Chapter Sixty-One

Chapter Sixty-One

Though not strong, the slap was enough to leave Pearl's fair, beautiful face tingling and flushed. Her hair, too, was disheveled by the slap, leaving Pearl looking disheveled and pitiful.

"You hit me? You dare to hit me? Just because of Bella's words, you come here without warning to hit me? Max, are you crazy! Why would you hit me? What did I do wrong for you to hit me?" Pearl looked at the man in front of her incredulously, anger and screams rising in her throat. She couldn't believe he dared to hit her.

Throughout their time together, Max had always pampered and treated her like a queen. Whatever she wanted, he would give her. Though their relationship could only exist in secrecy and could never be revealed to others. Pearl knew Max had a wife, and that wife was her close friend, but it didn't affect Pearl's feelings or thoughts because both Max's marriage and Pearl's friendship were orchestrated by both parties.

In the end, it was just the plan they had devised from the beginning, waiting for the plan to succeed so they could be together again.

But now, it seemed to be only what Pearl thought. Her eyes, red and swollen, looked up at the man in front of her, and for some reason, Pearl could clearly sense... Max had changed. She could feel it distinctly... Max didn't want to divorce Bella, nor did he want to continue this relationship with her.

Max clenched his fists, the tension between them escalating. This wasn't what he wanted, but Pearl's increasingly unreasonable behavior made it impossible for him to continue closing his eyes and ignoring it.

"Do you still not know where you went wrong? At work, you're arrogant and causing trouble for others, yet I've never blamed you. Even when rumors circulated about our relationship in the company, I didn't blame you... You want expensive things, and I buy them for you. Every night, as long as you say you want to see me, I leave Bella alone to come to you... In all these years, have I ever rejected you?" Max was angry, but he could still restrain himself and speak calmly.

Pearl pursed her lips, her hand covering her face, not saying anything.

Max scoffed, raising his voice. "From the very beginning, we agreed not to let Bella know, that our relationship wouldn't be discovered until I took over Bella's father's company. Yet time and time again, you not only fail to hide our affair but also provoke Bella. Are you insane, Pearl? Do you think Bella wouldn't suspect anything about the nights I spend outside? I've always reminded you to be obedient, not to call or text me in the evenings, but you've never listened."

Pearl bit her lip, facing Max's interrogation, she felt he wanted to distance himself from her and be with Bella. Pearl pushed Max away forcefully, running her hand through her hair, her red, swollen eyes filled with resentment as she looked at Max.

"If it weren't for you, why would I act like this? You said you'd try to expedite the plan to take over the company and then divorce Bella, and our relationship wouldn't have to be a secret like this anymore. But it's been over three years, and you haven't made any progress, and furthermore, you're changing... Do you think I don't see your change?" Pearl yelled, tears beginning to stream down her flushed face from the previous slap.

In this state, she was afraid Max would abandon her to return to Bella, and their secret relationship would never be acknowledged. She couldn't be left behind; it was because of that thought that Pearl deliberately acted to make Max push the plan forward quickly.

Max furrowed his brows, feeling that it wasn't him who had changed at all; it was Pearl. She was becoming more and more unreasonable, not considering him or their plan. Pearl's jealousy, envy, and impatience were growing, and that's why she acted so thoughtlessly.

Their relationship could only exist in the shadows, whether it be five years, ten years, or even twenty years, it couldn't be revealed. Did Pearl think he could easily take over Bella's father's company like that? It had only been a little over three years, and she was already losing patience. If after five years, or ten years, Max still couldn't control the entire company, who knew what chaos Pearl would cause...

Max suddenly felt a pang of regret, thinking that Pearl was the suitable woman to walk beside him. At least at that time, he thought Pearl could help him in his career, not like Bella, who only knew how to stay at home and take care of the household. But that was in the past. After Bella changed and returned to work, Max had a different view of his wife, but he had never changed or thought of abandoning Pearl.

"Pearl... you're too impatient. I'm disappointed in you. Just think about it, what do we have without Bella? If it weren't for Bella, we'd be nothing. Only now is my position as director somewhat stable, after that project was recognized by higher-ups. Do you really think I can easily get everything? Since when have you become so selfish, Pearl... Do you want to ruin our plans?"

Max shouted, couldn't Pearl see that he was under pressure too? Despite being the director, he had no say when it came to the higher-ups and Bella's father. He had to always consider her father's opinions.

He always had this lingering fear that Bella would discover this unclear relationship, and if she did, his director's chair would be gone for sure.

Currently, Bella's father, Mr. James William, held the most power. Though Max was the director of the company, it was just a subsidiary. If he displeased his father-in-law, a snap of Bella's father's fingers could easily remove him from his current position.

Hearing what Max said, Pearl's face immediately turned gray, "But..."

"But what? Do you think even without Bella, we'd still have the positions we have today? Don't delude yourself about your abilities anymore, Pearl. You have to live and face reality, not be swayed by emotions like this. Pearl, this is the first and last time I'll say these things to you, don't make me more uncomfortable."

Max saw Pearl's weak and pleading expression, feeling only annoyance instead of the sympathy he used to feel. He didn't know why, but he didn't want to comfort her as he used to. To avoid further complications, Max sighed and said, "You should rethink what you've done. You're not a naive girl anymore, Pearl."

Seeing Max preparing to leave, Pearl's face turned pale, she hurriedly grabbed Max's hand, "Don't go, can you stay here with me? I know I'm wrong, I shouldn't have acted and spoken like that to Bella... Can you please stay?"

Despite Pearl's weakness and tearful face, Max no longer felt heartache or pity but rather annoyance. If it were before, just a slight frown from Pearl because something didn't go her way would have made Max appease her. If she shed a tear, he would immediately buy her the designer bags she liked to console her.

Max pushed her hand away, not forcefully but enough to make Pearl stagger back a few steps. He coldly said, "I still think you should rethink what you've done. After you've thought it through, then I'll come back."

Ignoring Pearl's crying behind him, Max didn't turn back. Maybe he had spoiled her too much, making her think that what they had was hers, forgetting that without Bella and Bella's father, both Max and Pearl were nothing.

Max didn't want to hurt Pearl with such words, but if he didn't, she would continue her thoughtless actions. Eventually, he would be dragged down with her.

Thinking of Bella waiting for him at home, Max couldn't help but smile inwardly, "If only Pearl understood things and behaved as obediently as Bella, that would be great. The two of them are best friends but are as different as night and day."

As he opened the door, Max called out loudly, "Bella, I'm home."

Bella stepped out from the living room, Max unnoticed that her face was slightly flushed. She smiled when she saw her husband, "Max, you're back just in time. Your friend, Levi, came to see you."

"Levi? Has he been here long?" Max was a bit surprised because it was already late.

Levi's voice came from the living room, "I've been here for ten minutes. Your wife said you might be outside cooling off, so I waited. Where did you go for a cool-off?"

Because the construction project on the outskirts was very successful, Max had a better impression of Levi. "Why didn't you tell me before coming?"

Seeing the two men chatting, Bella felt her presence wasn't quite fitting, so she wanted to go back to her room, "You two keep talking, I'll go to bed early so as not to disturb you anymore."

Without waiting for their response, Bella quickly walked back to her room.