Semua Bab The contract Bride of The Ruthless CEO : Bab 21 - Bab 30

Adrian sat in the living room, half-watching the morning coverage of the company's ongoing food project scroll across the international news. An ad break cut in. "This early morning, I told them to mind the scheduling," he muttered, and flicked the channel over to something else—an animal documentary, as it turned out, about apes. The word alone was enough to set something off in him. It circled back, unbidden, to Chloe's parting remark the night before. "Freaking ape, my foot." He pressed his palms into his face, exhaled hard, then reached for his phone and dialed her number without giving himself time to reconsider. Chloe was fast asleep. The ringing dragged her halfway out of it, and she fumbled for her phone before pressing it to her ear. "Hello?" she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep. "Ms. Stephanie?" "What's she saying? Why is anyone prank-calling at this hour?" Adrian asked, not realizing she'd mistaken him for someone else. "It's not a prank call," he said. "Are you

The moment Ethan closed the door behind him, Adrian's grandfather turned and walked away without another word, heading straight back to his study. Adrian remained seated, staring at the folder in front of him. It was the file of blind date candidates. "President Adrian." Ethan dropped the file onto the desk with a sigh. "How could you tell a lie like that when you don't even have a woman you're marrying? How are you going to get out of this one?" Adrian's jaw tightened. "What do you expect me to do? I'm going to call the person responsible and make her take responsibility for it." He pulled out his phone and dialed Chloe's number. Chloe was sitting at her desk in the department office when her phone lit up. The moment she saw the caller ID, she frowned. "What is this? I already apologized and settled the whole thing. So annoying." She took a deep breath before answering. "Hello?" Adrian didn't waste a second on greetings. "Let's meet after you get off work." "What? Why? I'm

Chloe fled to her room, but closing the door behind her did nothing to quiet what had just happened between her and Adrian. She lay awake until dawn, her thoughts churning, refusing to settle. The next morning, she made her way to Adrian's residence, where the contract was to be signed. A member of the household staff led her to the sitting room. Adrian was already seated, and Ethan, his secretary, stood across the room. They both looked as though they had been expecting her for some time. Chloe exchanged greetings and took the seat directly opposite Adrian. "Here is the contract," Adrian said, passing her the document Ethan had prepared. Chloe began to read aloud. "This contract between Party A and Party B sets out the terms of a simulated romantic relationship, as well as a requested meeting with the grandfather of Party A." She glanced up at Adrian with an intense look, then returned to the page. "In the event of a breach of contract, the penalty shall be one hundred times the

Aria sat at the breakfast table, listlessly stirring her tea and wishing the morning would hurry up and end. Across from her sat her father, Mr. Victor Stone. He folded his morning newspaper with the serene composure of a man who had already made up his mind and saw no reason to entertain further debate. "You'll go on a date next week," he said plainly. Aria’s spoon froze. "Dad, are you pretending you don't know, or do you genuinely not know?" she asked, her voice tight. "Haven't you heard a single thing about my previous blind dates?" "I've heard." Victor took a slow, deliberate sip of his coffee. Aria stared at him in utter disbelief. "And you still want me to go on another one?" "That's precisely why I looked internationally this time instead of domestically." Victor pointed a finger at her, leaving his underlying message crystal clear: nobody left at home was willing to deal with her anymore. The cutlery slipped from Aria's fingers, clattering loudly against her fine china

Chloe hurried into the building, praying she wouldn't be late. She signed in at the front desk, barely slowing down, and made straight for the department's team office. Her bag landed on her desk with a dull thud. She didn't even stop to catch her breath. Ms. Victoria was standing near the window with a file in her hand, and Chloe crossed the floor to her at once. "Good morning, Ms. Victoria." "Good morning, Chloe." Ms. Victoria looked up. "Yes?" "I finished the profile on Chef Caleb that you requested." Chloe held out a thick file with both hands. "There's also a proposal for our collaboration." Ms. Victoria's brows lifted. "Goodness. Did you finish all of this in one day?" "I already had a few ideas from the last recommendation," Chloe explained. "So it didn't take very long." Ms. Victoria took the file, slipped her glasses on, and began to read. The room seemed to quiet around her. She turned the pages slowly until her finger stopped on a single line. "White kimchi ravioli?"