Chapter 87
"Benjamin?! Do you have any conscience at all?!"
Chloe completely lost it at his words and screamed at him hysterically, "I'm going through such a hard time right now, and you're choosing to abandon me?!"
"You were the one who said you liked me, loved me!"
Hearing her screaming, the man's face darkened to a frightening degree.
"I have no conscience?"
"Chloe, take a good look at all the stupid things you've done lately!"
"Plagiarism was bad enough, but then you were dumb enough to bring reporters to the hospital to ambush Charlotte?! What were you thinking?!"
"And do you even realize that today, because of your scandal, the Harris Group's stock dropped two hundred points?!"
"Grandpa called me this morning and chewed me out, saying I was blind to have gotten involved with someone as vicious as you!"
At this point, Benjamin dropped all pretense and stripped away the last shred of dignity the woman had been hiding behind.
"And who did I do all this for? For myself?"
Chloe couldn't stand his aggressive attitude anymore. Her eyes turned red. "If Charlotte goes down, all her resources would come to us, wouldn't they?!"
"I did this for our future! Do you even understand that?!"
Hearing her dress up her selfish motives so high-mindedly, Benjamin let out a mocking laugh, his eyes full of contempt.
"Don't you dare use my name to justify your own stupidity!"
"Honestly, besides pulling dirty tricks, what else can you actually do?!"
"Now that everything's blown up in your face and you've become a public joke, are you trying to drag me down with you?"
"The Harris family has been completely disgraced because of you, and you still think you deserve to marry me?"
"This engagement is off. End of discussion!"
Hearing Benjamin tear her down with just a few words, Chloe's expression grew uglier by the second.
Then something suddenly came to her, and her eyes turned cold.
She looked at the man's cold, unfeeling face and let out a sharp laugh.
"Benjamin, you're in such a rush to call off the engagement. Is it really just about the company's reputation?"
"I don't think that's the whole story, is it?"
Sensing there was more behind her words, the man frowned and shot her a sideways glance.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Don't think I don't know!"
Chloe moved toward him step by step, her eyes filled with venom. "You've got another woman on the side! That's why you can't wait to kick me to the curb — to make room for her!"
"Am I wrong?"
"What are you talking about?!"
At that, Benjamin's expression shifted slightly, a flicker of panic crossing his eyes, but he quickly covered it up. "You're the one who messed up, and now you're trying to throw dirt on someone else?"
"Talking nonsense?"
Chloe stared at his self-righteous face and screamed, "Yesterday morning at nine-thirty, outside the inpatient building at St. Regis Private Hospital, you had your arms around a woman in a gray business suit — and you kissed her!"
"Benjamin, do you think I'm dead? Did you really think I wouldn't find out?"
"Have you no shame? That was right outside a hospital, in broad daylight! And we're still engaged!"
Benjamin's expression completely changed.
He never imagined Chloe had witnessed any of that.
That woman was the daughter of the City Planning Department director. The Harris family had their eye on a piece of land in the south of the city and urgently needed to get the right people on board.
So Benjamin had gone to meet her.
And not just for business — he also wanted to win her over, which was the most critical part of his plan.
But he never expected...
"She's my business partner! We were discussing work!" Benjamin refused to admit it and gritted his teeth to defend himself.
But Chloe wasn't the kind of fool you could brush off with one line. She grabbed Benjamin by the collar, her face twisted with rage.
"Work? Since when does work involve putting your arm around someone's waist? Or kissing them on the cheek?!"
"Benjamin, you're nothing but a two-faced hypocrite!"
"You went after Charlotte at first, then decided she wasn't useful enough and turned to me!"
"Now that I'm not what I used to be, I've become someone you want to throw away too — so you've started looking for your next woman!"
"Who do you think you are? When it comes down to it, you're no better than anyone else!"
"Enough!"
Hit where it hurt, Benjamin flew into a rage and tried to shove Chloe out.
But she clung on like she'd caught prey and refused to let go.
As they struggled, Benjamin finally lost all control and slapped Chloe hard across the face.
Smack!
Caught off guard, the force of the blow sent Chloe stumbling backward. She crashed into the shoe cabinet beside her, her forehead hitting the corner of it, instantly swelling red.
She crumpled to the floor, clutching her swollen cheek, tasting blood in her mouth, her head ringing.
The apartment fell completely silent.
Looking at the scene in front of him, a flash of regret crossed Benjamin's eyes — but it was quickly replaced by cold indifference.
He glanced at Chloe sitting motionless on the floor, straightened his rumpled collar, and let out a cold snort.
"Chloe, you'd better wise up and agree to call off the engagement. It's better for everyone."
"If you keep making trouble, don't blame me for dragging every dirty thing you've done out into the open."
"Destroying you would be easier for the Harris family than stepping on an ant."
With that, Benjamin turned and walked out.
Bang! The door slammed shut with a deafening crash that made Chloe flinch.
She sat on the cold floor, her eyes filled with hatred.
"Benjamin... Charlotte..."
"Just you wait... I'm not letting this go..."
At two in the afternoon, Charlotte was discharged from the hospital without a hitch.
She and Alexander came downstairs one after the other and walked up to the black Maybach.
"Back to your apartment, or to the studio?" Alexander considerately opened the car door and asked.
"Let's go back to the apartment."
Charlotte thought for a moment and said quietly, "These past few days have probably let a lot of things pile up. It's quieter there, and easier to work without being interrupted."
"Besides, I have a feeling the Johnson family is about to make their move."
Alexander understood exactly what she meant. He nodded and closed the door.
The street outside blurred past the window as Charlotte leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes to rest.
Sure enough, just as she'd expected, her phone rang not long after the car pulled away.
Charlotte took it out of her bag. The name "Henry" was flashing on the screen.
Seeing that he couldn't hold back any longer, Charlotte let out a quiet laugh, swiped to answer, and put it on speaker.
"Charlotte! Where are you right now?!"
The moment the call connected, Henry's furious voice flooded the small space.