mia's eyes widened with anger, and she snapped, "Diana, how can you be so selfish? How can you think only about yourself and not the family? The company is your dad Mason's years of hard work. How can you just sell it? You really disappoint me."
I couldn't help but burst into tears, sobbing, "Mom, I don't want this either, but I'm out of options."
As I cried, I silently sighed in my heart, feeling utterly helpless.
Mia said, "I don't know what to do now. I just want us to stop being in this mess."
"Mom, is my lifelong happiness really less important than the company?" I asked, my voice trembling.
She interrupted me, "Diana! Are you really gonna make me beg you?"
I said directly, "Haven't you noticed that every time Edward and I argue, the company has problems?"
Mia's tone was full of reproach, and she said, "You can't be so impulsive. You need to think more about the Cooper Group. The issues between you and Edward are for you two to solve. You can't take it out on the family business."
I wiped my tears, feeling full of grievances.
I could endure Edward treating me poorly, but I never expected that my only blood-related mother in this world would completely not understand me either.
However, in this matter, I had no choice, just like in my relationship with Edward, I was always in a passive position.
After hanging up my mom's call, I started calling Edward.
No one answered.
I slammed on the gas and headed to Edward's company.
Exhausted, I arrived at Edward's company, wanting to talk to him.
As soon as I entered the company lobby, the receptionist stopped me. "Mrs. Howard, do you have an appointment? Without an appointment, you can't go in."
I was anxious and didn't care about these things, trying to rush in directly. Finally, I reached the door of the CEO's office, only to be stopped by the secretary. "Mrs. Howard, please wait here. I'll go ask Mr. Howard."
"Do I need permission to see my husband?" I glared at him, and the secretary fell silent, standing there fiddling with his fingers.
I pushed the secretary aside and barged into the CEO's office. "Edward, did you have someone mess with the Cooper Group?"
"Sorry, Mr. Howard, I tried to stop Mrs. Howard, but she insisted." The secretary followed me into Edward's office.
However, the scene before me was like a thunderbolt.
Anne was sitting on Edward's lap, feeding him cake!
Anne's butt was constantly rubbing against Edward's lap, occasionally leaning down to whisper in his ear.
At this moment, their smiles were so glaring.
Edward saw me, a flicker of unease in his eyes, and he stood up, letting go of Anne.
Anne stepped in front of me, saying, "Diana, don't misunderstand. We were just discussing work."
Looking at Anne's fake demeanor, I felt a wave of nausea.
In the past, at home, she would usually sit on the armrest of Edward's sofa to talk to him. Now, she was directly sitting on his lap. Did Edward really have no sense of boundaries between siblings, or was there an indescribable relationship between them?
Was it appropriate to sit in Edward's lap like this?
"Edward, I have something to discuss with you alone. Please ask them to leave." I tried to stay calm.
Hearing this, everyone left Edward's office.
But Anne refused, "Diana, why can't you say it in front of everyone?"
I glared at her and said, "This is between Edward and me, and it has nothing to do with you."
Thinking about the Cooper Group's crisis, I could only ask Edward for help.
Edward snorted coldly, "If you admit you're wrong and withdraw the divorce application, I'll help you."
I stubbornly looked at him and retorted, "I did nothing wrong, and I won't withdraw the divorce application."
Anne pretended to speak for me, saying, "Edward, Diana must have her reasons. Don't be so harsh."
But Anne's words only made Edward even angrier.
Watching them team up against me, I was fuming.
"Edward, I am divorcing you! That's final!" I snapped and turned to leave.
"Diana! Don't be mad!" Anne stepped forward to pull me back.
I stepped away in disgust, not expecting Anne to suddenly stagger and fall to the side. She conveniently hit the ground.
"Diana, I was just trying to help you. Why did you push me?" Her voice was full of fake grievance, like she was the victim here.
Anne sat on the floor, her eyes instantly reddening, tears welling up, looking all pitiful.
Soon, her crying attracted a crowd. People gathered around, pointing fingers at me.
Anne became even more dramatic, crying and clutching her arm as if she were seriously injured.
Seeing her fake demeanor, my anger grew.
I knew Anne had deliberately fallen to frame me, but I couldn't defend myself.
Edward's face darkened further at the sight, as if he had already decided I had pushed Anne.
I couldn't help but mock, "It's a pity you're not an actress. You'd definitely win Best Actress."
A loud slap landed on my face, and my left cheek instantly burned.
"Diana! You've gone too far!" Edward stepped forward to help Anne up, scolding me.
"Edward, don't blame Diana. It was my own carelessness," Anne said, hiding behind Edward, looking all innocent and aggrieved.
I never expected Edward to hit me in public.
"Edward, I will never bow to you!" I walked out of the office before my tears could fall.
The office door slammed shut with a loud bang.
"Edward, Diana really left." Anne continued to stir the pot.
"It's fine. She'll come back to apologize within three days," Edward said confidently.
In the elevator, I suddenly got a call from Mia's secretary.
The secretary's anxious voice came through, "Diana, Mrs. Taylor has been trying to find out why the company is being targeted and got drunk. She's in the hospital sobering up. Come quickly!"
Hearing this, I rushed to the hospital.
When I walked into the hospital room and saw Mia lying pale on the bed, my heart clenched.
Mia opened her eyes slightly and saw me, weakly saying, "Diana, you're here. Let's just drop the company's issues. You should ask Edward for help."
I held Mia's hand, saying, "There's no other way, Mom. Edward and I are over."
"Diana! Are you going to watch Mason and my life's work be destroyed?" she almost screamed.
Seeing my mother in such a dire situation, I was anxious. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Suddenly, I thought of my dad's old acquaintance, Nicholas Jackson, who was quite influential in the industry. Maybe he could help the Cooper Group through this crisis.
Nicholas had been in business for a long time and was still a highly respected figure. Unfortunately, Nicholas never married or had kids. As he aged and his energy waned, he gradually stepped back and handed the company over to his subordinates.
I urgently said, "Mom, I have an idea. Dad had an old acquaintance, Nicholas. He surely has the ability to help our company out of this crisis. Let's visit him."
Mia's face changed dramatically, her eyes full of determination to stop me, "Diana, no! We can't go down that road."
"Why not? When I was in high school, Dad took me to Nicholas's house. If you hadn't argued with Dad that day, I would be calling Nicholas godfather now!"
"I said no, and that's final!" Mia turned her head away, her attitude resolute.
Unwilling to give up, I argued, "Dad used to say Nicholas had deep connections with a high-ranking official. He always got insider information first. Whoever was close to Nicholas would benefit. Given the situation, this might be the quickest solution."
"The quickest solution is for you to apologize to Edward!" Mia gripped my hand. "Diana, why won't you apologize to Edward? Do you realize the trouble this will bring us?" Mia's eyes widened with anger, her voice trembling.
I retorted, "Mom, you only care about benefits and never consider my future. Edward doesn't care about me or respect me. Why should I apologize to him?"
We stood there in a standoff, the air thick with tension. I couldn't understand why Mia always prioritized benefits, even at the cost of my happiness.
Seeing her determined eyes, I felt unwilling but slowly calmed down.
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