The Windfalls of Love (Roxanne and Harrison) novel Chapter 70

Roxanne was steaming mad, fuming with anger.

"I've seriously had enough of arguing with a man who talks nonsense like you. If you're not going to celebrate Chloe's birthday, then I'll do it."

Chloe overheard the quarrel between Oliver and Roxanne from afar in the office.

It was only after Roxanne stormed out of the office that Chloe caught her hand.

"Roxanne, did you have another fight with Oliver? Is there a disagreement?"

"No, I just can't be bothered to argue with him anymore. Come, I've got a surprise for you."

Roxanne pulled Chloe into her office. She pulled out two fancy bags from under her desk.

Inside the big one was a new dress she bought for Chloe.

In the small one were a gold necklace, a bracelet, and earrings.

"Happy birthday, Chloe. These are the presents I got for you for your 28th birthday.

I thought gold would be a good investment, so I got you a gold necklace. Do you like it?"

When Chloe accepted the presents, her eyes welled up with tears, and her hands were shaking.

Even when she talked, her lips were trembling.

"Anne... thank you. I love whatever you give me; I really do."

With that, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Chloe choked out, "Every year, you're the only one who remembers my birthday."

She had even forgotten when her own birthday was.

The mundane and chaotic married life had made her lose all hope and illusion of any good days.

For all those years, she had been doing housework with no income, living a life of dependence.

In her in-law's house, let alone remembering her birthday.

On her birthday, if they didn't give her a hard time, that was already good enough.

"Don't cry. Today's your birthday; you should be happy. I've prepared another surprise for you. Today, Harrison and I will be coming over to your place to celebrate your birthday."

Roxanne wiped away Chloe's tears.

"Come to my place? But my mother-in-law hasn't prepared anything. There's nothing to host you with."

"If you're expecting your stingy mother-in-law to prepare anything for you, hell would freeze over first. Don't worry, Harrison and I have it all sorted out. I'll personally cook for you today and make sure you have a happy 28th birthday. Harrison's already gone to pick up the cake."

"Anne, why are you so good to me?"

"Okay, enough with the sentimentality; we've been best friends for over twenty years. Don't you dare be formal with me."

That afternoon, Roxanne and Harrison went to Chloe's place.

Her house was in a nice residential area.

They bought the house before they got married; that duplex with five rooms only cost a little over a hundred thousand dollars to build.

Since then, it had increased in value to eight or nine hundred thousand dollars.

When they bought the house, the thirty-thousand-dollar down payment was all Chloe's money.

But because Oliver used Chloe's credit card and didn't repay it on time, it caused Chloe's credit record to have problems, so she couldn't apply for a mortgage.

So, the name on the property deed was Oliver's.

Chloe couldn't prove that she made the down payment because she gave the cash to Oliver to make the payment. So, if they were to divorce, Chloe would end up with nothing.

Roxanne explained all of that to Harrison as they walked.

Calculations and exploitation between a husband and wife were all too common.

Harrison didn't usually care about other people's affairs.

But because Chloe was Roxanne's best friend, Harrison listened attentively to what she had to say.

"You mentioned it to me before. I consulted Mr. Johnson afterward; Chloe's divorce case could be quite tricky. The house would definitely be awarded to Oliver since he owned it before the marriage."

"Ah, right, I did mention this to you before. The Lewis family has been bullying Chloe all along; I really can't stand it."

"If we can help Chloe, we should do our best."

When they arrived at Chloe's house, it was only Chloe and Amelia, along with the two children.

Upon seeing Harrison, Amelia initially wanted to address him as Mr. Harrison, but to keep his identity a secret, she held her tongue.

Chloe and Roxanne were in the room talking.

Harrison asked, "Amelia, are you adapting well to working here?"

Thinking about it being Chloe's birthday, Roxanne didn't want to argue with Charlotte anymore.

Chloe should at least be able to enjoy her birthday without fuss.

She kept her smile.

"Mrs. Charlotte, it's okay if you forgot Chloe's birthday, but I didn't. Chloe and I have been friends for over twenty years. I guess you could say I'm family too. As family, I'm here to celebrate Chloe's birthday. You wouldn't mind that, would you? You're not going to kick me out, right?"

Charlotte kept up her polite facade.

"Of course not."

"That's good to hear. Chloe loves barbecue, so I ordered some Argentinian barbecue takeout. We should be able to eat soon."

By the time the takeout arrived, Oliver was home.

He pulled Chloe into a room and asked, frowning, "Chloe, why did you bring Roxanne and Harrison here? Is there something else going on?"

Chloe impatiently pushed Oliver's hand away.

"What? You guys forgot my birthday and now you don't even want my friends to remember it? What's she going to do? She's just here to celebrate my birthday. You're not so petty that you can't even let someone else celebrate my birthday, are you?"

Oliver replied, "Chloe, let's just drop it for today. And try not to get too close to Roxanne in the future. I don't want her to lead you astray."

Chloe shot back, "You have no right to decide who I can and can't be friends with."

When Chloe came out, Roxanne was getting everyone seated for the barbecue.

But before they started eating, Roxanne gave Chloe a pile of birthday presents.

"Anne, you already gave me clothes and jewelry at work. Why are you giving me more now?"

"This Cartier jewelry set is the real deal. Chloe, I'm just looking out for you. It's your birthday, and nobody in your in-laws' family remembered, let alone gifts. They didn't even bother to cook you a meal. If I didn’t show up, some people might think you deserve to be mistreated."

Her words were clearly directed at Oliver and Charlotte.

Oliver, feeling uncomfortable, said, "Roxanne, are you trying to provoke something?"

"Oliver, today is Chloe's birthday. Keep your mouth shut." Charlotte pulled Oliver back.

Charlotte knew she had to keep up appearances in front of others.

Even if she had to deal with Chloe, she'd wait until the guests left so they wouldn’t catch wind of how they were treating her.