Chapter 20 Jason's Plea

It was already late when I arrived home.

Maple Villa was brightly lit.

My parents-in-law were at home, but Charlie hadn't returned.

"Rosalie, where's Charlie? Didn't he come back with you?" my mother-in-law asked when she saw me return alone.

"After the conference, I met a friend and went out for a meal with her. I didn't see Charlie!" I exclaimed in astonishment.

If I guess correctly, Charlie won't be coming back tonight. He has found a new target, and his heart has already flown to someone else.

My father-in-law had a stern expression on his face. They haven't returned to Chicago yet, and Charlie is already out all night. When they aren't here, isn't he treating our home like a hotel?

"Call him. If he doesn't answer, call all of his friends!" My father-in-law waved his hand in frustration.

My mother-in-law signaled to me with her eyes, and I handed her my phone.

I decided to take a step back from scolding him and let my mother-in-law handle it. Charlie would never dare to disrespect his mother.

Although I wasn't familiar with Charlie's close friends, I still had their phone numbers, except for Dylan.

My mother-in-law started dialing numbers from the contact list, putting the phone on speaker. After dialing four or five numbers, I heard Clint's voice, "Charlie, your wife is calling!"

"Don't answer!" Charlie impatiently replied, and both my father-in-law and mother-in-law heard it clearly.

There was also laughter from the people around him. In their eyes, I was an unloved complainer.

"It's aunt..." Clint lowered his voice.

The laughter immediately faded away.

Charlie finally answered the call, "Mom?"

"Where are you, Charlie?! Why aren't you coming back for dinner? You spend every day indulging with a group of playboys. Do you want to ruin yourself?" My normally gentle and refined mother-in-law was now displaying her anger.

"I'm just hanging out with a few friends. I'll be back soon," Charlie answered helplessly.

"Rosalie was also out with her friends, and she's already back. Come back immediately in half an hour!" My mother-in-law angrily hung up the phone because she could hear a woman's giggles on the other end.

She glanced at me with a slightly complicated expression. "Rosalie, when he comes back, make sure to give him a good lesson. He's so oblivious!"

I took the phone and nodded, feeling like a wronged little wife.

Half an hour later, Charlie returned. He was full of resentment. I had just finished my meal and was wiping the corners of my mouth when his gaze, as cold as hell, made my body go cold.

Having vented his anger, he didn't need to eat. He took off his coat and threw it on the couch before heading upstairs.

My father-in-law and mother-in-law didn't care whether he had eaten or not; they sat on the couch and continued watching TV.

I couldn't join them. I really had no interest in commercial documentaries, so I had to force myself to go upstairs.

I could hear the sound of running water from the bathroom, and Charlie's phone was left on the bed. I was somewhat curious to see its contents. After Lauren and I left, did he still have any contact with her?

I picked up the phone but discovered that it required facial recognition to unlock.

Just as I felt disappointed, a notification for a text message appeared, showing a glimpse of the beginning. It seemed to be a reply from Lauren. "Sorry, Mr. Bennett. I have a boyfriend now, and I heard that you..."

I couldn't see the rest. I needed to unlock it.

"What are you doing?" Charlie's voice abruptly sounded, filled with coldness.

The next second, the phone in my hand was snatched away by him, and he warned me, "Don't touch my phone again."

As he said that, he unlocked the phone and checked the message he had just received. His expression grew even gloomier.

A man like him could have any woman he wanted. With just a curl of his finger, the divorced women who willingly divorced for him would fill a football field. Yet, Lauren had actually rejected him.

His pride was hit like never before, and his charm was greatly challenged.

"Who is she?" I asked deliberately.

"It's none of your business," Charlie replied irritably, glancing at me.

"If I'm not mistaken, she must be saying that she knows you're married, hoping you'll be loyal to your marriage and not have an affair, right?" I wasn't angry at all, but rather proud of my insight.

I knew Lauren's character well. She would definitely say something about righteousness and morality.

Charlie sat on the bed and asked coldly, "So what?"

Immediately, I took out a divorce agreement from the drawer, this time with a slight change. I demanded that Charlie give me 3% of the shares of the Bennett Group under his name.

After reading it, Charlie unexpectedly laughed. "3% of the shares? Rosalie, you have quite an appetite."

The Bennett Group had many large and small shareholders, and many shareholders didn't even have a 3% stake.

I was speechless. How could I delicately tell Charlie that if he refused to give these 3% of the shares now, he would end up giving me more in the future?

In my previous life, he had given up to 10%.

"She dislikes that you're already married, right? If you pay a price and divorce me, wouldn't you be able to pursue her without any worries?" I reminded Charlie.

"Do you think she's worth it?" Charlie raised an eyebrow, somewhat sarcastically.

Once again, I was at a loss for words. Wasn't she worth it? In the end, you were willing to give up everything for her!

Charlie probably still didn't understand his true feelings and regarded Lauren as a typical lover who would become boring once obtained, which was why he could be so shameless.

I sighed, tearing up the divorce agreement and throwing it into the trash can. It seemed I needed to prepare a new agreement for 10% of the shares in some time.

Charlie watched my every move with cold eyes as I went to take a shower, feeling a hint of regret.

When I came out of the shower, Charlie was standing in the balcony outside the bedroom, talking on the phone with a cigarette between his fingers. The scent of smoke wafted in with the evening breeze, causing me to cough involuntarily.

He glanced at me, hung up the phone, and casually extinguished the cigarette butt on the ground with the tip of his shoe.

"Couldn't you throw it in the trash can? It's difficult for Elizabeth to clean it up," I elegantly applied skincare products and said intentionally.

I valued Elizabeth a bit more. I entrusted her with three meals a day and also assigned her to clean the master bedroom's bathroom. Of course, she received a higher salary than others.

She was very grateful for this.

"Are you suggesting that I should be worried about that?" Charlie scoffed. "If they find it tiring, they can choose not to do this line of work."

I shook my head, knowing that this man would regret it later.

Charlie went to lie down on the bed, and at that moment, my phone rang. It was Jason calling, which surprised me a little.

As soon as I answered the phone, I heard Jason's desperate voice, "Mrs. Harrison! Help me! I'm being attacked..."

"Where are you?" I asked without hesitation, my expression freezing.

"In the Cloud Hotel parking lot!" Jason's words barely finished before I heard the sounds of punches and kicks, along with his painful cries, and then the call abruptly ended.

Without saying a word, I quickly changed into different clothes and grabbed the car keys, ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" Charlie suddenly questioned, his tone cold.