Chapter 167 Wonderfully Unfair
“I’m busy. Can’t return. I’ve got work to do.”
18 min lett
If they didn’t know better, they’d think Caroline was brushing off a complete stranger. Someone she barely tolerated, someone she had no interest in getting close to.
Maybe in her mind, Gordon really was a stranger.
Without another word, she tossed the phone back to Julian, who stood there frozen. Then she glanced at Alistair, just a flicker, not enough time for him to react.
The second they stepped across the threshold of her office, Caroline leaned in close. Her breath warmed the shell of his warmed the shell of his
ear, soft enough to feel intimate, but the feeling that crept up Alistair’s spine was anything but tender. It reminded him of a snake, coiling close, ready to strike.
He wasn’t saying his wife was venomous, but something about her tone, the quiet chill wrapped in heat, sent a very real pressure through his chest.
Caroline narrowed her eyes. “Was that pity I just saw in your eyes, Alistair? You felt sorry for me?”
Her relationship with her father had always been strained. Not because she was rebellious or ungrateful, but because Gordon had never been the kind of father anyone should have to
1/8
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Chapter 167 Wonderfully Unfair
tolerate. Growing up in a broken household, even as the daughter of a billionaire, hadn’t made her lucky. Not in the ways that mattered.
And Caroline, proud as she was, couldn’t stand to be pitied.
Alistair knew better than to argue, but still, he tried. “That wasn’t pity,” he said, hesitating just for a beat before adding, “It was… concern.”
The moment he said it, he straightened his shoulders a bit. Yeah, he felt bad for her. And even Caroline didn’t get to twist his intentions around.
Luckily, his kind and terrifying wife let it slide with a quiet
snort.
Their routine resumed like clockwork. Caroline took her seat behind the desk while Alistair slipped into the office’s private lounge. It was their unspoken rhythm, unbothered companionship that needed no show of affection.
Over time, their afternoons had settled into a pattern. Unless something urgent came up, Alistair usually spent his time holed up in that lounge, writing. The two of them didn’t talk much while they worked, but that was the point. They were together, quietly.
He’d even started to notice a strange phenomenon.
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*) 18 min left
When he first showed up at the office, the employees avoided eye contact like it was policy. No one looked at him, no one acknowledged his presence. It was like he didn’t exist.
But as he started appearing more often, walking in and out of Vireon Technologies like he belonged, something changed. People started glancing at him. Not outright staring, but enough for him to catch the difference.
Out of curiosity, he asked Julian about it one afternoon. Julian grinned. “Well, you are Caroline’s man. And any man who can win her heart? That makes people wonder. They’re probably just trying to figure out what makes you special.”
Alistair scratched his chin thoughtfully. “So what you’re saying is, at first they didn’t dare look because they assumed I was someone powerful. But now they’ve realized I’m just a regular guy, and now they’re confused how someone like me ended up with someone like her?”
Julian burst out laughing. “Don’t sell yourself short. You’ve got something no one else does. Otherwise, out of all the men in the world, why would Caroline pick you?”
Alistair smirked to himself.
Exactly. There’s only one Caroline. And somehow, out of millions of men, she picked me.
If that didn’t mean he had some hidden, blindingly brilliant
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Chapter 167 Wonderfully Unfair
(**) 18 min left
quality… well, then maybe the world was just wonderfully unfair
in his favor.
He chuckled.
At first, people didn’t dare look. Then, once they got used to seeing him around, they started sneaking glances.
And when the novelty wore off, they stopped again… until recently, when the sideways glances started creeping back in.
This time, he knew exactly why. The online gossip.
Let them talk.
Alistair knew the truth, and eventually, they would too. Time had a way of silencing rumors without anyone having to lift a finger.
Alistair sprawled comfortably across the couch, opened up Wattpad, and checked his latest numbers.
Revenue from yesterday had come in. One glance, and he was already typing again.
His novel wasn’t a breakout hit, but it had found its rhythm. After a few ups and downs, his numbers had stabilized into a respectable range.
Not a superstar, not a failure. The numbers weren’t spectacular,
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Chapter 167 Wonderfully Unfair
but they paid the bills and then some.
18 min left
For a guy who spends half his day writing made–up stories on Wattpad, that’s more than enough.
Just as he got into the flow, he heard a knock at the office door. Julian stepped in and then went completely quiet.
That was odd. Julian never lowered his voice around Alistair. Usually, he walked in and started reporting things like Alistair wasn’t even there.
But this time… silence. That meant he was talking, just not out loud. He was whispering, intentionally keeping his voice low so Alistair wouldn’t hear.
Okay, now that’s suspicious.
Julian had never treated him like an outsider. The fact that he was doing so now made it all the more obvious that something wasn’t right.
A few minutes later, someone knocked softly on the lounge door.
Caroline stood outside. “Babe, I’ve got a meeting to go to. Stay here, and if you need anything, just ask my secretary.”
Alistair nodded. “Go handle your stuff. I’ll be fine.”
As soon as she walked out, though, he stopped typing.
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Chapter 167 Wonderfully Unfair
** 18 min left
Her tone had been casual. But Alistair knew her well enough to recognize a lie dressed in professionalism.
He sat with it for a moment, thinking it through. And then it clicked. Gordon, again.
Caroline could ignore a summons. She could say no to her father’s voice on the other end of the line. But if Gordon showed up in person, there wasn’t much she could do to stop him from walking in.
This was still her company, yes, but no one here could stop Gordon if he decided to make an entrance.
Julian must’ve intentionally avoided bringing him to Caroline’s office, probably out of consideration for Alistair.
And Caroline, always thinking ten steps ahead, had clearly played along. That was why she’d claimed she was going to a meeting.
They didn’t want him to know. Maybe they thought he couldn’t handle it yet. Or maybe they knew Gordon’s personality well enough to worry that he’d go out of his way to make things difficult.
Alistair sighed quietly.
He appreciated being protected. Really, he did, but he also
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wanted them to know that he could handle it.
And as it turned out, he was right.
Gordon had come.
4) 18 min leff
Julian had done a double take when he walked in and then quickly ushered him into the company’s reception room with full ceremony–coffee, desserts, everything–before running off to alert Caroline.
When Gordon and Caroline finally sat across from each other, the room felt thick with silence.
Gordon studied her, expression unreadable.
The last time we saw each other was around Christmas, wasn’t
it?
Mabel hadn’t wanted to travel and had stayed behind in New York. On Christmas Eve, Gordon had flown in from Atlanta for a family gathering. Paige and her family were there too. Caroline had shown up for just a moment–along with that kid she’d adopted—and then disappeared before dessert.
Later, someone said she’d taken the kid to a fireworks show.
Paige had gone on about it, calling her tactless and completely lacking in manners.
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Chapter 167 Wonderfully Unfair
(***) 18 min left
Gordon hadn’t commented then, but inside, he’d been furious.
Caroline wasn’t just being inappropriate.
She behaved like the rules didn’t apply to her.
And finally, he spoke, “This was a major decision. Why didn’t you tell me?”
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