My CEO Husband Says I'm Irreplaceable

Chapter 161: Chapter 161: Cannot Hire You

Shirley Langley stared at the paternity test reports scattered at her feet. Her lashes trembled, and a fleeting trace of guilt flashed in her eyes.

She immediately lowered her head, her shoulders shaking violently as she let out a suppressed sob.

"You’d rather trust an outsider than believe me? Kevin Hawthorne, I was a virgin when I came to you. For you, I gave birth to Aidan and have remained unmarried ever since. You once said you would love me and trust me forever, but it turns out those words can’t stand up to a single piece of gossip. In the eyes of the Hawthorne Family, I’m just an outsider. Who knows if your nephew took orders from the old man to tamper with this report, just to make you despise me?"

Aidan Hawthorne quickly chimed in, his voice laced with urgency, "Dad, Grandpa never liked Mom. He was willing to tear you two apart back then, so why wouldn’t he resort to tricks now? Don’t let your anger cloud your judgment and fall right into their trap!"

Kevin Hawthorne’s brow was tightly furrowed, his eyes dark. He was clearly shaken by their words.

Seeing him remain silent, Shirley Langley immediately stood up and threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and crying with even greater grievance. "Kevin, I love you so much. I can endure being looked down upon, being misunderstood by the world, even watching my own son call another woman ’Mother.’ But for you to doubt me... that truly breaks my heart!"

She raised a hand and lightly pounded his chest with her fist, accusing him, "If you really think I’m that kind of person, I’ll leave right now and never appear before you again!"

Kevin Hawthorne’s heart tightened. He subconsciously wrapped his arms around her, his Adam’s apple bobbing. The words "I believe you" almost escaped his lips.

But just then, the sound of steady footsteps came from outside the door.

It was Maxim Chandler, Elias’s most capable assistant.

"Assistant Chandler, what are you doing here?" Kevin Hawthorne asked, confused.

"President Hawthorne was afraid you would be indecisive and fall for lies, so he had me bring something over." Maxim Chandler stepped forward and handed him an iPad.

"What is this...?" Kevin Hawthorne looked at him, puzzled.

"You’ll know once you see it."

The color drained from both Aidan Hawthorne’s and Shirley Langley’s faces. A sense of foreboding instantly rose in their hearts.

Seeing that Kevin Hawthorne was about to tap the iPad, the two of them instinctively moved to stop him.

"Dad..."

"Kevin..."

Maxim Chandler took a step forward, coldly blocking their path.

"Please, be patient. Wait until the Second Master is finished."

Kevin Hawthorne keenly sensed their unusual behavior. He narrowed his eyes, his sharp gaze sweeping over the two of them.

"What are you so guilty about? Do you have something to hide, something you’re afraid I’ll find out?"

He no longer hesitated and tapped the iPad with his fingertip. As the video on the screen began to play, his expression visibly darkened until it was black as thunder.

"You bitch! Well done! I almost fell for your act!" Kevin Hawthorne violently threw the iPad, and it struck Shirley Langley squarely on the forehead.

She cried out in pain, her vision went black, and she collapsed straight to the floor.

After a while, Shirley Langley recovered from her dizziness. She struggled to get up, but after seeing the contents of the video, she instantly crumpled at Kevin Hawthorne’s feet, weeping and wailing as she tried to explain herself through a flood of tears and snot.

"Kevin, please, let me explain! It was just a mistake, just that one time! I never meant to betray you! After you married Nancy Linton, I was heartbroken. I got drunk to drown my sorrows and accidentally slept with someone else. But a month later, I found out I was pregnant. Nancy was also pregnant then, and I was terrified she would take you away from me, that there would be no place for me in your heart anymore. So I lied and said the child was yours... Kevin, I did it all because I love you too much!"

Kevin Hawthorne’s entire body went rigid, but an imperceptible flicker of emotion crossed his eyes.

"Second Master, you should take a look at this file as well." Maxim Chandler handed over another document.

’There’s more?’

Kevin Hawthorne’s expression was utterly foul as he took the file and quickly skimmed through it. After he finished reading, the last shred of pity and emotion he felt vanished instantly, replaced by nothing but a towering rage.

He violently kicked Shirley Langley aside, his voice freezing. "You bitch, still daring to lie! All these years, you’ve been secretly in contact behind my back, having an affair right under my nose!"

"No! I swear we haven’t..." Shirley Langley shook her head frantically, trying to make one last, desperate struggle.

But this time, Kevin Hawthorne would no longer believe her one-sided story, nor was he willing to be played for a fool again.

The thought that he had been betrayed and toyed with for over twenty years by the woman he loved most and the "son" he’d raised as his own made Kevin Hawthorne feel as if his chest were being scorched by flames, the fury rushing straight to his head.

He had abandoned his own flesh and blood for a bastard, and the woman he had cherished in the palm of his hand for over twenty years had been deceiving him from the very beginning.

He couldn’t swallow this insult!

"Now, take your bastard child and get the hell out of here!" Kevin Hawthorne pulled out his phone, his tone final. "Immediately freeze all of Shirley Langley’s bank cards and reclaim every single cent I’ve spent on her over the years! Also, fire Aidan Hawthorne from the company and blacklist him permanently!"

"No! Kevin, even if Aidan isn’t your biological son, he’s still called you ’Father’ for over twenty years! You can’t be so heartless!" Shirley Langley screamed, her voice shrill with grief.

"He’s nothing but a bastard you conceived in an illicit affair with another man!" Kevin Hawthorne’s eyes were ice-cold, his tone incredibly caustic. "If I had known he wasn’t my blood from the start, I would have smashed his head in the moment he was born! I never would have let him live this long!"

He had meticulously groomed him for over twenty years, giving him the best of everything, only to find out he was raising another man’s child.

Thinking about how this mother-son duo had run him around in circles for all these years, turning his life into a complete joke, only made Kevin Hawthorne’s anger burn hotter.

Shirley Langley’s face was ashen, her lips trembling for a long time, unable to utter a single word.

Aidan Hawthorne panicked too, his voice filled with terror. "Dad, you can’t do this to me! I didn’t know anything about this! I’m innocent!"

’Without the Hawthorne Family, I’m nothing. I don’t want to become destitute and have everything taken away.’

"You are not my son. I will have you removed from the Hawthorne Family registry immediately. From this day forward, there is no relationship between us!" Kevin Hawthorne’s tone was resolute, leaving no room for argument.

He immediately gave the order to have the mother and son forcibly thrown out.

A moment later, only Kevin Hawthorne remained in the hall. He seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. He collapsed limply onto the sofa, burying his hands in his disheveled hair and letting out a pained whimper, all his former vigor gone.

Maxim Chandler stood to the side, observing coldly. He hadn’t expected the ever-decisive Second Master to have such a vulnerable side. ’Still, it’s quite pitiful,’ he thought. ’To be deceived and betrayed for so many years by the two people he trusted and loved the most.’

"Second Master, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave and report back."

...

Meanwhile, Luke Lockwood had successfully landed a job at Verdant Technologies.

But for all his talent, he only managed to secure a supervisor position.

This was a world away from his expectations. With his skills and abilities, he should have been a key member of the technical team, or even a candidate for vice president.

He left the company building, feeling utterly dejected. Just as he was about to get into his car, he received a call from the boss of Verdant.

"Mr. Lockwood, I’m afraid we can’t hire you after all."

"Why?" Luke Lockwood’s face fell, his tone filled with incredulous questioning. "Didn’t we just finalize everything? I was supposed to start tomorrow!"

"Mr. Lockwood, your history in Ashmore is a little too... ’colorful’," the voice on the other end said with a hint of disdain. "I’m afraid a small temple like Verdant can’t accommodate a great Buddha like you."

A talent with such a rotten reputation and character, no matter how outstanding, was someone they wouldn’t dare to recruit.

Luke Lockwood’s face was grim as he viciously ended the call.

He never would have imagined that his past in Ashmore would become a stumbling block to his career.

The sun overhead was so bright he could barely open his eyes. He raised a hand to block the light as an unprecedented wave of confusion and frustration washed over him.

’I remember how I used to be,’ he thought. ’Everything went my way; my future was limitless. Back then, I was so full of spirit, the envy of everyone.’

’But my pride and arrogance not only destroyed everything I had, but also made me lose the one girl who truly cared for me.’

’I once arrogantly claimed that Vesper Grayson couldn’t survive without me, that no one else would want her. But the reality is, not only is she thriving, but she also married into a true chaebol family and is now cherished like a treasure.’

’And me, Luke Lockwood... without her, I can barely take a step. I can’t even hold down a decent job!’

’All those arrogant words from before have now come back like a boomerang, smacking me right in the face, a pain so sharp there’s nowhere to hide.’

"Excuse me, are you Luke Lockwood?"

A gentle female voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

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