The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep - Chapter 187: Chapter 187

Chloe's offer was definitely tempting, but after hesitating for half a minute, Alyssa still shook her head firmly.
Even though she really wanted some ice cream, she knew Serena was only thinking of her health, and she wanted to recover as soon as possible.
Once she got better, she could finally eat whatever she wanted without having to worry about it.
Seeing Alyssa's stubbornness, Chloe couldn't help but feel a surge of irritation.
'No wonder she's so hard to deal with—she's just like Serena. Still, I have to play nice. Alyssa is the most important person in Keith's life,' Chloe thought.
"Alyssa, you always do whatever Serena says, but have you ever thought that maybe she doesn't really care about you? What she really wants is to marry your dad," Chloe said, lowering her voice.
"You know how rich your dad is. There are countless women out there who want to marry him," Chloe added.
Alyssa was caught off guard when Chloe started badmouthing Serena. Alyssa immediately shook her head, desperately wanting to defend Serena. But the words just wouldn't come out, and all she could do was worry helplessly.
"If I could be your mom, I wouldn't boss you around or tell you what to do. I'd make sure you had the very best of everything," Chloe coaxed.
"And honestly, I'm only into your dad. I couldn't care less about his money," Chloe blurted out, almost forgetting to keep her real motives hidden.
Now, Alyssa finally realized what was going on.
'Chloe never wanted to be good to me—she wants to take Serena's place,' Alyssa thought.
Even though she was still young, Alyssa wasn't stupid. She quickly figured it out and looked at Chloe with a new wariness in her eyes.
She shook her head firmly, and from that moment on, Alyssa started treating Chloe with obvious coldness, her guard fully up.
Chen understood Alyssa's attitude and couldn't help but think, 'Serena really trained herself a good lapdog. But she's just a kid.'
Seeing Alyssa's attitude change, Chloe stopped trying to please her. She thought, 'So what if Keith cares about Alyssa? Once I finally get my way and end up with Keith, we'll have our own kids. I'll just send Alyssa right back to the orphanage.'
Chole lifted her chin arrogantly and marched back to her room.
With Keith's arrangement, Chloe was able to get into his company without a hitch.
On the first day Chole started to work, she ordered coffee for everyone. Spending so much money at once made everyone in the office curious about who she really was.
She was throwing money around like it was nothing from the get-go, and the way their boss personally brought her in made it look like the two of them were really close.
'Is she going to be Boss' wife?' everyone started whispering to each other.
Seeing this, Graham couldn't help but feel a bit curious. He'd always thought that, even if Serena never admitted it, there was definitely something more between her and Keith.
And now, Chloe appeared in the picture all of a sudden.
"I heard Chloe graduated from a top university overseas. She's perfect for Mr. Brannon," someone whispered.
"Yeah, and she's got such a great personality—like a little ray of sunshine. She and Mr. Brannon totally balance each other out," another person chimed in.
While everyone was whispering, a few employees who were pretty close to Serena secretly snapped photos of Chloe and Keith standing together and sent them straight to Serena.
In their mind, Serena was Keith's good friend, so she definitely knew the inside story.
Serena had just finished her work when she saw the messages sent by her former colleagues.
In the photos, Chloe had her arm linked with Keith's, and the two of them were standing so close together that they really did look like a couple.
The person sent a message. [They look so perfect together. Serena, is Chloe really Mr. Brannon's girlfriend?]
Reading her colleague's message, Serena felt a pang of sourness in her heart.
She quickly replied: [I don't know.] Then, she muted the chat so she wouldn't have to see any more of it and let herself cool down.
For the rest of the afternoon, Serena couldn't really focus on her work, and Lana could tell right away that something was wrong.
"Didn't Keith already deal with Craig? Why do you still look so upset today?" Lana asked.
Sure, Craig was out of the picture, but now there was Chloe to worry about.
"It's nothing. I probably just didn't sleep well last night," Serena said, brushing it off. She really didn't want to get into it.
She trusted Keith, and besides, Chloe was only around because of her father.
Serena thought that if she told Lana about it, Lana would definitely get mad on her behalf. And honestly, that would just make everyone feel worse.
Lana could tell that Serena was keeping something from her, but since she didn't want to talk about it, Lana didn't push.
Lana just nodded hesitantly. "Well, if you're feeling down, you know you can always talk to me. Why don't you take the rest of the afternoon off? I'll have someone else handle your work."
Without waiting for a response, Lana immediately began reassigning the remaining tasks.
Serena was always a total workaholic, grabbing every task she could get her hands on. When everyone saw her like this, they figured it was only right to help her.
Before she realized it, the workday was over. The moment Serena walked out of the studio, she saw a car parked right outside.
It was Keith's car.
Keith stepped out of the car, and when Serena saw him, her voice sounded a bit down. "Why are you here?"
"I'm here to pick up my girlfriend from work, of course," Keith replied with a grin.
Serena pursed her lips, feeling like all the frustration from the day was starting to melt away. But then, just as she was beginning to relax, she saw someone else step out of the car.
It was Chloe. Serena hadn't expected Chloe to show up too.
"Serena, so this is where you work? Looks pretty shabby and unimpressive. Nothing at all like Brannon Creative Group," Chloe sneered.
Chloe's look of disdain didn't escape Keith, and it clearly annoyed him.
"Chloe, mind your words," he said, his tone serious.
At that, Chloe pouted. "I didn't mean anything by it. I was just being honest."
Keith was already aware of all the talk going around the company, and since Serena got along pretty well with her old colleagues, he figured that word had probably already gotten back to her.
He was worried that Serena might feel hurt by all the talk at the company, so he hurried over after work.
"It's really no big deal. Chloe was just telling the truth. Our studio is still new, and there's plenty of room to grow. That's the only way things can keep getting better," Serena said lightly.
With that, Serena got into the car first, leaving Chloe completely confused.
'I already said such harsh words, and she can still keep her cool? She's really good at pretending,' Chloe thought with a sneer.
Once all three of them were in the car, Keith said, "From now on, don't make yourself too special at work. If you really want to learn something, don't make it look like you got in through connections."
He was obviously talking to Chloe, and her eyes went red in an instant.