Chapter 5 Enough Is Enough

I shot a glare at Karl as I paid. He simply took the bag from the shop assistant and thanked her, then he turned to me.

"Let's go upstairs, shall we?"

Just as I was about to refuse, he wrapped his arm around my waist and urged, "Come on. We don't get to do this every day. Consider this a chance to unwind."

By the time we finished browsing, we had bought quite a few things. Karl did most of the picking while I paid. He seemed to be having way too much fun with it.

"Babe, do you think my wife would like this dress?"

Though our close proximity made my heart race, I rolled my eyes and momentarily pushed thoughts of Sean aside.

The sales assistant had been showering me with praise about how great the dress would look on me, but Karl's comment immediately left her blushing and at a loss for words.

I flashed her a helpless smile. Just as I was about to dismiss her, Karl caught my hand and began caressing it.

"That's enough."

"Don't be mad," he replied. "Just help me pick out a few more outfits for my wife, and tonight, my time is all yours."

Thankfully, his phone rang just in time.

I let out a breath of relief. "Who is it?"

"At least wait till I leave before you start gloating," he quipped, ruffling my hair before answering the call.

"Dad? What's up?"

As I had the sales assistant wrap up the clothes Karl had picked, I heard his father bellow over the phone, "You haven't been to the office all day! What could be so important that you'd skip an entire day of work?"

"Does spending time with your daughter-in-law count?" Karl responded indolently.

"Spending time with you—"

His father's voice trailed off before he recollected himself and continued, "In that case, enjoy yourself. But when will you bring her home? Your mom and I can't wait to meet her!"

"We'll see. Oh, I gotta go now."

Twirling his phone in his fingers, Karl turned toward me. "You heard him. When are you going to say yes?"

My cheeks burned as I shoved him away. "Just go back already."

"You heartless woman," he muttered, standing up. "Let's get you home first."

…

As if Isobel had indoctrinated him, Sean was relentless this time. He refused to give up on the villa. He bombarded me with messages, acting like it was rightfully his.

Even Grandma started showing up every few days, ruining the good mood I had after spending a day out with Karl.

"It's just a house. Why not give it to him and be done with it?" Grandma coaxed, trying to reason with me. "Sean is the only heir of our family. Sooner or later, you'll still have to rely on him. Why make things difficult now?"

"Grandma, that's not quite right," I responded with a stiff smile.

Deliberately ignoring my implication, Grandma continued, "You're going to get married eventually… Only Sean will remain in the family."

She was such a traditionalist that she saw a married daughter as an outsider and considered a woman running a business almost disgraceful, as if defying the natural order. After contemplating for a while, I decided it was time to clear things up.

"But that house is mine," I said. "Whether I marry or not, it's still my personal property."

As though I had hit a sore spot, Grandma scowled and chided, "Sasha, you're a woman. Aren't you afraid that people will laugh at you for being in charge of the company?

"It's unheard of to have a woman running a company forever. Sean's a man, so he's naturally better suited for it. He was young and clueless before, but now that he has grown up and is about to get married soon, you should hand over the company to him. Only then can the business truly flourish.

"Don't worry. We've seen how much effort you've put into running the company all these years. We'll make sure you get what you deserve."