The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep - Chapter 190: Chapter 190

"If there really is something wrong with that bottle, then you just did everyone a favor by reporting it," the officer said.
Serena smiled and shook her head. "I just hope things like this happen less often. It's the only way girls will stop feeling scared to go out."
After a brief conversation with the police, they escorted Douglas and his group into the patrol car.
Serena then turned to look at Chloe. Her expression was all over the place, but she didn't look nearly as drunk as before.
"Why did you help me?" Chloe asked. It was obvious to her that if Serena had just stayed quiet and waited for the cops, she could've avoided most of the danger.
Instead, she'd stepped up, drawing attention and risk onto herself. If the police had been even a little late, both of them could've been in serious trouble.
"Keith sees you as family. So do I," Serena replied, her face calm but sincere beneath the dim bar lights. "No matter how you feel about me, I'll always be grateful to your father for helping Keith back then. If not for that, we might never have met."
Chloe turned her head away, clearly uncomfortable with eye contact.
A few minutes later, Keith arrived. He already knew the situation had been handled, but he'd cleared his schedule anyway. He wanted to make sure the two of them got home safely.
"Let me guess, coming to the bar was your idea?" Keith's voice was sharp, and the coldness in his eyes landed squarely on Chloe.
"Two women coming to a place like this? What the hell were you thinking? If you really don't want to stay here and feel like you've been wronged, I'll send you home tomorrow. That way, nobody has to suffer."
He rarely spoke this harshly, and Chloe was clearly rattled. She instinctively ducked behind Serena.
Keith had been on edge the whole way over. Even after Serena texted him that everything was fine, he couldn't relax. Nothing happened this time, but if it had, he would never forgive himself.
"Alright, Keith, we're standing right here, safe and sound, aren't we?" Serena stepped in, sensing Chloe's fear. "This was my idea too. I wanted to come with her. You can't just blame her alone."
Keith knew that wasn't true. Serena would never suggest going to a bar. It just wasn't her.
He rubbed his forehead, trying to cool off. "Let's go. We're heading home." He turned and walked out of the bar.
Serena gently patted Chloe's hand, trying to comfort her. "He didn't mean to come down so hard on you. He was just worried. That's all."
"Of course I know that," Chloe muttered, pulling her hand away. She still felt weird about the whole situation. 'How the hell did I end up standing on the same side as my romantic rival?' she asked herself inwardly.
"Hey, Serena. I'm not giving up on Keith. So what do you say? How about we keep this fair and square?" Chloe crossed her arms, looking like a kid throwing a tantrum.
"All that noble talk about not wanting to compete with me? Yeah, I don't buy it. You're just scared."
'Is this some kind of bait?' Serena sighed quietly. She could see right through Chloe's attempt to provoke her. But after tonight, she also felt that a wall between them had started to come down.
Chloe wasn't a bad person. She was just someone who had fallen for the wrong guy and didn't know how to handle it.
After a moment of thought, Serena decided to accept her challenge. "I honestly don't think Keith would ever waver between the two of us, but if it makes you feel better, sure. Let's compete fairly."
Chloe let out a huff and quickened her pace, catching up to Keith.
In the days that followed, Chloe seemed determined to stick to the idea of "fair and square." She even dropped the little games and dirty tricks.
Instead, she started making food. She'd obviously bought into the classic idea that feeding a man was the surest way to win him.
But every time she finished cooking and laid everything out, Keith barely gave her food a second glance. He wouldn't even start eating until Serena came home, making his priorities crystal clear. It drove Chloe up the wall.
Serena noticed what was going on. She even thought about softening up and giving Chloe a chance, but Chloe clearly wasn't in the mood to bond.
Back in her room that night, Serena let out a long sigh. "Chloe's got so much energy. Even after a full day of work, she doesn't seem tired at all."
She hadn't expected Chloe to take this so seriously when she first agreed to it.
But that one little comment gave Keith an idea. 'If she still had this much energy left at night, maybe I haven't been giving her enough to do during the day.'
The next morning at the office, Keith assigned Chloe a pile of new tasks and told her to shadow Graham to pick up some extra skills.
Chloe looked confused as she walked into Graham's office. They stared at each other in awkward silence.
"You're from... the design department?" Chloe glanced down at the nameplate on his desk and sank into silent despair.
Graham had heard of Chloe, but this was their first real interaction. Thanks to Serena, his opinion of Chloe wasn't exactly glowing.
"Mr. Brannon said you're supposed to shadow me for a while," Graham said. "But if I'm not mistaken, you don't have a design background, do you?"
'Not even close.' Chloe rubbed her temples. "I majored in finance. I know absolutely nothing about design."
Graham was silent. He wasn't surprised, but Keith's latest idea was still a lot to take in.
Without wasting another second, he marched Chloe straight to the CEO's office. "Mr. Brannon, I understand you want me to train a new employee, but Chloe and I are in completely different fields. How exactly am I supposed to teach her anything?"
Graham's resistance was all over his face, but Keith didn't even flinch. He looked up from his paperwork calmly.
"Even if we're planning a shift in direction, design is still the core of Brannon Creative Group. Chloe's new here. She doesn't understand how things work yet, and following you is a great way for her to learn."
Keith was strict with his staff, and while part of this move was definitely about keeping Chloe busy, it wasn't just some random punishment. He genuinely believed she could learn something valuable from Graham.