Chapter 184 Seeking Help

Chapter 184 Seeking Help

Every morning on her way to work, Joanna would see cigarette butts scattered all over the ground next to a car downstairs.

She didn't know when Chris had picked up the smoking habit.

But it had nothing to do with her anyway.

So Joanna kept ignoring Chris, acting as if he didn't exist.

Until Angelo took the initiative to meet with Chris.

The two men met at a nearby coffee shop. Although they didn't come to blows, the tension was thick.

Angelo's eyes were full of warning. "Mr. Cooper, I hope you'll stop appearing around Joanna from now on. Your behavior is causing us trouble, and I can sue you for stalking at any time."

Chris's eyes were sharp and defiant as he shot back, "You didn't build the road, so why should you control where I park? I'm just passing by. I haven't gone up to greet Joanna or talk to her, and you can't handle that? As far as I know, Joanna hates petty men the most!"

Angelo narrowed his eyes, not bothered by Chris's words at all.

He let out a cold laugh and said, "The person Joanna has never liked is you, isn't it? In a relationship, my behavior is just jealousy caused by possessiveness, not petty-mindedness. Although Joanna never says it, I know she really likes it when I care about her like this. It gives her a great sense of security. Mr. Cooper, instead of spending time spying on our life, why don't you think about why Joanna was so determined to leave you?"

Although Angelo didn't spell it out completely, Chris fell silent, thinking about what he said, repeating the words "sense of security" to himself.

He didn't think he had failed to give Joanna that.

He only went back and forth between the company and the villa, occasionally staying at his downtown apartment when he was tired. But whenever he didn't come home, he would tell Joanna through the servants, or call her directly when he wasn't busy.

His business partners all knew about Joanna, and he had even left maintenance matters for her to handle.

He never interfered with the servants' schedules either.

If Joanna didn't like a servant one day and fired them, Chris wouldn't have any problem with it.

He had given Joanna full respect as the lady of the house. Wasn't that enough?

Seeing Chris's confused expression, Angelo knew he hadn't grasped the key issue at all.

But as a rival, Angelo had no obligation to tell Chris how to make Joanna happy.

His purpose today wasn't to make Chris realize his problems and try to win back his wife.

"Mr. Cooper, this is my final warning. If you stalk Joanna again, I'll call the police."

Chris couldn't think anymore and stood up directly, asking back, "Stalking? Wasn't Mr. Smith's behavior also stalking during the time when Joanna and I weren't divorced yet? If you hadn't inserted yourself into our relationship back then, would Joanna still have chosen you?"

"Do I need to remind you again that you were also the third party in our relationship? During the time you were involved with Joanna, she and I hadn't completely finalized our divorce." Chris got angrier as he thought about it.

He even wished he could go back in time to the beginning of his conflict with Joanna and sit down calmly to talk things through.

Would the outcome have been different then?

Hearing his questions, Angelo laughed in anger.

But more than that, his rationality returned.

He turned his coffee cup by the rim, his voice calm, "Is that what you think, Mr. Cooper? Maybe you never understood what Joanna was thinking. During that time, I was just Angelo who helped her out. The words she said to me most often were just 'thank you.'"

He looked up at Chris. Though he wasn't smiling, the mockery in his eyes was obvious.

"If you, as Joanna's husband at the time, had helped her solve all her problems and emotions, why would she have thought about divorce?"

At this point, he seemed to remember something and smiled slightly, "I forgot, actually the trigger for your divorce wasn't just conflicts and arguments. Mr. Cooper, you also cheated with another woman, right? I'm very faithful and would never get too close to any woman other than Joanna. My parents also give Joanna the greatest respect and love. So all of this..."

He drew out the last word, like a judge's silence before delivering a verdict.

"Mr. Cooper, think about it—have you done any of these things?"

In other words, he was asking Chris to examine his conscience and see where he could possibly compare to him.

Having said all this, Angelo didn't plan to waste more words on Chris.

He had stated his purpose anyway. If Chris still didn't know how to change, he wouldn't mind having someone teach Chris a lesson.

"I...!" Chris wanted to find words to argue with Angelo, but he racked his brain and couldn't say a single word.

He knew Angelo was speaking the truth.

It wasn't even provocation from a rival's perspective, but a summary from an observer who had seen the facts clearly.

Chris hung his head in defeat, and in his emotional turmoil, he knocked over his coffee cup.

A staff member quickly ran over, somewhat agitated at seeing the spilled coffee, "You have to pay for this before you can leave!"

Chris nodded absently. At this moment, he just wanted to find a quiet place to be alone.

He randomly pulled out a few bills from his wallet, stuffed them into the staff member's hands, and went straight to his car.

He didn't start the engine, just sat there quietly thinking about what Angelo had said.

Everyone was telling him he was wrong.

But going back to the past, Chris believed he wouldn't have been able to make any changes anyway.

He banged his head against the steering wheel in defeat, accidentally hitting the horn, which honked several times.

A pedestrian about to cross the street looked up and cursed at him fiercely.

But because of the soundproof glass, Chris couldn't hear very clearly.

Just then, his phone suddenly rang urgently. Nicole's scream left Chris no time to think about anything else.

"Chris... come back quickly, your grandfather had an episode, and the doctor says they can't operate anymore!"

David's leg had undergone several surgeries before. Although it still hurt occasionally, everyone thought it had healed.

This episode came very suddenly and was very serious.

The doctor's preliminary judgment was that it had also affected his brain nerves, and it was no longer a situation that could be treated with just amputation.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Nicole asked through tears.

The doctor looked at the imaging scans and said through gritted teeth, "I'm afraid we need someone more qualified to treat this. I don't have the ability to save Mr. David, and your time is very limited. If he doesn't get treatment within twenty-four hours, Mr. David's body won't be able to withstand this kind of severe pain. The worst case scenario is brain death!"