The Wife He Dumped, The Queen She Returned As novel Chapter 162

"Jenna just asked for my contact info."

Chloe replied mildly, "Oh, and then?"

"Is there a 'then'?" Quentin raised an eyebrow. "I told her to get lost, obviously."

"Oh."

Chloe continued walking, not even realizing her steps had grown noticeably lighter.

Suddenly, Quentin caught her arm.

"Chloe, what are you trying to be, a saint?"

Chloe paused and looked at him.

Quentin stared straight into her eyes. "Why did you let them walk all over you today? If I hadn't stepped in, were you just going to let them keep talking?"

Chloe sighed. "I wasn't holding back. Are you talking about Jenna? I just treat her like trash on the sidewalk. She might stink, but you just cover your nose and walk past. I have no desire to engage."

Quentin blinked, the lingering trace of his anger dissolving instantly.

"Is it because of Dr. Sharpe?"

Chloe looked away, her gaze dropping. "I've already disappointed my teacher once. I can't let her down a second time."

She knew exactly why Dr. Sharpe had specifically invited her to this dinner.

It was to see how she truly felt about Preston now.

The truth was, she didn't care anymore.

Quentin opened his mouth to say something else, but Chloe smiled.

"Thank you. You don't need to worry about me, I know what I'm doing. I'm leaving the country in a couple of weeks, and right now, all my focus is on tomorrow's in-person interview. I don't have the time to waste on them."

"Alright. If you need anything, make sure you tell me."

Quentin watched her, paused, and then added.

"After all, we're friends."

Chloe smiled. "Friends are friends, but you're a man with a fiancée. We need to maintain some boundaries."

Quentin froze. Just as he was about to speak, Chloe's phone suddenly rang.

It was an unknown international number.

Chloe was stunned, but suddenly, the pieces clicked into place.

That meant...

She finally understood why Preston had lost control so completely that night, her heart clenching as if gripped by an invisible hand.

She could intimately feel the bone-deep hatred and agony he harbored toward those people.

Because she had witnessed it firsthand—how he had been dragged from his pedestal into the abyss, sinking into the mud, only to claw his way back up inch by bloody inch.

She knew he had founded Vantage Corp purely out of spite, holding his breath for the day he could reclaim The Hayes Corporation.

"Why does it have to be him..."

Julian Sterling.

The illegitimate son of Preston's father.

The seemingly refined and gentle monster who had put Preston's mother in the ICU over a decade ago, leaving her comatose to this day!

Just as Chloe's fingers curled into tight fists, another message came through.