She bit her lip and mustered her courage; inside the office, Kathy saw a bear-shaped doll on the desk.
She recalled the same bear was on Ella’s shoulder bag.
A bitterness flashed by her eyes.
"Mr. Joseph, here is the report; if there is nothing else, I’ll take my leave now."
As soon as she said these words, she turned around to leave.
But Joseph was even quicker; he pressed on his remote and locked the door.
Kathy's face turned white as she heard the sound of the door lock.
"What are you doing?" She lost all politeness from a while ago.
In a commanding voice, Joseph said, "I promised you a make-up lesson; we’ll get started once I finish
the matter on hand."
"No need, I can look over the course material by myself." Right now, she didn't want to be with him at
all.
"Not up to you." Joseph said coldly.
"Mr. Joseph, are you biting off more than you can chew?" Kathy stared at him and mocked.
"We’re just teacher and student, isn't that what you said?" Joseph raised his eyebrows.
"Yes, but who knows what you’re thinking." Kathy whispered.
In a split second, he stood before her; he raised her chin and gazed deeply into her eyes.
"Do you want to know what I’m thinking?"
"No…"
Before she had a chance to finish, his kissed her lips, and pushed her words down her throat.
He…
She regained composure and smacked hard on his chest, trying to push him away.
But Joseph's strength was too great; Kathy couldn't move at all as he held her in his arms.
After a while, Joseph let go.
Kathy raised her hand and slapped Joseph with force. A flash of anger quickly ran by his eyes.
But he kept his temper.
Looking at the red palm shape on Joseph's face, she thought about how much force she must have put
into this slap.
But Joseph didn't even say one word.
"Mr. Joseph, please keep your hands to yourself!"
"Keep my hands to myself?" Joseph squinted, the look in his eyes grew dimmer.
"You’re getting married soon," Kathy said sharply, "please, don't harass me again."
"Harass you?"
"Yes." Kathy nodded without a second thought.
He was quite intimate with Ella already, so why did he still harass her!
"So even if you flunk tests, you won’t come to me to make them up?" Joseph's voice sounded calm,
and he asked in a plain voice.
"Yes!"
Even if she failed her exams, never did she want to be alone with Joseph again!
She had to stay away from him!
Joseph unlocked the door and looked on as Kathy fled out; there was a noticeable look of
disappointment in his eyes.
Once Joseph got home, Veronica told him that Grandpa was angry with him, and that he would not
attend Joseph’s wedding with Ella. The only in-law he would recognize for Joseph to marry was Kathy.
“Hm.” Joseph’s expression was calm.
Veronica looked at him and wanted to say something, but she didn’t.
Lately, his behavior has become increasingly hard to understand.
"Joseph, do you really plan to marry Ella?" After a long silence, she managed to ask.
"Wedding preparations are already underway." He frowned.
"You never even told me." Veronica said in a sullen voice.
"Don't fret over it." Joseph said.
"Who knows how, but Ella got my WeChat today; she asked me to eat with her tomorrow." Veronica
said.
As they chatted today, Veronica noticeably could tell that Ella was trying to get close to her.
In actuality, Veronica didn’t care who Joseph married, as long as that person wasn’t from the Hilton
family.
"Go if you want, get to know the people in her family." Joseph’s eyes narrowed.
Looking at him, Veronica felt as if there were hidden meanings behind his words.
"People in her family?" Veronica asked as she frowned.
"Hm."
...
On Sunday, Joseph was working at home; since Ella wanted to meet her, Veronica decided to invite
Ella over to the house.
She had to see for herself what was really going on between the two of them.
Ella arrived early and brought a ton of groceries from the market, and said she wanted to cook for
Joseph.
But he kept to himself in his study the whole time.
Veronica had to greet Ella first. It was her first time meeting this woman, and she looked... decent; one
could even say she was quite beautiful.
From what Veronica could tell so far, Ella had a good temperament as well.
But she couldn’t help but wonder, her brother had no shortage of beautiful women around him, so what
exactly did he like about her?
Thinking of what Joseph said before, Veronica asked, "Miss Ella, are you staying in City N?"
"I live in City C, my whole family lives there."
"Are you an only child?"
"I have an older brother." Ella said, and her face looked ill.
Veronica was keen to note this detail.
"You and your brother must get along well."
"We..." Ella paused, "My parents recently got divorced. In truth, my brother and I don’t know each other
well; we’re not blood related."
A slight look of hatred flashed across Ella's face; Veronica thought she was mistaken at first.
A beauty like Ella must have been treated like a delicate princess by her family.
"Well, you and my brother are getting married, but both families have not even met yet." Veronica
muttered.
Grandpa was quite clear that he disapproved of this marriage; he refused to even meet with Ella’s
family.
Ella's hands trembled as she washed the vegetables. To meet the family... Her face became paler and
paler.
"My brother will attend the wedding; we will all meet him then."
"Alright." Ella looked as if she was about to cry, so Veronica stopped asking.
Veronica told Joseph everything from her chat with Ella.
In the study, Veronica stared at her brother's blank expression, "Ella is preparing downstairs; shouldn’t
you go help?"
Ella sent all the servants away, but it was obvious she barely knew how to cook, and it was a mess.
There was no one left to help, except for Joseph.
"Let the servants cook." Joseph frowned.
"How can I; she wants to make lunch just for you." Veronica said bitterly.
Joseph's face still had a blank expression. He had several video conference calls later. Veronica
thought it was odd for him to completely ignore Ella.
No matter; she’ll take this opportunity to better get to know that woman.
Finally, in the afternoon, Ella had finished preparing the rather terrible lunch.
In fact, most of the dishes were overcooked; the rest of the dishes looked unappetizing.
"Miss Ella, is this your first time cooking?" Veronica valued her life dearly, she didn't dare to take a bite.
She would call Joseph down and let him eat.
Ella nodded remorsefully; who knew cooking was this difficult? Even after three hours of hard work, the
meal looked inedible.
She stood up, "You know what, let’s toss these and order delivery instead."
At this very moment, Joseph arrived; upon seeing him, Ella's face turned red.
"Joseph."
Joseph frowned; before he even reached downstairs, he could smell the scent of something burning.
"Are you here to cause trouble?" There was a horrifying look anger in his eyes.
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