Chapter 99 Throwing Away the Things That Belong to Her
After arranging everything, Joanna settled into the nursing home.
Dr. Bruce helped set up a small bed in the ward for her to rest.
Actually, Joanna rarely rested on it. Most of the time she stayed with Sandra.
On Monday morning, Dr. Bruce came to change Sandra's medication.
The new medicine was injectable and required two hours of observation afterward.
Joanna communicated with Linda about the design work while keeping an eye on Sandra's condition.
Fortunately, Sandra showed no rejection reaction, and the new medication went smoothly.
After the blood draw, there was nothing else for the day.
Once Joanna finished with the design drafts, she took Sandra for a walk outside.
Life after the divorce was very peaceful, and she really enjoyed it.
But things were different for the Coopers.
Chris had run into Joanna twice, and both times left him frustrated. He felt uncomfortable even after returning home.
Just when he finally had a weekend and planned to go back to his place to rest, he got a call from the villa's housekeeper.
"Mr. Cooper, when are you coming back? Mrs. Cooper and Cynthia suddenly showed up and want to throw away all of Joanna's things. Aren't you coming back to stop them?"
When Chris first heard this news, he was angry.
Before he could even process it, he was already on his way back to the villa.
By the time he calmed down, he was already outside the villa.
"No, this is Joanna's favorite mural. It took so much effort to bring it back. That dress was made by Joanna for Mr. Cooper, we can't throw it away. Those medicines are what Joanna regularly uses..."
Chris took a deep breath and pushed the door open. His leather boots made sounds on the floor, stopping the argument inside.
The servants stood anxiously to the side, not daring to move, only occasionally daring to speak up and try to persuade them, but with little effect.
The floor was already a mess, covered with things Cynthia had picked out and Nicole had thrown away.
Chris pressed his temples and said, holding back his temper, "What's going on here?"
Cynthia quickly walked over, stroking her belly, her voice soft and weak: "I just thought that since you and Miss Jones are already divorced, it's not good to keep these things. Plus, when our baby is born and sees all this, they'll definitely be unhappy. Chris, unimportant trash should be thrown away, right?"
Chris's eyes were cold, because Cynthia's words made him think of Joanna.
So to Joanna, had he also become unimportant trash to be thrown away?
He felt very uncomfortable inside. He kicked aside the clothes on the floor and said, "I didn't give you permission to come to this villa. Even if these things need to be thrown away, it's not your place to handle them."
Cynthia's eyes immediately turned red.
Nicole angrily stepped forward to question him: "What kind of talk is that? You and Cynthia are about to get married, why keep Joanna's things? Besides, Cynthia thought you forgot about these trivial matters and came to help on her own initiative. Why are you taking it out on her?"
Chris didn't want to get into a conflict with Sandra, so he gritted his teeth: "I never said to throw them away, and some of the things you're throwing out are important to me! She doesn't know anything and just comes to handle things. What if she throws away the mural I need to build relationships with business partners, or damages the gift I was planning to give to a partner? I'd have to spend time and energy preparing all over again."
Cynthia looked down at the things on the floor. She was sure she hadn't touched Chris's things—most of them were Joanna's.
But she could understand what Chris meant. He was unhappy that she was interfering in his life.
Cynthia bit her lip, realizing she had made a mistake.
Before coming to Hillside Villa, she had assumed Chris had no feelings for Joanna and didn't care about these things.
She hadn't expected that those three years of marriage had actually had some impact on Chris.
After thinking it over, Cynthia took the initiative to apologize: "I'm sorry Chris, I was wrong. I'll help you put these things back properly, and I won't touch them again without permission, okay?"
Chris's expression softened a bit.
He appreciated that Cynthia knew when to advance and retreat—something Joanna couldn't match.
He nodded: "Forget about what's already been thrown away. Don't touch the rest, I'll handle it myself."
"Okay."
Nicole had originally thought Cynthia was being too accommodating to Chris and wanted to say something, but Cynthia stopped her.
"Mrs. Cooper, thank you for coming with me today. Chris and I are getting close to our wedding date, and there's been so much to do lately that he's a bit tired. Let's not add to his troubles, okay?"
This statement made Chris, who already had a favorable impression of Cynthia, look at her with appreciation.
Although Nicole was reluctant, for the sake of Chris and Cynthia's future happiness together, she held back.
The servants cleaned up and made dinner for the three of them.
"By the way Chris, our wedding outfits are ready. Next we need to prepare the guest list. My parents have already been notified. I'm afraid I won't have time to design the formal invitations myself. Do you have a preferred studio?"
Originally, Cynthia had wanted to personally oversee everything for her and Chris's wedding.
But she still had to design the charity project and couldn't keep all her energy focused on the relationship. She knew that what Chris appreciated most about her was her professional capability.
That was the fundamental difference between her and Joanna.
Chris had never worried about these things before, so when he heard this, his main feeling was confusion.
His good upbringing made him pause for a moment, then say: "I'll get someone to handle it. You focus on your design work."
After hearing this, Cynthia really didn't bring it up again.
Later, various matters about the wedding arrangements, the event schedule, guest seating, and all sorts of things came to Chris.
It was the first time he realized that getting married was such a troublesome thing.
But for that wedding with Joanna three years ago, he hadn't paid any attention at all.
After dealing with the invitations while holding back his temper, Chris dumped all these hassles on Nicole and didn't deal with them anymore.
He thought he had already adapted to life without Joanna, until the birthday party for the president of Smith Group.
The auction was very lavish, but Chris didn't pay attention to the occasion and wore an inappropriate outfit.
Before, Joanna had always helped him prepare. This time he left it to the servants.
But the servants had never attended such an auction, and the clothes they prepared looked randomly thrown together, with no style at all.
Chris had no choice but to call Cynthia: "Help me pick out clothes for the auction."
Cynthia was discussing design draft details with William and directly declined: "Chris, just wear your usual outfit. William and I are still busy here. Once this charity project is finished, I'll spend quality time with you, okay?"
After saying that, she hung up.
Chris didn't know what was wrong with him. Before, he thought Cynthia was an independent woman, but now he found he couldn't quite accept that all her attention was on work.
He irritably prepared an outfit and went to the banquet hall.
Before long, he saw the Smiths arriving in formal attire, their clothes clearly in a matching style.
The exquisite patterns and thoughtful little touches in the coordination made Chris recognize immediately that this was Joanna's work.
Sourness and resentment surged in his heart. He stared at the clothes the Smiths were wearing, his eyes practically shooting fire.