Chapter 13

"Uncle Cristopher, the company is in dire straits. It would be best for you to take some time off and prioritize your health," Cindy poured him a cup of tea, earnestly advising him.

Cristopher smiled and shook his head, his eyes full of kindness and affection for her.

"Cindy, you've worked hard all these years." Cristopher looked guilty.

Cindy pursed her lips and lowered her gaze, displaying a gentleness and submissiveness that contrasted sharply with her usual prickly demeanor. She listened quietly.

"We feel ashamed to burden a young girl like you with the fate of the Austen family. We are not worthy of your support. If we had any other choice, we wouldn't have pushed you into this difficult situation."

... Cristopher's voice trembled with helplessness and grief.

Cindy's eyes flushed, but she still looked up and smiled impassively. "Don't say that, Uncle Cristopher. I'm fine. I consider myself lucky and grateful to stand by Austen's side with all of you."

Cristopher took her cold hand in his palm and warmed it gently for a moment before he reluctantly broached the subject of the day.

This time, the situation was far more serious than before. In the past, this has been nothing more than baseless rumors, but this time the people involved had come forward with hard evidence. It implied that Trevon tacitly approves of it.

We have been doing our best to suppress it, but the Louths are too well prepared and seem unwilling to give it up.

"Now is a critical moment when the Gilson family is causing trouble for the Austen family at every turn. If we don't address it promptly, once rumors start circulating, those shrewd old foxes on the board will surely intensify their efforts until they push us out completely."

Cristopher delicately lays out the truth behind Cindy's five-year marriage in the first half of his speech. He looked at Cindy, whose face had turned even paler, feeling sorry but continuing to speak.

"Cindy, the human heart is fragile. A man who declared his eternal love for you yesterday may desert you tomorrow. Moreover, Trevon was dissatisfied with this marriage from the start. If you don't have a sense of urgency at this moment and let others seize the opportunity to pursue him, will the Gilson family still have a place for you?"

Cristopher's words were tactful. He only hinted at Trevon's dissatisfaction with the marriage without explicitly stating that he didn't love Cindy. The implication, however, was clear.

Cindy pursed her lips up as if everyone was reminding her that Trevon didn't love her and that she was just a woman who could be abandoned at any moment, not an equal partner standing shoulder to shoulder with Trevon.

She held her breath, wanting to refute loudly, but the problem was that what they said was true. Trevon truly didn't love her!

And Trevon knew what her sore point was. Everything she had now was within his control.

"Don't always confront him. Pamper him, submit to him, act coquettish, and show some vulnerability. Men always have their self-importance and pride. Especially someone like Trevon, who holds power and authority, desires a gentle and soft woman."

Gentle and soft, Cindy thought at once of the way Annie had behaved in front of Trevon. Trevon, indeed, seemed to enjoy it.

Cristopher continued to talk, offering more advice, but Cindy nailed the main theme: She needed to show Trevon kindness, improve their relationship, and try to enlist his help to make things a little easier for the Austen Group.

Cindy listened attentively to Christopher's words. She knew that, for the moment, this was the only practicable course.

To ask Trevon for help, Cindy must first meet Trevon. Cindy, however, did not want to go to the hospital because she knew Annie's temperament too well. Had Annie been present, even the most serious and solemn subject would doubtless have been reduced to a tangle of emotional entanglements.

And in that regard, Cindy had been losing for five years.

She determined, therefore, to cook a meal at home for Trevon, and to have a proper conversation with him in a peaceful atmosphere.

Toward quitting time, she called Trevon, but after a few rings there was no answer.

So Cindy left him a message: "Come home early tonight. I have something to talk about with you.."

After sending the message, she drove to the supermarket and bought many of Trevon's favorite dishes.

...

Inside the Hospital of Islip City, Annie sat by the hospital bed, her eyes fixed on the p***e on the bed.

That was Trevon's p***e.