Chapter 142 I Only Like You
Esme just couldn't understand!
She was clearly better than Catherine in looks, talent, and upbringing. She'd received the best, most elite education since childhood. How could she possibly be inferior to Catherine, who came from some poor backwater?
She stared at the news on her phone. Richard's media outlets were practically praising Catherine's painting to the skies!
Esme's heart was bleeding with pain!
She looked at Lila's weak breathing and suddenly felt incredibly wronged.
Why could Catherine shine out there while she was stuck in this cold hospital with this half-dead Lila?
Since Lila had already divorced Marcus, she had nothing to do with Esme anymore.
Esme looked at Lila, stood up coldly, and left the ICU without looking back.
They expected her to stay here with this Lila, and the Windsor family wanted to send her to Novia never to return? Fat chance!
Esme called Michael again.
"Michael, about what we discussed last time, can we talk again? There definitely won't be any mistakes this time!"
"Find a place to stay. I'll contact you again."
Michael was about to hang up when Esme quickly said, "Um, I'm out of money."
"You're a Windsor family daughter and don't even have money for a hotel? Whatever, I'll send you some."
Michael frowned, his eyes full of disgust and contempt. A Windsor family daughter reduced to this state—clearly her brain was just for show.
After hanging up, Esme saw the money appear in her account and left the hospital without looking back.
Meanwhile.
News that Catherine and Dominic had painted together had spread throughout the industry.
When Annie handed Alexander her phone, he was in the middle of a merger meeting, at a critical moment calculating financial risks. A group of partners were holding their breath, completely focused, when they suddenly saw their cold, iron-blooded Alexander smile!
And it was such an affectionate smile, with eyes so tender they could drip water. The room full of partners broke out in cold sweat.
After Annie explained, they learned that Alexander's fiancée, Catherine Windsor, was actually Dominic's student!
No wonder Alexander looked so tender—he clearly treasured her.
The partners started whispering to each other.
"I saw Catherine's birthday livestream. With that kind of setup, the Windsor family must really love this daughter."
"Are you kidding? If your daughter was that amazing, wouldn't you dote on her?"
"If my daughter was Dominic's student, if there was a single dog in Imperia City that didn't know about it, I'd have failed at publicity!"
Alexander watched Catherine in the video. She looked beautiful painting too, her arm muscles graceful and elegant, every movement like an elf dancing.
"Save the video."
Since he couldn't be there in person, he wanted to watch Catherine shine more often.
Annie responded professionally, "Already saved. I've also selected the best photos from the media and saved them to your phone."
Alexander nodded with satisfaction and continued the meeting.
But the pace was noticeably faster than before—anyone could see Alexander's impatience.
What should have been a three-hour asset evaluation was completed in half an hour. As Alexander signed documents, he said coldly, "What time is it?"
Annie: "Six o'clock. The exhibition is over. Alexander hasn't left work yet, but Felix has gone home."
Alexander capped his pen and pushed the signed documents forward.
When the partners looked up, he had already disappeared from the conference room!
The gallery exhibition soon ended.
The media left reluctantly, and many wanted to interview Catherine, but Richard blocked them all.
Richard, already a hugely popular star and the latest Grand Slam Best Actor winner, handled the cameras gracefully. Just a simple smile was enough to satisfy the photographers!
After all, Richard was synonymous with traffic in the entertainment industry!
After dealing with the media, Charles sent Marcus and Felix home.
Marcus looked at Catherine with satisfaction and patted her hand. "Catherine, you did great, but don't wear yourself out. You're the youngest in our family—you don't need to work this hard, but I'm proud of you!"
Bethany added, "Your mother and I are proud of you too! But don't exhaust yourself! If there's anything at the gallery in the future, come straight to me. These small matters don't need to worry you!"
He'd just taken the opportunity to review all the gallery's accounts, wanting to help Catherine check for any dishonest people, but found she'd already handled everything.
His daughter was an absolute genius!
"I know, I'm not tired."
After the Windsor family left, many painters still stood before Catherine's painting, unwilling to leave.
"Ms. Windsor, could we work at the gallery? We'd come here to learn—we wouldn't even need payment!"
"Right, Ms. Windsor, as long as we can study Dominic's work properly, we don't need salary!"
Catherine looked at the group of artists standing before her.
"Anyone interested can send their resume to my email. I'll invite suitable candidates through normal procedures, and salary will be provided."
She wasn't the type of boss who liked exploiting employees.
"Great! We'll send them right away!"
Elijah walked up to Catherine, beaming. "Ms. Windsor, today's exhibition was very successful. Your painting with Dominic is already hanging in the most prominent spot."
"Thanks for your hard work."
Catherine went to her office, changed out of the dress she'd been wearing, and put on a sharp suit. She pulled her hair up high, looking spirited and commanding.
She picked up the reports on her desk and noticed many data points circled in red marker, with new figures following them, accurate to three decimal places.
A little bear sticky note fell down.
"Catherine, some data had small issues. I fixed them all for you. Don't wear yourself out! I love you"
A warm smile curved Catherine's lips.
She didn't know when Bethany had entered her office.
Thinking of him coming in to help with her reports while she was busy outside, and leaving her a message on a cute sticky note, warmth filled her heart.
As night fell, Elijah knocked on the glass office door. "Ms. Windsor, everyone's left. You should go home too."
"Okay, you go ahead. I'll leave after finishing this data."
"Don't work too hard!"
After Elijah left, Catherine frowned slightly as she looked at the information in the data.
Her phone rang. Catherine answered casually, and Alexander's voice came through.
"Still working overtime? Run into something tricky?"
"Almost done."
Catherine stood up and turned to see a man standing across the street!
In the night, Alexander radiated an intimidating coldness, yet when he looked at her, stars seemed to fall, impossibly tender.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"Five minutes. I'm taking you to dinner. I don't mind if my fiancée is a workaholic, but you still need to eat."
Catherine reached over to turn off the office light and headed downstairs.
In the darkness, her voice carried a hint of teasing. "Charles said you might prefer a traditional homemaker type."
Charles wasn't wrong—most wives of heirs to major families were the domestic type.
Alexander's low laugh echoed in Catherine's ear.
"I don't like defining things, but I don't like career women or homemakers. I like you, only you. It has nothing to do with social roles."
His voice was tender, as if whispering to someone he loved on a quiet night.