"Why don’t you tell me, what do you mean by ’birds of a feather’?" Atlas Hallow asked with keen interest. He had no interest in the messy affairs of Joseph Shaw, but he was eagerly anticipating Charlotte Miller’s reaction.
He wanted to see her perspective on women being coerced. Charlotte was smart and wouldn’t express her feelings outright, yet her situation bore some similarity to Annie Gray’s—neither were truly willing participants. So, hearing Charlotte’s thoughts on such matters would directly reflect her innermost feelings.
Charlotte didn’t quite understand what was going on and remained visibly unhappy: "What right does he have to make such jokes in front of Annie’s friends? Taking vulgarity as humor—where’s his upbringing?"
The remark made in front of everyone made Charlotte want to jump up and hit him—it was too much.
"The Shaw Family’s fifth house only has Joseph Shaw as a male child, and Old Master Shaw is very traditional. In fact, the entire Shaw Family is like that. So when Joseph wants something, hardly anyone says no." Not everyone is born this way; Joseph’s willfulness isn’t without cause. Annie Gray will likely suffer later. He remembered when Joseph had his eye on the old man’s treasured White Jade Carved Yearly Harvest Jade Ruyi; just because the old man said it would eventually be his, he smashed it.
Anything he couldn’t acquire, he’d rather destroy it, so Annie might end up like that Jade Ruyi.
Of course, he didn’t want to tell Charlotte these things. Too enthusiastic a young girl could get herself into trouble, but right now, he didn’t want to impart cold, observational wisdom to her because he liked the way her eyes sparkled. If trouble did arise, he’d deal with it.
"Is there anything in this world that can’t be refused?" Charlotte became even angrier upon hearing this. Just now, Annie Gray was really pitiful—clearly feeling helpless yet having to act as if nothing was wrong.
"Of course, there is—like how you can’t refuse me." Atlas said while driving, his dark eyes resting on Charlotte’s porcelain-white face. The deep, somber light fell from her face to envelope her whole being, not missing a single inch.
"What if I refuse?" A few traces of disappointment crossed Charlotte’s crystal-clear face, each reflected in Atlas’s eyes.
"You wouldn’t want to try the consequences—you can’t bear..." She couldn’t bear his wrath, this gentle young lady, no matter how smart, was no match, it would be a total, obvious defeat in any contest against him.
The atmosphere became silent, the earlier excitement about the upcoming meal now completely vanished.
Indeed, birds of a feather flock together, people of a kind group together; there were valid reasons for their similar approaches.
She hated threats most, yet was constantly trapped in them. If Atlas hadn’t just said those words, she might have thought they could coexist peacefully, could attempt to like each other like normal lovers and spouses. Was she being too naive?
Atlas reached out, touched Charlotte’s little face, and said softly with his thin lips, "I won’t hurt you. Don’t be afraid, Charlotte."
It seemed she was frightened by his words. But wasn’t it simple enough not to refuse him?
"You’ve already hurt me." Charlotte stubbornly raised her head, gazing at Atlas’s sharp-profiled side face, seriously speaking.
"Do you want me to apologize?" Atlas turned to make eye contact with Charlotte; even her hurt expression moved him, so pitiful and made one want to keep on picking on her.
Charlotte silently shook her head. He wasn’t wrong; she had been too complacent—there had never been fairness in this marriage.
But can the affection given be taken back?
Sometimes, dislike doesn’t stem from a terrible action someone did, but rather from words that hurt profoundly.
The car pulled into the Hallow Clan, and Daniel Parker’s call followed.
"President Hallow, Miss Luna Miller just caused a bit of a scene at the front desk. I’ve brought her up for now; what do you think?" Daniel’s face was a bit grim. It wasn’t just a minor scene but had nearly overturned the entire front desk of the Hallow Clan, claiming she didn’t believe Atlas wasn’t here and insisting on barging into the CEO’s exclusive elevator without an appointment, declaring if she had wanted, she’d already be the CEO’s wife, and warning the front desk girls to be careful and so on...