My CEO Husband Says I'm Irreplaceable

Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Congratulations, Mrs. Hawthorne

Jared Hawthorne helped her into the car, then leaned over and thoughtfully fastened her seatbelt for her.

"What style of wedding would you like, Mrs. Hawthorne?" he asked, his voice low and indulgent.

"I’m fine with anything," she replied softly, her heart filled to the brim with sweetness.

’No matter what style we choose, it’s bound to be a grand affair. I know Jared Hawthorne would never let me be wronged in the slightest, and besides, the Hawthorne Family has to maintain its reputation.’

Jared Hawthorne raised an eyebrow. "As for the guest list, have you thought about who you’d like to invite?"

"I don’t have many friends. I’ll send you my guest list when it’s ready. I’d like to ask Shiloh to be my bridesmaid."

"No problem."

Back at the office, Vesper Grayson immediately dialed Shiloh Sloan’s number.

"I’m going to be having my wedding soon, so will the lovely Miss Sloan do me the honor of being my bridesmaid?"

"Me?" Shiloh Sloan’s voice was filled with utter surprise.

Vesper Grayson’s lips curved into a smile. "You’re my best friend. Of course my bridesmaid has to be you!"

"Of course! I won’t let you down!" Shiloh Sloan readily agreed, her voice full of delight.

"As for the bridesmaid dress, I’ll let you know when, and we’ll go try them on together."

"Bonnie, you’re moving so fast! It feels like you’ve accomplished more in the past few months than most people do in several years."

Engagement, pregnancy, marriage, childbirth... you’ve done it all in one year!

"We registered our marriage this morning," Vesper Grayson added, dropping another bombshell.

After a moment of silence on the other end of the line, Shiloh Sloan let out a shriek of excitement so high-pitched her voice cracked.

"Congratulations! So, does this mean I have to start calling you Mrs. Hawthorne now?" she teased. "Pray tell, how is the new Mrs. Hawthorne feeling at this very moment?"

’From middle class straight into a prestigious family. That’s a huge leap in social status!’

"It feels like a dream."

’The moment she received the marriage certificate, she was still in a complete daze.’

’Just like that, she had given in to Jared Hawthorne and truly married him.’

"President Hawthorne is a real keeper—dependable and responsible. Not like that damned scumbag Luke Lockwood, who wasted three years of your life and never even gave you a real title." Shiloh Sloan’s voice was indignant, her heart aching for her friend. After her tirade, she asked with concern, "I heard he’s in Northolme. Has he been harassing you lately?"

"No. He came to see me once, back at the engagement party." Her tone was calm, as if she were discussing something trivial.

"If he ever comes looking for you again, you tell me immediately. I’ll bring Quentin Stone and Magnus to teach him a proper lesson!" Shiloh Sloan declared, her voice filled with righteous indignation. "I’ve only ever seen a photo of Luke Lockwood, I’ve never even met him, but a man with such a terrible character is rotten to the core."

Vesper Grayson asked curiously, "Have you been hiring a lot of people lately? Planning to expand the business?"

"Nope, just hired two. But ever since I got these two heavy hitters, debt collection has gotten so much faster!" Shiloh Sloan said smugly, her voice full of pride. "If you hadn’t given me that idea, I’d still be groveling every day, begging people to pay up."

"Was it really that bad?" Vesper Grayson chuckled.

"It’s not an exaggeration in the slightest. If anything, I’m understating it. You have no idea the lengths those deadbeats will go to avoid paying up."

"If it’s something you can solve by spending a little money, there’s no need for you to get involved personally. A woman needs to know how to protect herself out there!"

"I get it!" Her tone suddenly shifted. "I’ve been itching to beat up that scumbag Luke Lockwood for a long time. Just give me his address, and I’ll take my guys to teach him a lesson when I have a spare moment!"

"I don’t know where he lives," Vesper Grayson said coolly. "And at the engagement party, he actually ended up helping me, in a strange twist of fate."

’If Mandy Grayson and the others had succeeded that day, my reputation would have been ruined at my own engagement party. If it had escalated, it would have become a massive scandal.’

’Not only would my own reputation be in tatters, but the Hawthorne Family would have been utterly humiliated as well.’

"What do you mean?"

Vesper Grayson recounted the events of the engagement party. When she finished, Shiloh Sloan was utterly stunned.

"I can’t believe something that awful happened! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?"

’I was in the main hall downstairs the whole time. I had no idea such a huge commotion was happening upstairs.’

"It wasn’t exactly something I’m proud of, and I just haven’t had a chance to tell you."

"Well, at least he acted like a man and showed some decency!" Shiloh Sloan then asked with concern, "But did he... take advantage of the situation?"

"No..."

’When I woke up, my clothes were untouched and a thin blanket was covering me. Luke Lockwood was sitting on the sofa, keeping his distance.’

’I was unconscious at the time. If Luke Lockwood had really wanted to do something to me, he certainly had the opportunity.’

"In that case, I guess he’s not completely rotten to the core, then."

After hanging up and finishing her paperwork, it was already noon.

There was a knock at the door.

Dolly Hughes came in. "Vesper, a woman named Nancy Linton is here to see you. She says she’s your second aunt."

"Please have her come up. And could you bring two drinks in for us?"

"Yes."

A moment later, Nancy Linton walked in.

She looked even thinner than the last time they had met, and there were injuries on her face that even foundation couldn’t completely conceal.

Vesper froze, her gaze fixed on Nancy’s face.

"Aunt Nancy, what happened...?"

Nancy Linton’s gaze was eerily calm, like a stagnant pool. "He wants to divorce me."

"..."

She suddenly let out a bitter laugh. "One old scumbag and one ungrateful wolf. And to think I poured my heart and soul into them all these years. Now they’re shameless enough to try and kick me out with nothing!"

"That’s horrible!" Vesper was stunned, at a loss for how to comfort her. An ordeal like this would be enough to crush anyone.

"He said... he’s moving Shirley Langley into our home. If I don’t agree to the divorce, I’ll have to live under the same roof with her." Nancy Linton’s eyes grew red as she clutched Vesper’s hand. "Vesper, he’s gone too far. I can’t just swallow this humiliation, but my own family can’t do anything... He’s only bullying me like this because he knows I have no one to back me up."

She said through her tears, "I know I shouldn’t be burdening you with this, but I’m at my wit’s end. To force my hand, he even froze my bank accounts. That’s our joint marital property! What right does he have to do that?"

Vesper Grayson frowned. "Aidan went along with this?"

"That little ungrateful wolf couldn’t wait for it to happen!" she said, covering the injury on her face, her heart freezing over. "I was so angry I slapped him, and he... he pushed me."

’He pushed me so unexpectedly that I fell right onto the stairs and cut my face.’

’This was more melodramatic than a TV drama.’

’It was utterly absurd.’

Vesper Grayson asked, "Does Grandpa know?"

"His health isn’t good, so I haven’t told him yet..."

’One is his own son, and the other is his grandson. Of course the old man would side with his own blood over me. My plan was to find my son, and then ask the patriarch to back me up.’

’But who would have thought Kevin Hawthorne would be so brazen? He’s not even bothering to keep up appearances anymore!’

"What would you like me to do to help?" Vesper Grayson asked.

Nancy Linton wiped away her tears. "I didn’t come here to ask for your help. I just wanted to know... is there any news about my son?"

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