Chapter 42
“I’m his girlfriend,” I said without hesitation.
I knew the Shannon family would find out about our fake relationship sooner or later, so it didn’t matter if I brought it up now.
Plus, it could completely shut down Ivan’s attempts to get close to me.
Sure enough, after I said that, there was a long silence on the other end of the phone.
After a while, I heard Ivan ask, “When did this happen?”
“Just now,” I said.
He suddenly let out a soft laugh and said, “Is this just an excuse you came up with to reject me?”
I was speechless.
I was thinking what kind of weird guys in the Shannon family were.
Ivan seemed to take my silence as agreement. “Charlene, I’m not just playing around with you. You don’t have to be so guarded.”
He seemed to have convinced himself and earnestly promised me, “Just wait. I’ll prove it to you.”
I rolled my eyes and hung up the phone.
He was just a nutcase.
He didn’t call me again, but he sent me a goodnight message.
I didn’t reply and turned to get ready for bed.
When I came back, I had two messages from Harlan. One said he wanted me to accompany him to his grandfather’s birthday banquet three days
later.
The other told me to buy a dress and that he would reimburse me.
I agreed and planned to take full advantage of Harlan for this. After all, he had been making me so angry lately.
With Shane’s situation settled, I finally had a good night’s sleep.
The next morning, as soon as I got up, I received a call from Ashton.
He said, “I’m sorry, Charlene. I can’t pick you up. My dad wants me to go on a trip with my blind date, and I won’t be back for a while.”
I said with a smile, “Then have a good time.”
He paused for a moment and asked me, “How’s Shane?”
“We’ve scheduled the surgery. It should be fine,” I said.
Ashton seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and quietly asked me, “Do you have enough for the surgery? How much are you short? I can send it to you.”
I blinked my eyes and said, “I heard from Harlan that your card was stopped.”
Ashton snorted and said, “Otherwise, do you think I would have agreed to go on the trip? My dad said if I went, he’d give me the funds.”
Hearing this, I felt a pang of sourness in my heart.
No wonder Ashton was being so obedient to his father this time. It was all for me.
I said softly, “It’s okay. I already have enough.
He paused for a moment and then asked, “Did Harlan help you?”
I neither confirmed nor denied it. He fell silent for a while and then said, “If he mistreats you, tell me. I’ll help you.”
I said with a smile, “Okay, thank you, Mr. Hopkins.”
“Forget it,” he said, putting on an air. I’m going on a trip. See you later.
i curled my lips slightly and said. “Have a good trip, Mr. Hopkins.”
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11:45 AM
Chapter 42
“Hmm,” he responded and hung up the phone.
I tentatively moved my ankle. It still hurt a bit, so I couldn’t drive.
I went downstairs, ready to hail a taxi.
Just as I got out of the gate, I ran into Harlan.
He was fastening his cufflinks with one hand. When he saw me, his eyes held no emotion. “Let’s go. Get in the car.”
I glanced behind him, but I didn’t see Tamara.
“Aren’t you leaving with Tamara?” I asked, puzzled.
He just hummed and didn’t say anything. Although I was curious, I didn’t ask further.
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