Chapter 167
Ava wasn't backing down. She could tell I was mocking her for biting off more than she could chew.
I actually didn't want to hurt her, but the moment I heard her say she'd keep pursuing Levi, I instinctively wanted to fight back.
"This isn't entirely one-sided on my part. Why don't you ask Levi what he promised me? What does it mean that he's backing out now?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Working at the Morgan Group, becoming friends with me, and a lot more."
Ava laughed. "I'm not that classless. If he'd mentioned your relationship early on, I wouldn't have come at all."
Levi made her promises?
And then changed his mind?
I'm confident in myself, but when it comes to Levi, I have no confidence at all. Did he really promise her something? If so, some of what I just said would be a joke.
"I just hope you'll keep this secret for me."
"Don't worry."
I saw the determination in Ava's eyes. Right now, I believed she really wouldn't tell anyone about our marriage.
From her perspective, since Levi didn't have an officially acknowledged wife, she could replace me at any time.
We'd said almost everything there was to say. There was no point continuing. She'd keep pursuing Levi, while I had many more questions. I wanted to figure out what secrets Levi and she shared.
Just as I walked out the door, I got a call from Levi. He said Aiden wanted to hold a shareholders' meeting to announce the share transfer.
He said Aiden was already on his way to the company. If I didn't stop him, my identity would soon be exposed too.
A mere secretary like me had no right to receive shares in the Morgan Group—unless I was Mrs. Morgan. That would blow my cover.
All my efforts to get Ava to keep quiet would be wasted.
I told him to try to stall Grandpa. I wasn't ready to take on this identity yet.
On the way, I thought it through. Aiden must know about my pregnancy. He was determined to give me security, and Levi also planned to reveal my identity. It seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Plus, with Joseph pursuing me, occasionally asking to meet, and Faye getting involved, revealing my identity seemed like it would solve everything.
But I panicked. I wasn't worried about Levi having admirers. I was worried I couldn't handle the responsibility. How could I become the top person at the Morgan Group, above Levi?
And wearing the identity of Mrs. Morgan would bring invisible chains. Would people say I relied on Levi to build up Heartstrings Jewelry?
My pride was acting up again...
I called Aiden. He said he'd wait for me, which put me slightly at ease.
I disguised myself and entered Levi's private elevator, armed to the teeth like Jessa, afraid of being recognized.
I watched everyone working and quietly slipped into Levi's office.
"Grandpa, why do you suddenly want to do this? It's better if we keep our marriage a secret."
I stated my thoughts directly. I couldn't wait to tell Aiden that maintaining the status quo was fine.
Aiden put down his teacup. "Blair, I came specifically to handle this today. There's no need for you two to hide it anymore. All these recent incidents happened because you haven't gone public."
"Grandpa, trust that we can handle it. Haven't things been fine all these years? And there's nothing going on lately. It's normal for couples to have some friction."
"You're pregnant now, and that foreign girl still has designs on Levi. This will inevitably affect you."
"Grandpa, don't worry about that. I just met with her, and she promised to keep it secret."
Aiden was surprised. "Really?"
"Really. Trust me."
"You won't go public?"
"No."
Seeing how determined I was, Aiden couldn't insist. He was afraid I'd get emotional—after all, his main concern now was the baby in my belly.
"Grandpa, we've made you worry. Let's talk about this later. He's focused on the company. In the future, I want to give him all the shares."
I knew this was Aiden's way of balancing power to keep Levi from messing around—to tell Levi not to let me down.
"You're just too kind..."
"Levi, if you don't handle this properly, don't blame me for not being nice."
Aiden got up to leave, and even at the door, he turned back to glare at Levi.
Just the two of us were left in the office. I happened to have some questions for him.
I walked over and snatched the pen from his hand. "Stop working. I need to ask you something."
"Have a seat."
Levi wasn't as cold as usual. He seemed to know what I was going to say.
"Why did Ava come to work at the Morgan Group?"
Given Levi's strictness, he wouldn't let an outsider mess around at the company.
"Because of that shipment."
Levi actually looked embarrassed.
"I thought bringing lots of gifts would win over her father. It worked pretty well, but he kept stalling. Then his daughter proposed coming to the Morgan Group to experience being CEO for ten days."
"That was the condition?"
"Yes."
So Ava left the company because her time was up. She didn't actually want to be CEO—she was testing Levi's feelings. She thought Levi agreeing to her condition meant he had special feelings for her.
"You went on that business trip for the shipment?"
"Yes."
"How did you know my company needed materials?"
"From the person next to Nola."
John?
Levi touched the ring on his hand—our wedding ring.
When did he put it back on?
"He told me Nola mentioned at home that you were worried about materials, but she couldn't help. He asked if I had connections, to save you the trouble."
John really could keep his mouth shut. That day at the warehouse, he didn't say a word.
So Levi's business trip wasn't entirely out of spite. He went to negotiate for this shipment.
Ava was also deeply secretive. She openly said she liked Levi, but she didn't reveal a word about proposing this condition.
I'd thought their relationship was even deeper than his and Jessa's.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"You didn't ask."
He actually sounded righteous about it. I was speechless.
How was I supposed to ask him? After what he said, how could I contact him? Indigo offered multiple times to be a mediator, but I felt it would hurt my pride. After all, I was innocent—I didn't ask Elliot to be attentive to me.
"Well... I have things at my company. I should go."
I turned around awkwardly. I couldn't stay here.
"Stop!"
Levi called out.
I turned back, shrugged, and waited for him to speak.
"Ms. Ember, do you need a pen?"
"Huh?"
He pointed toward my hand. I looked down—I was still holding his pen.
My face turned red. I pretended to be calm. "Can't I take one of your pens?"