Chapter 23

“We’re already divorced. Why are you still putting on this act?” Chris lowered his gaze, quietly staring at her fair hand. He was actually surprised at how strong Jessica was as a woman. He asked in return, “Don’t tell me, you really fell in love with me?”

“L…”

“Jessica, this is hilarious.”

A person who hadn’t fallen in love in five years suddenly realized they love someone after a divorce? What was even more ridiculous was the fact that her first love was still openly living in her house.

Was that even love?

If it was, then it would truly cheapen the word.

Jessica endured the sarcasm and ridicule, tilting her head to look at Chris for a long time, as if she was meeting this sharp-tongued Chris for the first time.

In the past five years, she had grown accustomed to Chris’s submissiveness, even his somewhat weak willingness to be at her beck and call.

But now, something had changed.

He had become prickly since Michael’s appearance, unwilling to let go.

“Are you jealous?” Jessica, as if she had discovered a delightful truth, released her grip on him and adjusted his collar. “I told you, I’m done with Michael. Forget about him.”

Chris furrowed his brows. “Jessica, I’m leaving. Let me go.”

“Don’t say that again.” Jessica impatiently glanced at her phone. It had been vibrating continuously since earlier, but her attention had been entirely on Chris, leaving no room for anyone else.

Shannon had called several times, and senior executives at the company were constantly ringing in.

What was going on?

Jessica sat beside Chris, holding his hand in one of hers and returning the phone call with the other.

“Ms. Wilder, you finally answered! Our lines have exploded with tons of calls. You need to come back quickly.”

“What’s happening?”

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Shannon said softly, “Ms. Wilder, you might want to take a look at the trending news online, about you.”

As the CEO of Wilder Group, making the trending topics was nothing new. Being a woman in charge of such a commercial empire often brought doubts from others, but Jessica didn’t care about that.

After taking over Wilder Group in less than two years, she had multiplied the company’s market value several times over. Her strength had proven her position.

Since then, Jessica had become a regular on Twitter’s hot searches.

Even though she could tell from Shannon’s voice that it was urgent, Jessica didn’t take it to heart.

“Breaking news! The Wilder Group’s CEO, Jessica, had an affair during her marriage!”

“The Wilder Group’s CEO’s secret husband. Who is he?”

“Jessica’s ex–lover returns to the country! Is there a rekindling of old love?”

There were a lot more.

This time, Jessica paused, and her beautiful brows furrowed. Who had leaked her information?

It wasn’t a secret that Michael had returned to the country. The people in the circle had known about it for a long time, but they had kept it quiet, without making it a public issue.

She answered the phone again. “What’s going on at the company now?”

“Some shareholders are making a fuss, claiming that you’ve brought negative attention to the company.”

“So what?” Jessica leaned back in her seat, feeling a bit weary.

At that moment, Chris tried to pull his hand away from Jessica’s firm grip, but she still held on tightly, refusing to let go.

Shannon asked, “Aren’t you going to come and check?”

“What’s there to see?” Jessica retorted. “Let them go downstairs and see the company sign for themselves. Even if I’ve brought negative attention, the company will still be called the Wilder Group. There’s no need for them to make a fuss about it.”

“What about you?”

“I need to head back home. Oh, and go to the hospital where the Wilder Group has invested, and help my husband resign.” Chris sat up and grabbed Jessica’s arm. “I’m not resigning!”