Chapter 166
"Who was that on the phone?"
At the dinner table, Levi asked.
Indigo glanced at me. "Mrs. Morgan, Mr. Morgan was waiting for you to eat earlier. I told him you went to take a call."
So that's what happened. I thought Levi must have some kind of prophetic ability to know I had a phone call.
"Ava."
"Her?"
He was clearly a bit surprised. After all, he had just mentioned today that he had a wife, so it was quite a coincidence that Ava would contact me at this time.
"Yeah, she already knows about our relationship. Elliot's assistant told her."
I didn't want to hide anything. Whether Levi knew about this or not didn't make much difference.
Indigo clicked her tongue. "Mrs. Morgan, I could tell from the start that Elliot was no good. If he hadn't randomly sent you gifts, you and Mr. Morgan wouldn't have had that misunderstanding."
I hadn't expected Indigo to bring up the incident of Elliot giving me gifts. I had only mentioned his name once, and Indigo had remembered it.
"So it was him..."
Levi's eyes darkened.
"Mrs. Morgan, I..."
Indigo stammered, realizing she had said too much.
I smiled. "It's all in the past. Right now, Ava found out about our relationship through his assistant, and knowing her personality, she'll probably make a huge scene about it."
"It doesn't matter."
"No."
I interrupted him and put down my utensils.
"I don't know what stage your relationship with her has reached, but if you have business dealings with her family, you shouldn't provoke her right now."
From a bigger picture perspective, it was best to keep Ava's emotions stable.
Levi also put down his bowl and chopsticks, a hint of mockery in his eyes. "Ms. Ember, you're already worrying about company matters so quickly? Willing to sacrifice yourself for the greater good?"
Maybe it was just a habit. I was used to sacrificing myself to find the solution with the least damage.
"Indigo, get me a bowl of soup."
"Yes, Mrs. Morgan."
I stared into Levi's eyes. "These are all problems caused by your admirers. If you're not interested in her, why did you lead her on?"
He suddenly fell silent, and the smile twitching at his cheeks disappeared.
These past few days, he'd been joking with me using his identity as CEO of the Morgan Group, but I had no interest in proving my own status.
What I valued was my own company, not the gift Aiden had given me.
I was completely confident in Levi's management of the Morgan Group, and from the beginning, I never planned on becoming the one in charge of the Morgan Group myself.
I thought that even if Aiden trusted me, he still hoped Levi would be the sole heir.
"I'm going to rest."
As I got up to leave, Indigo was just coming over with the soup.
"Mrs. Morgan, your soup..."
"Give it to him."
Indigo awkwardly held the bowl, glancing at Levi. He pointed at the table, indicating she should put it down.
On the phone, I had agreed to meet with Ava. This matter could only be faced head-on, not avoided.
I had just tried to get information out of him, but Levi simply wouldn't say more. I didn't know what relationship he had with Ava and her family. I had a feeling there was some kind of agreement between them.
For example, after Levi came back, Ava stopped going to the company.
Sophia mentioned that Ava had said in the group chat that she was done playing around and was leaving.
But I felt Ava wasn't done yet. She admired Levi so much—how could she give up the opportunity to spend time with him at the company?
I had only asked tentatively, but when Levi didn't respond, I knew there was no point in asking further.
He always quietly handled big matters and rarely consulted with me. I was used to this, but I felt that our relationship had changed somewhat now, and maybe he would tell me.
But in reality, he didn't.
Couples should have an understanding, and the strongest understanding between Levi and me was giving each other boundaries.
But if two people start playing games with each other, they'll probably never be truly honest with one another.
I was waiting—waiting for Levi to shed all his constraints and be completely open with me.
My endless desire to share with him had created today's situation. After being hurt time and time again, I began to hold back. I began to become distant. I began to have thoughts I didn't share with him.
How should I get through another sleepless night? I lay in bed with a bitter smile. I couldn't try Rhea's aromatherapy again—Levi was most sensitive about that now.
...
When I woke up in the morning, Levi was sleeping soundly.
He usually woke up earlier than I, but lately he'd been sleeping in.
I had always thought he didn't want to look at me, which was why he would wake up first during the days we shared a bed.
Ava couldn't wait a moment longer. She was already waiting for me downstairs at my company early in the morning.
She and I went into a coffee shop.
The discomfort of drinking coffee on an empty stomach made me nauseous. I had to force myself to hold it back several times.
Ava had lost her warmth toward me and was looking at me angrily instead.
"Since you already know, I don't need to feel uneasy anymore. I didn't deliberately keep this from you—there just wasn't a good opportunity to bring it up."
I looked at her seriously. I wanted her to know I was being sincere.
"You could have just said it directly, but you deceived me."
"I don't think I was obligated to tell you. Besides, you parachuted into my husband's company—I should be the one who's angry."
"I went to his company with his permission."
Ava was gripping her cup so hard she was about to crush it. She angrily pushed the cup away, almost knocking it to the floor.
"Under normal circumstances, when you publicly said you liked him, I shouldn't have tolerated it. I thought you were straightforward, so I held back and didn't say anything."
"I thought I could win him over."
I looked down with a slight smile. "You want to destroy his family, even knowing he has a wife?"
Ava laughed too. "But no one knows who his wife is. Since you're hiding it, I can try to win him."
"Even now, you still think that way?"
I didn't understand why she still wanted to pursue Levi.
"Of course. I think it's quite interesting. With you as my rival, I find it very interesting."
Ava deliberately spilled some coffee from her cup onto the table.
"I don't care about your attitude. He and I were in a secret marriage to begin with. I hope you can keep this secret for me."
I knew the chances were slim, but I still wanted to try.
"Do you think I'm going to tell the whole world you're husband and wife?"
Ava laughed loudly. "As long as you're not publicly husband and wife, then I can openly pursue him. This works in my favor."
Her angle was really cunning.
"That's for the best, but I'd advise you to stop going after him."
"Why?"
I stood up and adjusted my sleeves. "Because his heart isn't with you. If I'm not mistaken, he's tolerating your nonsense mainly so he can smoothly get materials from your factory."
"Do you have proof?"
Ava was clearly a bit panicked.
I nodded slowly. "I have goods from your family's factory sitting in my warehouse. Before long, I'll be putting them into production."
"This..."
I smiled politely. "I'll design a special commemorative gift for you. It won't be a waste of your feelings for him."