hapter 12
Chapter 12
Now Chad kind of understood why Catlin always seemed so upset after talking to Stephanie.
As Catlin had said, Stephanie was really tough to deal with. It felt like nothing anyone said to her ever got through–she w completely unaffected by anything.
Since the gentle approach didn’t work, Chad decided to go for something more forceful.
He said coldly, “Fine, I’ll freeze your credit card for now. Think it over, and let me know when you’ve come to your senses.
Then, he stormed out.
The room fell silent.
Stephanie slammed the door behind him, then turned back toward the living room, her phone buzzing in her hand.
The screen showed Kevin’s name.
Today, she’d already blocked several people–Chris, Catlin, even Chad.
Now, they could only reach her through someone else’s phone.
Just like before, she didn’t pick up.
She knew it was Chris calling from Kevin’s phone.
The call rang through but cut off after a few seconds.
When Chris tried again, the line was already busy. He knew–she’d blocked Kevin’s number, too.
His face flushed red with frustration. “When did she start blocking people like it’s a game?”
Kevin just smirked, lips twitching. He knew exactly what was going on but wasn’t about to say it outright.
After a beat, he replied, “Miss Giovanni probably isn’t just ignoring your calls.”
Kevin knew it wasn’t just Chris who was upset about being blocked today. The whole Hart family was frustrated, too.
Chris rubbed his temples, trying to think of a way to get through to her, but his head was pounding.
Finally, he threw up his hands. “Let’s just go to Cloudridge Valley.”
This whole drama had dragged on long enough.
Kevin nodded. “Got it.”
An hour later…
By the time they reached Cloudridge Valley, it was already past midnight, and Stephanie had gone to bed.
Chris rang the doorbell repeatedly, but she didn’t answer.
Getting ignored at midnight only made Chris’s mood worse.
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Chapter 12
He snapped, “Call a locksmith.”
He wasn’t putting up with this anymore. He needed answers from Stephanie, and he was getting them tonight.
Kevin could see Chris was about to lose it, but he did as he was told.
Just as Kevin was about to pull out his phone, the door suddenly swung open.
Stephanie stood there in her pajamas, half–asleep and clearly pissed. She was holding a baseball bat, her grip tight.
It was obvious she’d been woken up badly and was ready to swing.
Kevin quickly stepped back, lips twitching, not sure whether to laugh or get out of the way.
When she saw Chris standing there, her anger flared. She raised the bat, clearly intending to take a swing at him.
Chris was quick, grabbing the bat mid–air. “You crazy woman…
He gritted his teeth.
Just this morning, Stephanie had hit him and Olivia, and now she was at it again.
Chris couldn’t help but wonder–is she furious because he suggested delaying the wedding?
Seizing the chance, Chris pushed his way into Stephanie’s house.
When Stephanie saw he’d already walked in, she tossed the bat aside with a frustrated sigh. “Say what you need to say.”
Chris walked over to her fridge, opened it, and saw that it only had water–nothing else.
“You don’t cook?” he asked, his voice dripping with incredulity.
Stephanie shot him a look, her eyebrows raised.
She had the reason to be mad–Who the hell shows up at someone’s house in the middle of the night, opens their fridge, and asks if they cook? It was completely insane.
Right now, Stephanie was absolutely pissed.
Chris sighed and explained, “I haven’t eaten.”
Between all the running around today and then getting bombarded with questions from his parents when he finally got home, he hadn’t had a chance to grab lunch. Now, he was starving.
Stephanie frowned, clearly thrown off. Then, her expression shifted to one of disbelief.
“Do I look like someone who’s gonna cook for you?” she asked.
She’d imagined all sorts of things Chris might say, but this wasn’t even close to what she expected.
Stephanie almost never cooked–she either ate out or ordered takeout.
And from the way Chris had phrased it, it was obvious he hadn’t thought this through.
They’d just had that huge argument, and now he was expecting her to cook for him? Even in his wildest dreams, that was asking way too much.
Chris clenched his jaw so hard it hurt. “You can’t cook?”
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Chapter 12
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Stephanie raised an eyebrow, looking at him like he was crazy. “When have you ever seen me cook? In your dreams?”
Not that she couldn’t cook, but even if she could, she sure as hell wouldn’t cook for him.
Chris paused for a moment, trying to recall whether she had ever cooked for him.
And then it hit him–after two years of being engaged, Stephanie had never once cooked for him.
On the other hand, Olivia had cooked for him several times.
Olivia could do it all–she cooked, made soups, and when she was still in Long Harbor, she’d even brought him lunch at the office.
Stephanie saw the realization in his eyes and let out a light laugh. “Did you mix me up with Olivia?”
She knew exactly how perfect Olivia was when it came to housework.
When Olivia first joined the Hart family, she jumped in to take care of everything while Stephanie barely lifted a finger.
Naturally, the two of them had been compared.
And it was obvious: Olivia was perfect in every way, while Stephanie was… well, a bit of a mess.
Chris’s expression darkened. “The wedding’s going ahead as planned. Happy now?”
He said it reluctantly, thinking that if he gave her this answer, Stephanie would finally calm down.
But instead, she raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “This morning, you said it was postponed, and now, it’s on? Not even one day have passed, and you changed your mind.
“Going back on your own words… Is that what you do as a man and the CEO of such a huge company?”
The words hit Chris like a slap to the face.
Stephanie added, “Does Olivia know?”
It was obvious he’d probably gone home to talk to his family already.
