Love's New Bloom by Simone Hastings

Chapter 23

Chapter 23 A Mother–In–Law’s Visit 1 novelbin

When Erin returned to her office after getting off the elevator, she saw a takeout container on her desk. It reminded her that she hadn’t had dinner yet. She glanced around and saw that the other colleagues who’d worked overtime with her had all left. She didn’t know who had paid for the food.

Only then did she remember about the order she’d placed for Caleb and quickly went to his office.

Seeing that the lights in Caleb’s office were still on, Erin took a deep breath and gently knocked on the door.

“Come in.” Caleb’s voice was cold and formal.

Pushing the door open, she saw Caleb still working in front of his computer. She said softly. “I’m sorry to disturb you, Mr. Grant. May I ask if you paid for the takeout?”

“Yes.” Caleb replied without looking up.

“Thank you. I’ll pay you back…” Erin took out the money she had prepared from her pocket.

Caleb raised his head and casually said, “Put the money on the coffee table.”

“Okay.”

After putting the money on the coffee table, Erin was about to leave when Caleb suddenly asked. “Where did you go just now? I went out to look for you twice, but you weren’t at your desk.”

Caleb had been looking for her?

Feeling guilty, she stared into space for a while. Quickly, she came up with an excuse. “Oh, I went downstairs. My friend was looking for

me.”

Caleb stared at her for a few seconds and said coldly. “Finish the rest of the designs before leaving. I need them in an hour.”

“Okay, no problem.” She hadn’t put the completed designs in the shared folder. In fact, she only had one left.

40 minutes later, Erin finished editing the designs. She put the ten designs together in the designated folder, said goodbye to Caleb, and

left the office.

As she exited the building, she saw a black BMW parked outside. It wouldn’t have caught her attention, but she recognized the familiar

license plate number. It was lan’s car.

Realizing that he was probably looking for her since she hadn’t answered his phone call, she hesitated for a moment. Then she walked

over to the car.

lan rolled down the window, and a gentle smile appeared on his handsome face when he saw Erin. “My mom asked me to pick you up after work. She saw your car parked at home and was worried about you coming back late at night after working overtime.”

Erin kept an expressionless face. “She’s never worried about me. It’s not my first time working overtime.”

lan’s smile disappeared as he heard her indifferent tone. He got out of the car immediately.

Walking to Erin’s side, he opened the passenger seat door for her and calmly said, “Get in the car quickly. My mother made soup at home

and is waiting for us to go back and have supper.”

Of course, Erin felt a tinge of resistance in her heart. Still, she didn’t want to go back there to play along with lan and deceive his mother.

Remaining composed, she said, “lan, even though she doesn’t know we’re getting divorced yet, she will eventually find out. Hiding the truth isn’t a solution. I’ll go back to Holly’s place, and you can tell your mother that I’m still working overtime. Ask her not to wait for me to

come back. You can rest early.”

Before lan could reply, Erin’s phone rang. She took out her phone and saw that it was Mary Cooper, lan’s mother, calling. After hesitating for a moment, she answered.

“Hello, Erin. Is lan there to pick you up?” Mary said with a smile.

Erin glanced at lan and answered, “Yes, he’s here.”

Mary continued. “That’s good. Come back soon. The soup is almost ready, and you’ll be able to drink it when you get home.”

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lan took Erin’s phone and said, “Mom, we’ll be back soon…” He hung up after speaking.

Slightly angry, Erin asked, “Why did you promise her without my permission?”

“I’m already here to pick you up. You can’t have my elfort be for nothing, can you? Besides, I’ve already told my mom. If you don’t go back with me, she’ll definitely ask a lot of questions. She won’t stay for

long. You have to help me keep our divorce a secret for now. I’m busy with work these days and won’t have time to deal with her if she asks about it again.” lan’s tone softened suddenly.

For one moment, Erin couldn’t express her anger. If lan’s mother suddenly found out about the divorce, it might even cause trouble for her mother. Things would get even more complicated. She thought for half a minute and finally agreed to get in the car.

As lan’s BMW left, a Maybach parked in the dark witnessed everything that had just happened.

Sitting in the car, Chandler held a cigarette between his fingers. He’d seen Erin enter lan’s car with his own eyes. 1

A trace of coldness crept into his deep eyes.

Soon, lan and Erin arrived home. They saw Mary wearing an apron and standing in front of the dining table in the kitchen, busy marinating

chicken for the next day’s lunch.

Upon seeing her son and daughter–in–law return home, Mary smiled and said, “You’re back! Quickly go wash your hands. I’ll serve the

soup.”

Feeling complicated, Erin forced a smile. “Mom, it’s late. Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“Oh, it’s too early for me to go to sleep. Since I’m here, I want to cook you your favorite dishes! Erin, I heard you started working at a big company, but they’re already making you work overtime when you just started. You won’t have time to accompany lan…” Mary began to express her dissatisfaction, and the smile on her face gradually disappeared.

Erin was already used to Mary’s attitude. Mary was polite to Erin on the outside but would nitpick at her every chance she got if things

didn’t go her way.

Considering her current relationship with lan, she couldn’t be bothered with Mary’s attitude. She glanced at lan, kept quiet, and went

straight to the bathroom to wash her hands.

After Erin closed the door, Mary’s expression immediately turned sour. She said to lan, “Look at her. What’s with that attitude? I stayed awake in the middle of the night, worried about her working overtime, and troubled myself to cook for you. Yet, as soon as she came home, she gave me that attitude…”

lan was used to obeying Mary. He went along with her. “Mom, don’t mind her. She’s tired from working overtime and is in a bad mood.”

“lan, I don’t want to nag at you, but you’re already the president of a big company! You can afford to support her, so why are you letting her work? I saw your empty fridge and know you guys don’t usually eat at home. You’re so busy with your company’s affairs. She’s your wife. but she doesn’t even know how to take care of you. I don’t feel comfortable seeing thisWhat’s the use of marrying her? She doesn’t even earn much, so why can’t she stay at home?”

Mary disapproved of her daughter–in–law working from the beginning. She wanted her daughter–in– law to be a good wife and mother and to wholeheartedly care for her son, lan.

Erin, who was in the bathroom, heard everything Mary said. It made her feel uneasy. She depended on herself to work. Although she didn’t earn as much as lan, she still worked hard for the family. However, Mary didn’t appreciate her efforts at all.

On second thought, she no longer had anything to do with this family. Erin took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom, pretending not to have heard Mary’s words. She walked to the dining table to see that Mary had already served the soup and placed it on the table. She said, “Thank you, Mom.”

Mary had a spoon in her hand and was sitting next to lan. She blew on the soup in the spoon and spoke in a somewhat cold tone. “Erin, if you really want to thank me, give birth to a baby for our family!”