The CEO Gets What He Wants

Avery could not stand it any longer. “Please excuse me. I need to go to the restroom.”

She put down her glass and stood up.

She couldn't be bothered if the others thought of her to be envious or jealous.

For twenty-four years of her life, and from the moment she had gotten more mature, she had never been happy in her life. She was clueless in her pursuit of happiness. Growing up, she experienced a plethora of depressing episodes, from eating cold, leftover food, to being bullied by her friends, and her peers hurling sarcastic remarks at her.

Ever since she was little, she accepted the fact that she would not live a life as privileged as others.

For example, the privilege of having a mother.

Not to mention that she would never be qualified to possess what others had to put in the effort to attain.

For instance, Cayden's love and affection.

When she finally grew up and became an adult, she still failed to experience happiness. It was nothing but a fallacy for society to coin it as the age of freedom. Instead, she felt the tight leash of reality restraining her and pinning her down.

A thought flashed across Avery's mind. I must have committed a ton of sins in my previous life. That's why I'm subjected to all kinds of suffering in this life.

There were numerous restrooms in the mansion, be it in the yard, the first floor, or the second floor.

Avery merely wanted to wash her hands.

However, the restroom in the yard was occupied by a few of her classmates.

When Avery entered, she heard one of her classmates saying, “Quick, Help take photos of me in this restroom. I'm going to upload them on Twitter. Previously, the famous star Melinda Albertina hugged and kissed her boyfriend here.”

Being in the same space that a famous star was in before was sufficient to make them feel proud.

Thinking that there were also restrooms on the first and second floors, Avery turned around and walked away as she didn't want to intrude on them.

However, she soon found out that the restroom on the first floor was also occupied by a few of her classmates who were putting on make-up. Avery rarely interacted with them when she was a student, and she didn't want to reminisce about the past with them. After all, she could only remember the horrible incidents she had to endure. From getting her hair pulled by one of them to being beaten up by the other.

Although the passage of time had mostly healed the trauma she received, Avery did not want to relive the torment and despair she once experienced.

These classmates of hers had an exciting time going through junior high, high school, university, and upon graduation, stepping into society. Naturally, they had long since forgotten about their atrocious and despicable actions of bullying a classmate who did not have a mother.

Standing in the restroom, Avery stared at the mirror and scrutinized her pale face. Trying to calm down her raging emotions, she shut her eyes.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Leonardo.

“Dad, why are you still awake?” Avery's voice was slightly hoarse.

Leonardo wanted to ask about the outcome of the blind date.

“Dad, I'm not interested to date a foreigner. They're too passionate! Do you know that guy confessed on our first date, citing he fell in love with me at first sight? He even asked me to move with him overseas after our marriage.” Avery, with her head lowered, used the sink as support. “I don't feel secure being with guys like that.”

Leonardo softened up and reverted to his usual, warm self.

He sighed. “I am to be blamed. An old friend of mine introduced that guy to me and I thought I could set you up with him without checking his background. But after hearing what you said, I agree that he doesn't sound like a reliable man.”

“Don't worry about it. There's no loss in meeting him anyway.” Avery didn't want her father to blame himself.

After hanging up the call, Leonardo dialed Allie's number.

Playing poker at home, Allie pulled out her phone to check who was calling her. When she saw that it was Leonard, her face darkened immediately.

“I need to answer a call. I'll be back shortly. Please continue without me.” Allie stood up gracefully with her branded scarf wrapped around her and left the room.

After walking to the end of the corridor of the mansion, Allie answered the call and said with a low voice, “I've said this before, and I'll say it again. Avoid calling me, or I'll be forced to change my number.”

“What kind of guy did you just introduce to your daughter? He confessed to her on their first date, and even talked about marriage, moving overseas, and all sorts of nonsense! Allie, what motive do you have?” Leonardo, whose health had deteriorated because of lung cancer, was breathing heavily in anger.

Well aware that she was in the wrong, Allie fell silent.

Huffing and puffing, Leonard continued, “Allie, I know you're a person without conscience. But there must be boundaries! That's your daughter! She's not some stray animal!”

“Leonardo, you don't have the right to scream at me! The moment I gave birth to your daughter, she has nothing to do with me anymore. If a stray animal is cute enough, I'm willing to adopt and take care of it. But to take care of your daughter, I'd rather die than do that. How many times do you want to undermine my dignity? Getting to know you is the most unfortunate thing that happened to me in my life!” Allie hurled the hurtful remark at Leonardo without any restraint.

Enraged, Leonardo hung up the call.

Allie scoffed coldly and stared out the window.

She only recognized Cayden as her only child, and she desperately wanted to move on from her humiliating past.

Just when Allie wanted to turn around and walk back, her phone rang again.

“Can you stop pestering me?” Annoyed, Allie screamed into the phone upon seeing Leonardo's number.

She continued, “Stop wasting my time. Just say whatever you want to say and never call me anymore! If you need money, I'm more than happy to donate some to you! Please, be a good ex-husband and vanish from my life like a dead man!” She lost her patience and ramped up her insults, losing her gracefulness in the process.

“Allie, I'm not here to argue with you. You're the one who has wronged me. Although I may be a failure, I have not wronged you in any way!” Leonardo threatened, “I'm warning you not to hurt my daughter. She was unfortunate to have a wicked mother like you. If you dare to hurt her or even think about it, I vow to expose your darkest secrets with everything I got!”

Leonardo was well aware of Allie's ulterior motive.

Twenty-four years ago, when the two of them divorced, Allie married the owner of the Trident Group, a wealthy family. After that, she resorted to many underhanded tactics to destroy Leonardo's life.