My CEO Husband Says I'm Irreplaceable

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: It’s Me

"Luke Lockwood!"

Vesper Grayson cut him off abruptly, her tone as cold as ice. "You and I will not be having children. Because I find you filthy."

The other end of the line fell into a deathly silence.

After a long moment, Luke Lockwood’s strained, hoarse voice came through. "Is there no room to fix this at all?"

Vesper Grayson didn’t hesitate. "None."

"Even if you say no, I won’t give up so easily!" Luke Lockwood’s voice suddenly turned stubborn. "I don’t believe you could get over our relationship so quickly! You said you would love me forever, that you would always be with me!"

"Did I say that?"

Vesper Grayson gazed out the window at the heavy night sky and suddenly let out a soft laugh. It was a sound filled with nothing but bone-deep coldness and relief.

"It was too long ago. I’ve forgotten."

On his end of the line, Luke Lockwood felt his heart plummet into a bottomless abyss.

With every breath, a tearing, suffocating pain shot through his chest.

’How could she forget?’

’Those were all the little moments we shared together.’

"At the Northolme Tech Summit the other day, I saw you with another man..." Luke Lockwood began tentatively, his voice tight. "I must have seen it wrong, right?"

Of course, Vesper Grayson could hear the probing in his words.

’Since he insists on knowing, I’ll just shatter any hope he has left.’

"That was me."

"How could you let another man kiss you?!"

Luke Lockwood roared, losing control. His voice was laced with a pain that had been suppressed to its absolute limit.

For the past few days, the scene he had witnessed had been torturing him relentlessly.

He had been deceiving himself, telling himself that it wasn’t her, just someone with a similar build and style of dress.

But hearing her admit it with his own ears was even more devastating than he could have imagined.

"Luke Lockwood, we’ve already broken up." Vesper Grayson’s voice was calm and detached. "Who I kiss is my own business. At least when I was with you, I stayed in my lane and never once betrayed you!"

With that, she hung up the phone.

Luke Lockwood gripped his phone, his knuckles turning white and veins bulging on the back of his hand. His expression was terrifyingly grim, and a savage aura roiled around him.

Just then, a frantic knock sounded at the door.

The director of the investment department rushed in, his face deathly pale and his voice trembling. "President Lockwood, this is bad! The overseas AI chip project we invested in has run into a fatal problem. The one hundred million we put in initially is almost completely tied up. The project owner has declared a break in their funding chain, and we can’t get a single cent back!"

Luke Lockwood’s eyes turned glacial. "Who was in charge of the project approval and risk assessment?"

"It was... It was Secretary Joyce, the one who works with you, who led the coordination." The director swallowed hard, not daring to look up. "All the external signatures and fund disbursements... she bypassed the normal procedures and approved them all directly in your name. We... no one dared to stop her."

Luke Lockwood’s head snapped up, the savage energy in his eyes flaring.

He never could have imagined that the gentle, well-behaved woman who was by his side day in and day out would dare to go behind his back, forge investment reports, conceal project risks, and move such a massive amount of money on her own authority.

「In the inpatient ward.」

When Ivy Joyce saw Luke Lockwood’s sudden appearance, her eyes instantly lit up, and her tone carried an aggrieved sort of anticipation.

"Luke, you’re here! I knew you wouldn’t be so heartless, that you wouldn’t really abandon me..."

Before she could finish, a file was slammed viciously against her face.

Luke Lockwood was incandescent with rage, his voice so cold it seemed to have been tempered in ice.

"Ivy Joyce, who gave you the nerve? What right do you have to make decisions for me and gamble the entire company on an unknown risk?"

Ivy Joyce was stunned by the impact. When she saw the contents of the documents, her pupils contracted, and she began shaking her head frantically in a panic.

"Impossible... This is impossible! Their qualifications and patents were clearly real, how could they be fake!"

She scrambled over to Luke Lockwood’s side, her voice urgent and panicked.

"Luke, I really didn’t know they were frauds! I just... I just wanted to prove myself, to achieve something, to make you see me in a new light."

For the past two years, she had been by his side as his secretary. In private, she was his gentle, understanding confidante; at work, she was his most trusted subordinate.

Everyone knew their relationship was ambiguous, and it was for that very reason that no one dared to question the orders she gave in his name.

Luke Lockwood looked at the woman, whose face was streaked with tears like a pear blossom in the rain, and a bone-chillingly cold, mocking smile touched his lips.

"I give you a little leeway, and you forget who you are! You will take full responsibility for the losses this time. If you can’t fix it, you can wait to rot in prison!"

This time, she didn’t have the ’get out of jail free card’ of a child, so there was no reason for her to escape legal punishment.

"Luke, I was wrong, I’m begging you, please spare me this one time. I promise I’ll never appear before you again, I’ll never upset you again!" Ivy Joyce clung to his leg, sobbing uncontrollably.

’Even if they sold her, she wouldn’t be worth a hundred million!’

"Too late!" Luke Lockwood was unmoved, his voice devoid of any warmth. "Everyone has to take responsibility for their own choices."

No one is an exception. Including him!

...

For the next few days, Vesper Grayson threw all her energy into her work.

Managing online operations, arranging things for the physical stores, finalizing the debut collection, preparing for the jewelry launch event...

She was busy from dawn to dusk every day, but it was a fulfilling kind of busy.

In the blink of an eye, Sunday arrived—the day of the dinner at the Hawthorne Estate.

Milton Grayson was dressed in a sharp suit, looking energetic and capable with a steady presence.

Joyce Rivers wore a navy blue silk jacquard dress, dripping with jewels, looking graceful and opulent.

Gwen Grayson was in a bright red, waist-cinching satin gown. Her chestnut-brown hair was styled in large, loose waves, showing off her curves in a flashy and eye-catching way.

"Did you call your sister?"

Milton Grayson asked once they were in the car.

"Mhm, she said she had something to take care of and told us to go on ahead," Gwen Grayson replied distractedly while fixing her hair.

When they arrived in front of the Hawthorne Estate’s villa, Milton Grayson’s voice turned serious as he warned her, "Today is an important day for your sister. Remember to watch what you say and do. Don’t say anything you shouldn’t, and don’t bring shame to the Grayson Family, understand?"

Normally, she could get away with her petty antics, but today, there could be absolutely no mistakes that would make them a laughingstock.

Gwen Grayson pouted. "I know!"

In the main hall, Master Hawthorne was seated upright on the sofa, with Justin Hawthorne in the armchair to his right.

The moment she saw Elias Hawthorne, Gwen Grayson’s lazy gaze froze, then instantly brightened.

She was about to step forward, but then she suddenly remembered how he had harshly reprimanded her that day. The budding smile on her face froze, and she could only rein in her thoughts and stand obediently to the side, not daring to make another move.

Milton Grayson took a step forward and bowed slightly to Master Hawthorne, his attitude respectful but not overly deferential.

"Elder Hawthorne."

Joyce Rivers also offered her greetings. "Master Hawthorne, this is my second daughter, Gwen Grayson."

Gwen Grayson immediately softened her voice and called out sweetly, "Hello, Grandfather Hawthorne."

"Mm, have a seat."

Zachary Hawthorne nodded, inviting them to sit.

A housekeeper poured them each a cup of tea and brought out a fruit platter.

Zachary Hawthorne took a small sip of his tea, seemingly in a good mood, and asked, "Where is Vesper?"

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