The CEO Who Swore Off Marriage… Until Her novel Chapter 8

Charles turned his head away and said in a stilted tone, "What does this have to do with you? Don't think too much about it. It's just that Enna and I can no longer get along."

Enna glared angrily at Charles, put a hand on her hip, and pointed a threatening finger at him. "How do you still have the nerve to speak? I've waited on you hand and foot for three years! Even if I haven't done much worth being credited for, I've at least put in a lot of hard work!

"All I wanted you to do was persuade your daughter to think twice about her divorce! Is that so wrong? Aren't I doing it for her sake? If she just gets divorced like this, how is she going to support the family?"

Charles was an honest and kind man who could not bring himself to say anything malicious despite the fact that he was livid with rage. He gripped the arms of his wheelchair tightly.

"That wasn't what you said just now!" he shouted.

No father could bear to listen to someone say such demeaning things about his daughter.

Enrica did not want her father to be put on the spot, so she walked over to him and pushed his wheelchair along while telling him, "Go back to your room first, Dad. I'll talk to Enna."

Charles held her hand and looked at her with determination in his honest eyes. "Please don't feel pressured to do anything, Enrica. I can take care of myself, so if she doesn't want to stay, then just let her leave. I don't want to see you have to accept a compromise for my sake."

The hand holding hers was very rough, but it made her feel a warmth she had never felt before.

She smiled with feigned ease. "It's alright, Dad. Don't worry. Enna and I had a bit of a misunderstanding around noon, so she's angry with me too. It'll be alright once I've talked things over with her."

Charles sighed heavily, but he did not say anything else and allowed Enrica to wheel him back to his bedroom.

Once Enrica came out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her, Enna said with a sour face, "It's useless to beg me. Either you apologize to the Zuckers and beg them to take you back, or you file a lawsuit against them for a large sum of compensation money. Otherwise, there's no way I'm staying with this family!"

Enrica gazed at her. "Your thought process is far too simple. There's no way Miguel will remarry me because that will embarrass the Zuckers in the public eye. For a wealthy family like theirs, their reputation is more important than their lives."

Enna frowned deeply and insisted, "Ask them for money, then! The Zuckers' assets should've been split between the two of you, so asking for several hundred million dollars in compensation shouldn't be an issue!"

Enrica shook her head. "I can't. We had a prenuptial agreement notarized before marriage, and Miguel took an advance of ten years worth of his salary before that, so he only receives a hundred dollars in income every year."

That was Jilliana's condition for agreeing to their marriage, which she had requested specifically as a countermeasure against Enna.

Therefore, from a legal standpoint, Enrica would not be able to receive anything from the divorce.

She continued to gaze at Enna. "Furthermore, do you know what became of the last person to cause a ruckus at Zucker Group's doorstep? They took that person to court, and the person was forced to pay 1.2 million dollars in compensation."

Enna paled instantly.

She did not have 1.2 million dollars on hand!

It was only then that Enna realized Enrica's divorce was a lost cause.

Her expression darkened, and she glared at Enrica. "Don't blame me for being unkind. You've seen for yourself how well I've been taking care of your father for the past three years.

"Your father requires more than five thousand dollars a month for his rehabilitation, and Julian's school fees cost over four thousand dollars, which adds up to at least ten thousand dollars. If you include the family's expenditure on food and drinks, it's at least 15 thousand dollars a month.

"Now that you've gotten divorced and don't have a proper job, how are you going to pay for all these expenses? I, for one, have no desire to let you drag me down with you!"

Enrica understood why Enna felt such urgency.

Julian, Enna's only son, was currently studying in a private high school. His grades were at rock bottom, he loafed around all day, and he got into trouble all the time. Enna had to worry about him going to college, finding work, getting himself a wife, and having children—many of which required money.

However, the Schubert family clearly could not provide her with that money in their current state.

She used to covet the Zuckers' wealth, but the Zuckers were out of the equation now.

Enrica had no other choice, though. She did not possess any bargaining chips, but she still needed Enna to take care of her father. Therefore, she could only attempt to negotiate with Enna.

She proposed, "I'll give you 15 thousand dollars on time every month, so can you please give me three months' time? In these three months, you can seek out a new husband. All I ask for is three months. If I don't show any promising change after three months, I'll give you an extra ten thousand dollars and you can leave at any time."

She knew that the cost of hiring a caretaker was very high, as she had inquired about it three years ago. Hiring someone to take care of someone like Charles, who required round-the-clock care, would cost her at least 30,000 dollars a month. Factoring in Charles' rehabilitation fees, she could not afford it.

Moreover, caretakers were not necessarily reliable. Frequently changing caretakers in the first few months of employment were unavoidable. Even if she could afford it, she could not spare so much time away from work to deal with the complications involved, so both potential solutions were dead ends.

After a long while, she took a deep breath and physically forced her lips to turn upward before walking into Charles' room with a smile on her face.

Charles was sitting dazedly in front of his writing desk. There was a family photo on the desk depicting their family of three from three years ago.

A single traffic accident had completely destroyed their family overnight.

Enrica suppressed the bitterness in her heart and called out calmly, "Dad."

Charles shuddered as if he was snapping out of some terrible memories. When he saw Enrica, he quickly regained his normal composure and asked, "Have the two of you finished talking it out?"

Enrica smiled and replied, "It was actually just a small misunderstanding, and I've already apologized to Enna. Don't worry. Enna has already promised me that she'll take good care of you. We'll get through this rough patch together."

Charles sighed in relief and patted her hand. "You should take good care of yourself as well. I know that you feel bad too, but don't put too much pressure on yourself. If things really don't work out, we can just sell the apartment. You'll always come first in my heart."

Enrica became choked up, and she could not stop a few tears from escaping, but she stopped herself from crying openly. "Don't worry, Dad. I'm alright."

She was afraid that Charles would notice something strange about her behavior, so she quickly found an excuse to leave.

Charles remained sitting at his desk and picked up the photo frame as if in a trance. The three people in the photo were all smiling sweetly. After looking at it for a long time, he closed his eyes, and a tear rolled down his cheek.

As a father, he had let his daughter down.

However, there were some things that he could not—dared not—say aloud.