7
That weekend, I went home.
Dad was sitting in the living room, sipping tea.
Seeing me return, he put down his cup. “You handled that well this time, with grace and logic.”
I sighed and sat beside him.
“But Ryan, he…”
“Don’t worry about him anymore.”
Dad rubbed his temples tiredly.
“He moved out yesterday, said he wanted to live with Brittany and live a good life with her.”
<
“And, your brother voluntarily took responsibility for all those things. He… he completely cleared
Brittany and her family.”
I fell silent.
Ryan really was a brick wall.
Mom came over and patted my hand, trying to comfort me.
I leaned on Mom’s shoulder, looking at the sunset outside the window.
Not only had my brother shouldered all the blame alone, but he’d also used his own money to pay of Brittany’s debts.
The day I dropped the charges, Ryan and I met.
He looked incredibly tired.
“Chloe, we didn’t need to go this far.”
“We didn’t,” I pressed closer to him. “Ryan, I barely recognize you anymore.”
Ryan turned his head, avoiding my gaze.
His voice was muffled.
“I just want to live a good life with her, a normal life.”
“A normal life?” I scoffed.
I pointed to the designer streetwear Ryan was wearing.
That one ordinary top alone cost over ten thousand dollars.
What kind of “normal person” could afford that lifestyle?
“Ryan, you’re a rich kid who’s lived in a golden cage his entire life. How could you live a normal life?”
“Don’t you dare look down on me.”
<
Ryan suddenly looked up.
“I’m not fighting you for the company’s inheritance, you should be happy, Chloe.”
“Brittany is just emotional because she’s pregnant, that’s all. Can’t you be more generous?”
I looked at my brother and suddenly smiled.
“Fighting me? Ryan, it’s not you fighting me. You’re thirty years old, and Dad has never let you into the company’s core management. Do you know why?”
Ryan frowned impatiently.
He didn’t think it mattered.
“Because I didn’t want to manage it.”
Ryan replied, as if it were obvious.
He was the only male heir, so the company rightfully belonged to him.
He just didn’t feel like learning how to manage a company.
He figured, at worst, I could be the manager.
And he would be the nominal chairman, holding the largest share of the company.
Essentially, he’d hire me, his own sister, as a professional manager to run the company for him.
Ryan moved out and lived a relatively good life with Brittany for a while.
With the annual dividends from the company, Ryan could still afford a comfortable lifestyle for himself and Brittany.
And Brittany, after that incident, had quieted down considerably.
She finally understood that I wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
However, she would still occasionally try to provoke me on SnapChat.
“Your brother is so good to me. I said a big diamond would look nice, and he bought me a
<
five-million-dollar pink diamond.”
“You can act all high and mighty now, but once your brother officially takes over the
make you regret it.”
“You bought another necklace? Who gave you the right to waste money like that?”
company,
I didn’t reply to any of them. I just screenshotted them all and forwarded them to Ryan.
Most of the time, Ryan pretended not to see them.
וויו
Occasionally, he would try to comfort me with nonsense like, “Your sister-in-law is emotional during pregnancy, don’t hold it against her.”
Ryan and Brittany’s good days didn’t last long-my status as heir was publicly announced.
Mom and Dad specifically held a press conference for this, making my identity public.
The flashbulbs at the press conference were relentless.
Mom held my hand, giving me encouragement.
Dad stood up, grasping the microphone.
“I announce that the future head of Davis Corp. will be my youngest daughter, Chloe Davis.”
