Chapter 4

Charlotte POV

Ethan applied a bit of pressure, pulling me into his embrace.

"Don't be angry. What do you want to drink? I'll pour it for you."

I laughed lightly. "Since when does Mr. Sterling have to pour water for me himself? Is your assistant that useless?"

Ethan just assumed I was angry. He called toward the door, "Ivy, come in."

Ivy pushed open the door and entered. The moment she saw us embracing, her expression darkened instantly, then quickly recovered to an obedient, gentle appearance.

"Mr. Sterling, what do you need?"

"Go pour her a coffee. One sugar."

Ivy reluctantly agreed and turned to leave.

I spoke unhurriedly. "So she's your assistant. I made this trip today specifically to deliver documents to her?"

Ethan froze. "Why would you say that, Charlotte?"

"She just said you were afraid she'd work too hard, so you made me make this trip. She even told me to wait in the reception room."

I looked up at him. "I almost thought I'd walked into the wrong company and that Sterling Group had changed CEOs."

Ethan's expression darkened abruptly.

Just then, Ivy came in carrying coffee. "Mrs. Sterling, your coffee."

"If you don't know the rules, get out of the secretarial department." Ethan's voice was cold and cruel. "At Sterling, anyone who makes my wife unhappy will be fired immediately."

Ivy's eyes immediately reddened. She stood there with her head lowered, not saying a word, looking quite pitiful.

Ethan was about to tell her to leave, but I spoke first.

"You can't say that. She cares about you very much. Last night when she brought you home, she even went to the kitchen to brew tea for you."

Ethan's face had turned ashen.

It seemed he hadn't planned to deal with Ivy initially.

But I kept bringing these things up.

"Ivy, go to HR immediately and process your resignation. You're fired."

Ivy's head shot up. She looked at Ethan in disbelief, tears streaming down her face. "Mr. Sterling..."

I didn't miss the flash of heartache on Ethan's face.

I looked straight at him without speaking.

Ethan had no choice but to continue. "Don't you understand? You've been terminated."

Ivy slammed the door and ran out.

Ethan immediately held me tightly in his arms. "Charlotte, as long as I'm here, I won't let you be wronged."

"She's just a new assistant. She's inexperienced and offended you."

"I'll never let her bother you again. Don't be angry anymore, okay?"

He said it very casually, as if he'd really just fired a rude assistant.

But I clearly saw that when he mentioned Ivy, even though he said she was "inexperienced," his expression involuntarily softened.

He had her in his heart.

I pushed against him but couldn't break free, so I stopped struggling.

His parents still didn't like me.

On one hand, they looked down on my humble origins. Mainly, after all these years I hadn't gotten pregnant, and they wanted Ethan to have an heir as soon as possible.

Ethan naturally knew this, so he never let me go to his parents' house alone.

Once we entered their home, he'd protect me closely, afraid I'd be wronged.

But tonight, just as we reached his house, Ethan's phone rang right on time.

Ethan walked a few steps away to answer. I stood there watching his back.

Ethan returned with a furrowed brow, looking conflicted. "Charlotte, something urgent came up at the company. Can I..."

Even he couldn't say it himself.

I nodded. "Go ahead."

Ethan froze.

I used to be most afraid of coming here. Without him accompanying me, I didn't want to take a single step inside.

But he walked toward the exit while instructing me, "My parents won't make things difficult for you. I'll come back as soon as I'm done."

I didn't respond further. I turned and walked into the villa.

When his parents saw I'd come alone, they kept mocking me.

"You should know your status and position."

"Take good care of Ethan, and only then can you secure this position."

"All these years you two don't even have a child. Ethan married you, and your status already doesn't match him. Are you going to leave him without an heir too?"

"Don't think that just because Ethan dotes on you now, you'll always be his wife. If Ethan finds another woman and you don't even have a child, just wait to be thrown out!"

I listened silently to it all. "You're right. If Ethan finds someone else, I'll divorce him immediately."

They fell silent for a moment.

"That's not what we meant."

His mother continued, "I'm saying you should have a child quickly. Only with a child can you truly secure your position as Mrs. Sterling."

But I no longer wanted the position of Mrs. Sterling.

I didn't care what else they said. I got up and left the villa.

When I returned home, Ethan wasn't back yet.

My inbox happened to have a new email.

It was a photo of Ivy's new company onboarding notice.

It was a store under Sterling Group. The position was senior sales representative.

So Ethan couldn't keep her by his side, so he arranged for her to go to a company under Sterling and kept her there.