Chapter 37 Apology
Chris was pleasantly surprised.
Although he didn't know why Joanna had suddenly come around and was willing to stop fighting with him, her change of heart gave him an indescribable sense of relief.
Joanna realized she was wrong, so she came to apologize to him!
He knew it—Joanna couldn't hold out for long. During this time, she'd been throwing her tantrum, and she probably felt terrible too.
Well then, he'd reluctantly go back and hear how this woman was going to apologize!
After hanging up, Chris couldn't focus on work at all.
He shut down his computer and was about to leave when Cynthia came in with coffee. Seeing he was in a good mood and looked like he was leaving, she spoke naturally, "Chris, can you give me a ride home after work? I didn't drive today. Is the apartment building you live in on my way, right? It wouldn't be too much trouble, would it?"
If it were before, Chris would have definitely agreed. Giving Cynthia a ride home was just a small favor, and it wasn't the first time either.
But today, he had more important things to do!
Chris refused without even looking up. "I'm going back to the villa today. It's not on the way."
Cynthia felt somewhat disappointed and uncomfortable inside, but didn't show it.
She asked with a charming smile, "Don't you rarely stay at the villa? Besides, there's no one there now. After Joanna left, didn't you give the servants time off too? Going back means you'll have to clean up—what a hassle."
Chris was in a fairly good mood, so he raised his eyebrows and answered her, "Who says there's no one home today?"
Home...
Cynthia pondered over this word carefully.
Since when did Chris start calling the place where he lived with Joanna "home"? Could it be that despite all her manipulation, she still couldn't destroy their relationship?
No, that wasn't right.
Joanna hadn't even come to take care of Chris yesterday, didn't even come to see him off when he was discharged—clearly, she was still angry about what Cynthia had said. There was no way the two of them could have made up this quickly!
So why was Chris going home?
Cynthia couldn't figure it out, but felt too awkward to ask directly. While she was thinking, Chris had already left the office.
Driving home, Chris wished he could go faster. He was eager to see Joanna begging him for forgiveness!
He'd been holding back quite a bit of anger during this time.
Especially when he saw Joanna getting so close to that guy called Angelo—he felt indescribably furious.
And Joanna was so protective of him, too!
He wondered if Angelo knew that Joanna was coming back to apologize this time.
Could it be that Joanna came back because Angelo couldn't support her?
Lost in these chaotic thoughts, the car had already pulled into the garage.
The previously pitch-black villa was bright again, with voices talking and laughing inside. This feeling gave Chris a long-lost sense of unfamiliarity.
He was about to go in and mock Joanna when he caught the familiar aroma of home-cooked food—dishes Joanna had made herself.
At that moment, Joanna had already changed into loungewear and was sitting gently on the sofa. When she saw him come back, she stood up to greet him. "You're back?"
Her tone really pleased Chris.
Chris didn't dare blink, feeling like this scene might be fake.
All the angry questions he'd accumulated on the way here instantly vanished.
Joanna really seemed to know she was wrong—id that mean she wanted to make up with him?
Chris wasn't sure, and was too proud to ask. He just grunted in acknowledgment.
Joanna seemed the same as before, not caring about his coldness. She happily pulled him down to sit. "I'm just waiting for you to come back and eat. Try it and see how it tastes."
Chris pressed his lips together. He did miss her cooking, so he didn't refuse. He picked up his utensils and started eating.
Nearby, a camera click sounded.
Chris looked up sharply and saw Joanna putting her phone away. "What are you doing?"
Faced with Chris's questioning, Joanna simply said, "Keeping a memory. Haven't we not eaten together in a long time?"
Chris said nothing, becoming more and more convinced that Joanna knew she was wrong and had come to apologize!
But he waited and waited, and Joanna never took the initiative to speak up.
After dinner, Joanna had the servants prepare a hot bath for him.
As soon as Chris sank into the steaming water, Joanna took another photo.
Though Chris frowned, he didn't ask why.
It wasn't until Joanna fed him a piece of apple while he relaxed in the tub that Chris finally couldn't help mocking her. "Looks like Angelo didn't treat you well. Joanna, do you realize you were wrong?"
"Mm-hmm." Joanna gave a half-hearted response, quickly capturing another photo of herself feeding him the apple, then sent it to Henry.
She typed while looking down: [Chris and I have made up. He said he forgives me, the divorce agreement doesn't count. See how we're doing? Now, can you tell me where you took my mom?]
There was no reply from the other end for a long time. Joanna waited anxiously.
Chris was very dissatisfied with her perfunctory attitude, but he also knew that since Joanna had finally admitted her mistake, he couldn't push too hard, or this woman would make a fuss again.
He sneered and said, "If you'd realized your mistake earlier, wouldn't that have been better? Did it have to escalate to divorce? Joanna, this time I can be generous and forgive you, and we can treat the divorce agreement as void. But you must promise that you won't go out to work anymore, and you can't get angry with me because of Cynthia. I can give you a child—from now on, you just need to stay at the villa, take care of your pregnancy, and look after the child!"
Joanna's hand, refreshing her phone messages, paused.
She held back, not responding to Chris.
The message on her phone got a reply, but with an even worse demand: [How do I know you're not faking it? This isn't enough. Have a child with Chris. Once you have a child, our two families will be tightly bound together, and there'll be no risk of separation ever again!]
Joanna's eyes widened. She strongly resisted this demand. She replied: [No way! How long does having a baby take? My mom can't wait that long! Henry, she's your wife too—you can't hurt her!]
Henry replied impatiently: [I don't need you to teach me what to do! You just need to know that until you're pregnant, I won't tell you where your mother is!]
Joanna was both angry and anxious.
But now she was being threatened by Henry and had no way to resist. She didn't know whether Angelo would be able to find her mother.
"Joanna!" Chris slammed the table in dissatisfaction. "I'm talking to you!"
Joanna looked up and saw his unhappy face. She lost the mood to please him.
She turned around and said casually, "I'm going to sleep now."
She needed to think more about the pregnancy thing. At least she'd wait a few days for Angelo. What if he found Sandra and she didn't need to sacrifice herself?
Joanna was about to go upstairs, but Chris wasn't satisfied.
From the time he came home to now, although Joanna's actions showed she was backing down, she hadn't said a single word of apology!
How could this count as admitting her mistake?
Was he that easy to appease!