Chapter 47 Resigning Cynthia
Cynthia's willingness to resign helped cool the shareholders' anger.
But Chris didn't want that. Especially after Sean told him that Joanna wouldn't agree to end the divorce, and then seeing Cynthia trying to shoulder all the blame herself, his frustration only grew.
"It's just one competition. We might still have new opportunities. I'll find a way to fix this! If we haven't fixed our reputation by the end of the contest, then we can talk about consequences!”
The shareholders' anger, which had just been suppressed, nearly flared up again.
Whether the company could pivot to new projects was related to their interests, too. They didn't want Chris taking such risks.
In the end, Chris could only sweet-talk and appease the shareholders before they finally agreed.
After the meeting ended, Chris loosened his tie and returned to his office in a foul mood.
Just then, Cynthia came in and put down a resignation letter. "Chris, I'm sorry. This is all my fault for dragging you down. I know this is a huge mess, and you're under a lot of pressure. I really don't have the face to stay anymore. Everyone's looking at me like I'm guilty. But I swear, I didn't plagiarize…"
Her voice grew more choked up as she spoke, covering her face. "I don't know why Joanna would frame me like this. I explained our relationship to her, but I never thought she still couldn't tolerate my existence. I'm sorry, Chris. I'm leaving. When you work late from now on, please remember to eat and take care of yourself..."
After expressing her concern for Chris, Cynthia left the company in tears.
Chris wanted to stop her but didn't get the chance.
Thinking about the reporters outside, he could only follow her down, mobilize security, disperse the reporters, and make sure Cynthia got safely into her car.
After dealing with everything, Chris felt even more frustrated and angrily kicked the steps.
It was all Joanna's fault!
If she hadn't thrown a tantrum, how would there be so many problems?
Chris called Joanna directly. She only answered after the third try.
"Joanna! You're fooling around with Angelo again, aren't you? That's why you're not answering my calls? Do you have no shame at all! We're not divorced yet. I'm your legal husband!"
Joanna gripped the phone tightly, her heart clenching from this opening barrage of accusations.
In Chris's eyes, was she really that desperate?
She pressed her lips together. "Don't slander me. Angelo and I are completely innocent. You're the one who cheated. Even if we're not divorced now, it'll be over soon anyway."
"I didn't call to hear you talk about who's at fault. Joanna, because of you, the company is in trouble. The contest organizers have ruled that we plagiarized. The company can't pivot now. Cynthia was harassed by the board members and has already resigned! This is all your fault!" Chris's tone was almost a shout.
Joanna was stunned for a moment, her aching heart turning bitter.
Why was it her fault? Cynthia was clearly the one who plagiarized her work. Cynthia was the one who caused the trouble.
Before Joanna could speak, Chris continued, "You caused this mess, so don't drag others down with you. Joanna, you need to step up and do some interviews. Tell people you swapped out Cynthia's design because you got jealous after seeing those photos of Cynthia and me together. If you do that, we might be able to buy some time with the contest organizers, and Cynthia won't have to quit!"
"What about me?" Joanna's voice was soft, holding onto one last thread of hope.
If she took the blame, then what? What would Chris do? How would others see her?
Cynthia would no longer be the company's scapegoat—she would take that position instead, right?
Joanna's grip on the phone gradually weakened. The phone fell onto the bed and accidentally switched to speakerphone. Chris's cold, mocking voice rang out. "You're just a housewife anyway. You won't need to work in the future. Just stay home, and nobody will bother you. Cynthia is different—she's got a bright future. As the design department director, she can't have any stains on her record!"
Chris figured it was straightforward. If Joanna took the blame, Cynthia's talent could still turn things around for the company. The shareholders wouldn't complain or hassle Joanna, who was hardly ever at the office anyway.
This was the best solution!
After listening, the last bit of hope in Joanna's eyes completely dimmed.
Time and again, Chris pushed her out to take the blame for Cynthia. Why?
Because she was just a housewife? Because she had given up all her reputation and career for the family? Because she was only fit to revolve around Chris?
In Chris's eyes, no matter what she did, she seemed to be a worthless person who could be discarded.
Tears welled up in Joanna's eyes, but she answered with choked yet firm resolve, "Chris, I won't admit fault for Cynthia. The drafts were indeed in my studio, but if she hadn't had the crooked idea to plagiarize, she wouldn't have brought such big trouble to the company. I'm not the one who did wrong this time. You can't always sacrifice me."
On the other end of the line, Chris fell silent for a moment at her choked accusation.
Did he... always sacrifice Joanna?
No way!
He remembered being good to Joanna—generous with money, always overlooking her mistakes, solving countless problems for her!
Joanna was so unreasonable!
After a brief silence, Chris was still angry. "You're not losing anything anyway. Joanna, don't be jealous of Cynthia just because she's capable and constantly oppose her! I've been patient with you for a long time."
"I've been patient with you two for a long time, too!" Joanna shouted back. "You treat her better than you treat me. Who exactly is your wife?"
Chris was extremely annoyed. "Why do you keep obsessing over such trivial things? Joanna, I'll say this one last time—go beg Cynthia to come back! And go admit that you mixed up the designs, so the company stops getting attacked. If you can't do these two things, forget about the divorce and the investment Henry wants. Forever!"
Joanna didn't care at all whether Henry could get the investment.
But divorce... she needed Chris's cooperation!
With the evidence she currently had, filing for divorce didn't guarantee complete success. Chris still had some connections in Austin City.
Besides, she needed to explain clearly that she wasn't pregnant—she wasn't the one at fault!
Thinking about how she could get her medical examination report tomorrow, Joanna said directly, "Fine, I'll go."
After hanging up, Chris's mood wasn't as relieved as he'd imagined.
Making Joanna beg Cynthia was actually intentional on his part.
Once the plagiarism controversy died down, he'd call Cynthia and persuade her. She would definitely come back—Joanna's involvement wasn't needed at all.
But Chris was very unhappy about Joanna's insistence on divorce. He knew that Joanna begging Cynthia to return wouldn't succeed, and he believed Joanna knew it too.
But unexpectedly, just to divorce sooner and be with Angelo, she could even endure such humiliation!
The more Chris thought about it, the angrier he got. He threw a huge tantrum in his office and even yelled at Matthew.