The CEO Gets What He Wants novel Chapter 444

Cecelia's mind went blank when she saw Hans Wickford.

After years apart, running into her ex there was the last thing she expected.

Despite having given everything for him, he was at that moment standing beside that plump woman with an ingratiating look on his face.

Cecelia felt a mixture of hurt and amusement.

We had been together for five years.

It was a tumultuous period when they only had each other. Although both of their families were poor, Hans' fared worse. Apart from her education, she had taken on several odd jobs to support them.

Then, they became graduate students. To fund Hans' further study, Cecelia had even given up her opportunity for a postgraduate program to continue earning for his expenditure.

She had supported him for three years, including his expenses throughout his education. He had been so moved that he had sworn to marry Cecelia, yet he had led another woman over by the hand during their graduation and announced that he was breaking up with her.

That woman, Phoebe Sandsby, was the daughter of one of the cadres of the city's Legal Affairs Committee, who could pave the way for Hans' future and spare him a decade of toil.

Cecelia even remembered Hans' jeering face back then and that woman's contemptible smugness.

She was surprised by the weight Phoebe had gained over the years. The flesh on her face was so dense that her eyes could no longer be seen. Her stomach was worse. It was impossible to tell if she was obese or pregnant.

Phoebe also caught sight of Cecelia. Holding her head high, she permitted her gaze to grace the latter. “Is that you, Ms. Zuckerberg? And I see that you're pregnant! I can't believe another man would want you after Hans dumped you. This is a branded store, and I wonder if you can afford anything here. I can buy you some if you like.”

“That's not necessary. I can afford several items of clothing. If you're feeling generous, Ms. Sandsby, you could donate some money to orphanages or the impoverished mountainous regions. Those children need your help more,” Cecelia said calmly after collecting herself just in time.

On the other hand, Hans was gaping at Cecelia, unable to believe how different she looked compared to the girl with the bob cut from his memories.

Back then, her out-of-style getup was nauseating to look at.

Now, however, she had transformed into a white-collar city dweller who was elegant, confident, and ahead of the trend in hairstyle and dressing. Her temperament, too, was extraordinary. Hans could not tear his eyes off her.

Phoebe was a far cry from Cecelia, who looked like a goddess.

Phoebe noticed Hans' reaction. When she saw how her husband was staring unblinkingly at his ex, the flames of her jealousy flared.

She twisted his ear violently. “What are you looking at? I'm standing right here! Do you still have feelings for her?”

Hans yelped in pain. “Ouch! Easy, Honey. Don't get worked up. You're carrying our son in your belly.”

Hans did not dare raise a finger in retaliation.

He waited until she finished venting, and when his ears had swelled to twice their normal size, he held Phoebe's meaty body.

As Phoebe was too fat, Hans could only wrap his arms halfway around her body. It was a comical sight.

He did not care about the strange looks he was attracting. With a sickening noise, he planted a kiss on Phoebe's greasy cheek.

“You are the moon of my light, Honey, and the most beautiful woman in my eyes. I will spare no other woman another glance.”

Phoebe was inconsolable. “That's not what I saw earlier. You were staring at your ex.”

At that, Phoebe turned to glare at Cecelia.

She could not believe how that woman, who came from the village, had transformed into a mature beauty in a few short years. That made Phoebe nervous and afraid of losing her man back to her.

To appease his wife, Hans deliberately belittled Cecelia. “Why would I look at her? She's just a stranger to me now. No, not even a stranger, but some bumpkin. She cannot be compared to a sophisticated woman like you.”

Despite her running into Hans, the wound on Cecelia's heart had been just a scab, but it was reopened anew at that moment.

My sacrifices for three years meant nothing to him. He even calls me a bumpkin.

Cecelia lost her temper. “I have been good to you, Hans. I provided for all your expenses when you were a research student, including your tuition, living expenses, your extravagant daily expenditure, and even your parents' medical fees.

“Though I have never once complained over the years, it pained me to discover that I'd been supporting an ingrate all this time. You broke up with me after graduation and chose to be with this woman only because her father was in a position to find you a good job. Hah!

“It's one thing not to appreciate me, but how dare you insult me? Me, a bumpkin? What does that make you? Something worse than that, I suppose! I must have been blind to have seen good in an ungrateful b*stard like you! I don't owe you a damn thing, Hans. Let's make one thing clear. You owe me. Is your conscience clear? Otherwise, you'd better look both ways before you cross the street!”

Hans turned crimson from Cecelia's public admonishment.

It was bad enough to be seen living off a woman.

On top of that, the scornful glares from the retail assistants were too much. “I... I...” he stuttered.

At the recollection of Cecelia's kindness toward him, Hans bowed his head, too ashamed to meet her gaze.

Phoebe was furious. She pointed a finger at Cecelia and shouted, “How dare you speak to my husband this way? Whose fault is it for failing to keep him? Look at you, pregnant and shopping alone without a man. The child in your belly must be the spawn of some good-for-nothing who knocked you up. Look at how pathetic you've become!”

Livid at Phoebe's words, Cecelia was seized by an impulse to take a swipe at her. Just as she was about to, an attractive male voice butted in, “The child in her belly belongs to me.”

Suddenly, Cecelia found herself enveloped in his vast, warm embrace.