“Winnie, mind your language. She is my uncle’s daughter, my cousin, and the rightful heir of the Morrison family.
“Rightful heir or not, I’m not a Morrison, so I don’t care!” Winnie retorted, jabbing the ‘close door’ button and cutting off Michael’s reply.
The elevator doors slid shut with a definitive chime. Inside, a thick silence fell. Winnie offered no apology, and Khloe didn’t expect one. It was obvious Winnie’s hostility was aimed at Michael as much as at her, and Khloe had no interest in getting involved in their drama.
When the doors opened on her floor, Khloe strode out without a backward glance.
She had just reached her suite when her phone rang. It was Michael, checking to see if she’d arrived safely.
Then, his tone careful, he explained that Winnie was the adopted daughter of the Olson family-a childhood friend of his. “She has a terrible temper, but she’s not truly malicious. Please don’t take what she said to heart.”
“The Olson family? Olson Toys?” A memory clicked into place-the Miss Olson she’d clashed with while purchasing her penthouse.
“Yes, that’s the one,” Michael confirmed.
Michael went on to explain that Mrs. Olson and Clarice were close, so the two families often socialized. The Olsons. had no sons, only two daughters: Veronica, their biological child, and Winnie, the adopted one.
So the woman who had tried to snatch her penthouse must have been Veronica.
No wonder Winnie had looked at her so strangely after hearing her name. The “illegitimate daughter” slur had likely originated from Veronica, too.
The thought of navigating a gala with both of them tomorrow instantly drained Khloe’s enthusiasm. Mingling with society heiresses was infinitely more exhausting than any boardroom battle.
That night, jet lag from her first trip abroad kept her restless. Lying in bed, she absently scrolled through her phone until a new post from Nick appeared in her feed.
It was a beautifully shot photo of a city skyline at night, posted without a caption.
Her mind drifted back to Oscar’s words on the plane.
“Khloe, have you heard of the three-day rule in dating?”
“The three-day rule?”
“It means if someone contacts you within three days of meeting, they’re interested. If not… well, you can assume they’re not.”
He’d said it with clear curiosity about any progress between her and Nick.
But what progress could there be? Three days had passed, and he hadn’t reached out once.
Khloe tapped open his profile. His avatar was another night scene-not of a city, but of a mountain range under a vast, open sky, with scattered stars gleaming bright.
Khloe hesitated for a long moment, her thumb hovering over the screen before she finally typed out a message: [ Mr. Hunt, are you still awake?]
The message was sent, but it sank like a stone. She stared at her phone for twenty minutes. No reply.
Yet, his social media feed showed he had posted just a minute ago.
He was online. He was just ignoring her.
Khloe wasn’t trying to be pushy. But with wolves circling from every direction, she felt a deep-seated unease. This marriage alliance was her safety net, and she had to treat it with the same strategic diligence as a business deal. If he wouldn’t make the first move, then she would.
Suddenly, her phone lit up.
Her heart leapt she thought it was Nick. She snatched it up, only to see Trey’s name flashing on the screen.
Her thumb slipped, and the call connected before she could reject it.
It was too late. His voice was already coming through the speaker.
“Khloe, you haven’t been answering my messages. Are you still upset?”
His tone was as gentle as ever, but tonight, to Khloe, it sounded unbearably repulsive.
She quickly held the phone away from her ear and didn’t dignify his question with a direct answer.
“I was about to sleep. What do you need?”
Her cold response only confirmed to Trey that she was still holding a grudge.
She had always been so easy to placate, so obedient. When she suddenly asked for leave during a company crisis and refused to come home, he had been both surprised and irritated.
He had wanted to teach her a lesson, deliberately giving her the cold shoulder for two days.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.