Chapter 23
After Rowan’s arrest, Cynthia sent Joanna an extravagant gift.
Joanna barely glanced at it. Her voice was flat as she gave the order.
to have it tossed out.
“Mrs. Schuman, isn’t it a shame to throw this away? Did Mrs.
Swanson offend you somehow?” the housekeeper, Roberta Newton,
asked.
Joanna didn’t look up from her book. She turned a page slowly and answered in a calm voice, “Roberta, why don’t you take it home
instead?”
Roberta beamed with delight, instantly forgetting the question she had just asked.
Joanna truly hated Rowan, but that didn’t mean she had any fondness for the Swanson family either. She simply wanted nothing to do with
people like them, not even the slightest connection.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
Roberta went to answer it. When Joanna saw Calvin standing on the doorstep, a rare smile crossed her face.
She took Calvin out for lunch and even arranged a place for him to stay afterward.
Back at the office, George listened to Austin’s report. He looked down and realized he had crumpled the paper in front of him without even
noticing.
Austin hesitated, then said cautiously, “Mr. Schuman… should we
have someone keep an eye on Calvin? It seems like Mrs. Schuman
treats him… differently.”
George suddenly set down his pen and leaned back in his chair. His
gaze was distant, like he was trying to sort something out.
After a long silence, he finally closed his eyes and murmured, “Forget
- it. Let him be.”
He couldn’t bring himself to be confident anymore.
George knew just how much Calvin had done for Joanna–quietly,
constantly, and often at the risk of his own life. Embedded beside
Rowan all those years, Calvin could have died a dozen different ways.
His sacrifices were no less than George’s.
When it came to Rowan, George had never doubted Joanna’s choice.
He knew she would never go back to that man.
But Calvin was different. Around him, that confidence disappeared
completely.
George gripped his phone tightly, his thumb hovering over Joanna’s
name in the contact list. But after what felt like hours, the screen still
showed the same number. He never made the call.
The whole day went by in a fog. He didn’t get through a single item on his schedule. He drifted in and out of the meeting, clearly not
listening.
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Finally, Austin watched him zone out and called the meeting to an
end.
After everyone left, George still hadn’t moved. It was only then that he blinked himself out of the daze.
Austin let out a helpless sigh. When it came to someone as
hopelessly devoted as George, there was nothing more he could do.
Especially when the woman he loved wasn’t just any woman.
Joanna was someone who had survived storms that most people
wouldn’t even walk into. A woman forged in gunfire and betrayal.
Even while she was still nursing emotional wounds of her own, she
managed to plan a ruthless takedown of the man who had wronged
her.
Austin had to hand it to George. He sure had an eye for extraordinary
women.
She figured that once a man fell for someone like Joanna, there wouldn’t be room for anyone else.
When George got home, he happened to catch sight of Joannal bidding farewell to Calvin. He didn’t step inside until she had walked
in first.
Joanna turned with a smile as she saw George walk through the door.
She crossed the room quickly and wrapped her arms around him.
The warmth of her embrace brought a rare sense of peace to them
Chapter 23
both. But almost instantly, a wave of fear crept over George. He
couldn’t shake the feeling that this might be a goodbye disguised as
comfort.
Joanna noticed him drifting off and laughed softly. “What are your thinking about?”
“Nothing… nothing at all,” he mumbled.
Joanna pulled him inside and helped him out of his suit jacket like it
was routine, like they had done it a thousand times.
She said casually, “I’m thinking of taking a trip in a couple of days.
Somewhere far. Just to clear my head.”
George froze. His fingers instinctively closed around her wrist.
“You’re coming back, right?” The words burst out before he could stop
them.
But right after, he hesitated, terrified of what her answer might be.
Joanna immediately understood what he was afraid of. Without a
word, she reached out and wrapped her arms around him.
“You idiot. I want you to come with me. I was just worried you’d be
too busy, so I hadn’t brought it up yet,” she said with a laugh.
George stared at her, stunned.
That wasn’t what he expected.
“You weren’t planning to go with Calvin?”
Chapter 23
He felt like a complete fool the moment the words left his mouth.
There was a flicker of panic in his eyes as he looked at Joanna,
struggling to believe what he was hearing.
Joanna burst into laughter.
