Chapter 42 Saying It Like It Is

In the evening, when my father-in-law returned from his business engagement and saw that I was there, he chatted with me for a while before getting to the point.

"Rosalie, have you considered working at the company?" my father-in-law asked.

I was somewhat startled, but my father-in-law quickly explained his idea.

It turned out that my father-in-law was urging Charlie to start construction at the chemical factory as soon as possible. He heard that Charlie was pursuing a girl lately, so he figured out a way to make Charlie busier.

The demolition and development of the chemical factory was a big project that required collaboration with government departments. Once construction started, Charlie wouldn't have as much time for extramarital affairs.

That wasn't enough; my father-in-law and mother-in-law unanimously believed that I should also be brought into the Bennett family company, preferably at the headquarters, working alongside Charlie, to deter those scheming women. In reality, Charlie was the one with ulterior motives.

I had no work experience. My current dream was to become a professional cellist.

In my previous life, my father-in-law and mother-in-law were indeed fair-minded and righteous, but they had never shown such favoritism toward me. It seemed like the pair of amethyst bracelets and the icy jade pendant were quite effective.

"Rosalie, we all know you're not interested in business. If your family had a company, there wouldn't be a need for you to join the Bennett Group, but both your father and I hope that your marriage can last for a long time without being destroyed by external factors. You can consider it carefully; there's no hurry," my mother-in-law gently spoke.

I was deeply moved. I was truly worried that in the end, it wouldn't be that I couldn't bear to leave Charlie, but that I couldn't bear to leave my father-in-law and mother-in-law.

"Alright, dad, mom, I will consider it carefully and give you a reply later," I nodded.

After chatting for a while, I went back to the room to rest.

This was Charlie's room, which became our bedroom after we got married, but we rarely came back together or slept together.

Charlie's room was spacious, with an en-suite bathroom, walk-in closet, balcony, and even a game room. It contained some things from his student days, including a photo album.

Among the photos inside were pictures of him and his friends, with Dylan appearing most frequently.

After browsing for a while, I sadly returned the photo album to its original place. After all, Charlie, who grew up from being cute to handsome, wouldn't be mine in the end. The more I looked, the more frustrated I became.

With the enthusiasm of my in-laws and my own intention to get close to them, I stayed at their home for four days straight before returning to New York.

Before leaving, my mother-in-law stuffed the trunk with organic vegetables and fruits. She had cultivated a vegetable garden in the backyard of her villa, which she managed very well. Every time I visited, I would take away quite a lot.

"Rosalie, send me a message when you get home," my mother-in-law instructed.

"Sure, mom. I'll head back now," I nodded.

Under my mother-in-law's gaze, I set off for the airport. According to the itinerary, I should be able to get home and have lunch around noon. I just didn't know if Elizabeth had prepared anything. She didn't know when I would be returning.

After getting off the plane, Tim was already waiting for me.

I got in the car and, feeling tired, took a blanket from the trunk. After a nap, I heard Tim calling me, "Madam, we have arrived."

Rubbing my eyes, I woke up and stretched lazily, instructing, "Bring everything from the trunk inside."

After saying that, I got out of the car and walked ahead. Several servants were trimming the flowers and plants in the garden. They all greeted me when they saw me returning, including Elizabeth. She quickly came over and said, "Madam, you're back. I'll start cooking immediately!"

"Wait," I stopped Elizabeth. "My mother-in-law gave me some meat and vegetables. Take them and stew them. Put the rest in the refrigerator."

"Yes, madam." Elizabeth took the food from Tim's hands and went to handle it.

Looking at the remaining two chickens and two ducks, I felt a bit worried, so I asked someone to tidy up the backyard and set aside an area to raise these four esteemed guests. I didn't want to waste my mother-in-law's intentions.

Elizabeth used top-quality matsutake mushrooms to stew the chicken. In a beautiful bowl, there was a layer of thin chicken oil floating on top of the golden chicken soup. The moderate-sized chicken pieces mixed with white mushroom slices, and the aroma of the chicken combined with the fragrance of the matsutake mushrooms was very enticing.

"Elizabeth, it's delicious! Your culinary skills must have kept your daughter very healthy!" I first ladled a bowl of chicken soup, blew on it, and took a few sips, sincerely praising her from the bottom of my heart.

"My daughter has been a picky eater since she was young. I've put a lot of effort into getting her to eat more food. She's still thin. Girls like to look beautiful, but they don't eat much and can't gain weight." When talking about her daughter, Elizabeth's eyes were filled with love.

Lauren was indeed quite thin, but she was much better than me.

I smirked, "Being thin is good. Girls look prettier when they're a bit thin. They won't have trouble finding boyfriends."

While we were chatting, Charlie appeared in the living room. He seemed surprised to see me back and walked over, sitting down. "Did you have a good time?"

Although I didn't tell Charlie about my trip, Jane tweeted every day, complete with her location.

Charlie must have seen it too.

I sipped on the soup and replied calmly, "It was great, I'm pretty happy. I’m eating well, sleeping well, and in a good mood every day."

Charlie let out a barely audible hum. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing strong and handsome forearms. He then served himself a bowl of soup, took a sip, and his furrowed eyebrows relaxed a bit.

I asked softly, "Is it tasty?"

"Mhm," Charlie answered.

I continued, "The chicken your mom brought us, she raised them herself. They taste really delicious."

Only then did Charlie look at me, his eyes showing some confusion. "My mom came here?"

I shook my head. "No, I went to your parents' place for a few days and just returned today. She packed a car trunk full of chickens, ducks, and vegetables for me. I have kept a few of them in the garden."

Charlie's gaze instantly became complicated, with a touch of mockery. "Why did you suddenly decide to visit them?"

"I was bored." I lowered my head to continue drinking the soup, making sure Charlie couldn't see through my calculations. In my past life, I loved him to the point of losing my mind, considering him the center of the universe, and neglected the important people around him.

"For the sake of turning 5% into 7% or 10% in the future?" Charlie hit the nail on the head.

I was indeed startled. The chicken soup went down the wrong way, and I started coughing severely. Elizabeth heard the commotion and returned to the dining room, patting my back.

My objective was indeed to obstruct Charlie's pursuit of Lauren. If he wanted a divorce in the future, he would face stronger opposition from my father-in-law and mother-in-law. If he wanted me to initiate or agree to a divorce, I could take the opportunity to make some demands, and he would most likely agree.

However, this objective wasn't something that had to be achieved. Charlie easily guessed this casual goal, which really made me feel flustered.