Chapter 170 Olivia and Alton Fell Out
"Okay." She picked up a shrimp, looked at it from side to side, and realized she had no idea where to start. She bit the bullet and asked, "Honey, how... how do you eat this?"
Forgive her for being such a bumpkin—she'd never eaten shrimp before!
Before she got together with Steven, she rarely ordered takeout and rarely ate out.
There were so many things she'd never tried. It was only after being with Steven, with him always taking her out to eat, that she'd gained some exposure.
"You don't know how to eat it?" Steven looked at her.
Nora felt embarrassed. "I've never had it before."
Steven paused for a moment.
She'd never even eaten shrimp.
"The restaurant has already deveined the shrimp for you, see? The back is slit open, so you just need to take the meat out from the back and eat it. As for the shrimp roe in the head, you can eat it if you like it, or discard it if you don't."
"Got it." Nora pulled open the back, and sure enough, it was all prepared. She took it out and popped it in her mouth.
"Not bad!" She nodded.
Steven peeled another shrimp and brought it to her mouth. "Open up."
"What?" She looked confused.
Steven took advantage of her opening her mouth and stuffed the shrimp in. "You're too clumsy. Let me peel them for you."
"...I'm not clumsy!" Nora protested, but chewed with relish. "Yummy, yummy."
Like a little kid.
"You've got it all over your mouth." Steven pulled out a tissue and wiped the corners of her mouth.
Nora smiled. "Thanks, honey."
Steven smiled and continued peeling shrimp methodically.
"This is really good." After being fed another one, Nora said, "Steven, you eat too. You haven't eaten yet. I can peel them myself."
"OK," Steven responded, then fed her another one.
Nora felt sweet inside.
She took off her gloves, picked up her phone, and took a picture of the shrimp on the table.
She wanted to share her happiness.
After photographing the shrimp, she went to photograph the bouquet.
"What are you doing?" Steven asked when he saw her fiddling with the flowers.
"I want to post it online." She held up the flowers and took a selfie with them, then looked at Steven expectantly.
She wanted to take a picture of Steven, too.
Since their relationship was stable, she should announce it, let people she knew see that she was married and had a husband.
Steven didn't catch her meaning and continued peeling shrimp, setting them aside for her to eat.
Nora pouted.
A bit disappointed.
Whatever, if Steven didn't want to take photos, she wouldn't force him.
She put together four pictures herself and posted them online with the caption: Romantic dinner!
She sat back in her chair, and immediately got some likes.
Amelia: [Ordered so much? Who are you eating with?]
Nora smiled happily and replied: [With my husband.]
Amelia was surprised: [He even sent flowers, nice! Your husband is pretty romantic.]
Nora smiled. He really was quite romantic.
Amelia: [Since your relationship is stable, when are you going to treat me to dinner?]
Nora: [I need to ask my husband.]
Nora looked up at Steven. "Steven, my friend, saw the photos I shared. Can I invite her to our place for dinner?"
"Sure." Steven pushed over the peeled shrimp. "You entertained my friend, so naturally I'll entertain yours too. How about we take her out to eat instead?"
He didn't want Nora to have to clean up.
"It's fine, I like cooking at home. They'll help out together." Nora was happy he agreed and told Amelia on her phone.
Nora: [Amelia, my husband said yes. When do you want to come to our place for dinner? Whatever you want to eat, I'll make it for you.]
Amelia was surprised—she was really going to meet Nora's husband!
Amelia: [Saturday evening works. It'll be the weekend, so I can stay out later.]
Nora: [Okay.]
After sending the message, she told Steven, "I made plans with my friend. She's coming to our place for dinner this Saturday evening."
"Okay." Seeing her happy, Steven didn't bring up eating out again. Since Nora liked cooking, he'd respect that.
After a while, Steven asked, "What did the Reed family members come to say today?"
He wanted to know why she'd been unhappy.
"They said the Reed family had discussed it and decided not to divorce Olivia after all. They told me not to meddle in their marriage, saying that if they divorced and Olivia wasn't happy, it would be my fault. They said I was the one who harmed Olivia."
"And you just let them scold you?" Steven looked at her.
"Of course not. I gave them a piece of my mind, and Grandma helped scold them, too. I didn't expect Grandma to be so fierce—she's been hiding her skills."
As long as Nora wasn't bullied, that was good.
Steven said with a smile, "Grandma is pretty fierce."
As they were talking, Nora heard someone at the door say "Olivia!"
That sounded like Willie's voice.
That jerk was pestering Olivia again!
He didn't know how to cherish her before, so what's the point of constantly bothering her now?
"I'll go take a look." Nora got up..
Opening the security door, she saw Willie grabbing Olivia in the hallway.
"Olivia, stop making a fuss about divorce. You took that fifty-something thousand dollars, fine, keep it for your living expenses. I won't hold it against you, but please stop talking about divorce, okay?"
"Riverside Apartment is Nora's marital home after all. It's not good for you to keep disturbing her here. Come back with me. I'll rent you a place outside, and we can talk things through properly, okay?"
Olivia was cornered against the wall by him. Her face cold, she said, "Willie, I'm not falling for your tricks anymore. Leave now, or I'll call security."
She'd gone back to the company today, and Willie had called her into his office to talk. It ended badly again.
Willie pressed his lips together. "Olivia, you know Apex Technologies Corporation recently invested in a factory. The factory is half-built now, we've bought so much equipment, and all our money is invested there. If you divorce me now, I'll go bankrupt."
He pleaded, looking pitiful. "Olivia, Apex Technologies Corporation isn't just my company, it's yours too. We built it together through hard work. Can you really bear to destroy it like this?"
Here we go again!
Crocodile tears. Even Nora couldn't stand it!
She was about to speak when she heard Olivia say, "Yes, I can bear it. Ever since my child died under mysterious circumstances, I've become indifferent to everything. Willie, I just want my money now. If you don't give it to me, we'll go to court. It's that simple."
Hearing this, Nora didn't walk over.
She knew Olivia had completely woken up.
Steven came out, but Nora stopped him, pressing him against the door so Olivia wouldn't see them.
Those two were standing in the hallway and didn't know she'd opened the door.
Steven was pressed against the door by her, and his long arm reached up to wrap around her slender waist.
Nora's eyelashes fluttered. She warned him with her eyes not to mess around.
But Steven insisted on messing around, pulling her head down, and pressing it against his chest.
His cool, light fragrance enveloped her.
Held by him, listening to his strong heartbeat, Nora actually felt very secure.
"Is Olivia back?" Steven asked her softly.
"Yes." Nora didn't pull away from him, listening to what was happening outside.
Willie pleaded, "Olivia, please don't do this, okay? I'm begging you. At least don't divorce now. I can give you $4,000 a month and rent you a place. You can still live well outside."
"No need." Olivia refused. "Just give me my share of the money, and I can rent my own place and spend my own money. I don't need yours."
He said he'd give her $4,000 a month, but what if he didn't? Would she have to keep begging him?
Taking other people's money was never easy.
After speaking, Olivia walked toward home.
Nora's expression changed, and she quickly tried to push Steven away.
Steven held her waist tighter. "Don't be so hasty, you might fall."
"Olivia's coming back." Before Nora could finish this sentence, Olivia was standing in front of them.
The two were still in an embrace.
Nora's face suddenly turned red.
Olivia smiled. "What are you doing here?"
"I just heard Willie's voice and was worried he might bully you, so I came out to check." Nora tried to get out of Steven's arms, but he wouldn't let go. She pinched his waist.
Steven frowned in pain and let her go.
Nora straightened her hair. "Olivia, have you eaten? Steven ordered shrimp tonight, lots of it. Come eat with us."
"Okay." Olivia changed her shoes and went inside with them.
Willie was left outside the door with no one paying attention to him.
The three of them ate together.
Nora told them about what happened with the Reed family today.
Olivia sneered. "Nora, don't listen to them. If I go back with them, Eleanor will bully me again soon enough. Do you believe me?"
"I do." Nora nodded. Eleanor was definitely no pushover.
Olivia said, "So my divorce has nothing to do with you. It's my own decision. Don't feel burdened."
"I know."
"Tomorrow I'll schedule an appointment with a lawyer to go to Apex Technologies Corporation and evaluate the company's worth," Olivia said while peeling shrimp.
Steven raised an eyebrow, catching something unusual in that statement.
Nora was also confused. "What? Isn't Mr. Bridges handling this for you?"
A flash of embarrassment crossed Olivia's face. "No, Mr. Bridges' fees are too high. I can't afford them. I'll just hire my own lawyer."
Originally, she was going to give her divorce case to Alton.
But then she found out Alton was a very successful lawyer with extremely high fees.
Naturally, Olivia couldn't afford those fees, and she could also tell Alton had ulterior motives toward her.
So she asked Alton about it.
Alton straight-up said that after her divorce, she should sleep with him once.
That scared Olivia into blocking him.
That's how these men were—always thinking divorced women were easy targets, thinking they could offer some comfort when a woman was heartbroken, then get her into bed without any responsibility.
Olivia decided to cut ties with Alton completely.
After dinner, Steven was looking at documents in his study when he received a phone call from Alton.
"Hello."
"Are you home?" Alton asked. "I have something to give you."
"What is it?"
"About Olivia—remember you asked me to look into Willie and Hazel? There's been progress on that." Alton said.