Chapter 3

Chloe said softly, "Mrs. Moretti, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me."

She sounded more confident than before, a faint smile hidden in the depths of her eyes.

Someone spoke up for her.

"Ava, Chloe didn't mean any harm. She's always had no filter with her jokes. She even said she wanted to marry Boss once when she was drunk."

The moment those words left his mouth, the private room went dead silent.

The man immediately shut up, then scrambled to explain.

"That's not what I meant. I'm just saying she talks without thinking. Everyone knows you and Don Moretti have been rock-solid for years—no one could come between you."

I smiled wordlessly, then looked at Chloe.

"It's fine. I don't blame you."

Everyone relaxed.

Then I continued. "Your Boss and I are getting divorced soon. I hope you get what you want."

"Ava!"

Adrian's face went dark.

"Don't say ridiculous things in front of all these people."

I found it ironic.

"You can kneel in front of all these people and beg me to give my heart to Chloe, but I can't mention divorce?"

He frowned.

"It was just a joke. What's the big deal?"

"Chloe already apologized, and I've warned her. If you keep going, you'll only make things uncomfortable for everyone."

Others chimed in to persuade me.

"Ava, don't be angry. You're still carrying the baby—don't let something this small hurt your relationship."

"Exactly. Boss was so worried about you just now—we all saw it. He's never like that with Chloe."

I looked slowly at Adrian, my voice eerily calm.

"You weren't angry because of me just now."

"You were angry because Chloe joked about the match results. When you heard the truth, you were disappointed. Weren't you?"

He stiffened slightly.

After a moment, irritation crept into his features.

"I'm begging you—can you please not do this here?"

"You can throw away your dignity if you want, but Chloe still has a reputation to protect."

I closed my eyes briefly, then said quietly, "Fine. Monday. The lawyer's office."

I stood up to leave.

But Chloe suddenly dropped to her knees in front of me.

"Mrs. Moretti, please don't blame Boss, okay? He just wants me to have a healthy body."

I looked down at her coldly.

"You went through all that trouble to set up this joke just to prove how much you mean to Adrian. Well, you should be satisfied now."

Her face went white instantly, as if she'd been deeply humiliated.

I stepped around her and walked away.

The next second, I heard Adrian's icy voice behind me.

"Ava, don't forget—your mother is still at Moretti Medical Center."

My steps halted.

Never in my life had I imagined Adrian would use my mother to threaten me.

After a long silence, I forced a smile, went back, and helped Chloe up from the floor.

"Everything I said just now was a joke. I don't blame you."

Chloe choked out, "That's good. I was really afraid I'd caused trouble for Boss."

The scene ended there.

Adrian offered to drive me home himself.

On the road, he made a rare attempt to explain. "What I said back there—I had to scare you. I would never do anything to your mom."

"I know today was unfair to you. To make it up, I'll go with you to your prenatal checkup tomorrow."

"Ava, we've been together for over a decade. I'm not completely without feelings for you. If you could try to get along with Chloe, I'd appreciate it."

I leaned against the car window and said calmly, "I meant what I said today."

"Adrian Moretti, let's get a divorce."

"From now on, whatever happens between you and her has nothing to do with me."