Reborn as Mr.CEO's Fat Wife-Chapter 831: Ambiguity in the Carriage

Catherine Ford thought for a moment that she was hallucinating, or perhaps she misunderstood—was the "taking" only meant to be to the bus stop and not what she had in mind?

"No...no need, I’ll just get a taxi to the station," Catherine Ford tried to calm her own heart, trying not to overthink.

Benjamin simply looked at her and said, "Get in the car."

The voice was soft, but its assertiveness couldn’t be ignored.

Instinctively, Catherine Ford got into the car. Once inside, she heard the man beside her speak again, "The address."

"That’s not necessary..."

"I promised mother," Benjamin interrupted Catherine Ford, turning his head to look at the tense woman as a form of explanation.

Catherine Ford felt uneasy, but having interacted with Benjamin for so long, she was all too familiar with the assertiveness tucked behind his austere exterior. Reluctantly, she gave out the address.

The location was a rural town next to Swallow City, requiring over three hours by car. After Catherine Ford recited it, the driver quickly mapped out the route.

Listening to the mechanical female voice of the navigation, Catherine Ford felt emotionally complicated, and when she glanced at the man next to her, she saw that he was looking at her. Startled, she shifted to the side and then heard the man suddenly ask, "Are you afraid of me?"

This question from Benjamin came suddenly, and Catherine Ford, unable to react immediately, stiffly looked at the man and then shook her head vigorously, "No, not at all."

Though she said so, her body honestly moved a bit backward.

"Oh." Benjamin looked at the nervous Catherine Ford and responded indifferently. Just as Catherine Ford thought the man was merely acting on a whim, he suddenly threw another question, "Then why are you so nervous?"

"I...am I?" Catherine Ford reacted quicker this time, retorting instantly then answering herself, "Perhaps because Lawyer Jones is very handsome and has a strong aura, it’s natural for anyone to feel a bit nervous seeing you."

As she answered, she didn’t forget to flatter the man.

She thought internally that this response should be error-free.

Unexpectedly, the man next to her threw a curveball, "You think I’m very handsome?"

Catherine Ford was stunned by the question, blankly staring at the man in front of her, her mind full of what he just asked.

It was the first time she heard someone ask such a question, and looking at Benjamin’s expression, he seemed completely serious, as if utterly unaware of his own handsomeness.

In a state of confusion, Catherine Ford carefully chose her words and cautiously answered, "It’s not just me who thinks so. One hundred percent of the women at our company think so. Don’t you know that you’re quite popular?"

"Oh, I know now." Benjamin has historically not paid much attention to his appearance, but only realized that even girls like Abby couldn’t escape superficiality after finding out Abigail had been reborn and fell for someone like that monster, Brandon Piers—whose face even men find faultless. Therefore, he had never thought much of his own looks, and hearing others praise him felt either hypocritical or like they were trying to please him.

But for some reason, hearing Catherine Ford say he was handsome actually put him in a good mood.

After Catherine Ford finished speaking and saw that Benjamin Jones was not talking anymore, she cautiously used her peripheral vision to glance at him, hoping that he would not overthink or recall the incident from four years ago. In her view, the distance between them now was just right.

Benjamin Jones felt the sneaky movement on his side and found it somewhat amusing. This woman said she wasn’t afraid of him, so what was with all this sneaking around?

However, he didn’t make it difficult for her; he lowered his head, sent a few messages, and then leaned back against the car seat and pretended to doze off.

Seeing that Benjamin Jones had closed his eyes, Catherine Ford felt a little relieved. Only then did she notice that the tension had caused her muscles to feel a bit sore.

The car drove out of Rose Valley, and when it got onto the ring road and up onto the highway, the sky had already turned dark. Catherine Ford initially kept herself awake, but soon she was struggling to keep her eyes open, and slowly slid down from the seat, her head resting on the man’s shoulder.

In the dimly lit car, the man suddenly opened his eyes, turned his head, and saw the woman resting on his shoulder. He stretched out his long, well-defined fingers and nudged Catherine Ford’s head away.

But after a while, her head slowly fell back onto his shoulder. Benjamin Jones glanced at it and nudged it away again.

This time, Catherine Ford did not lean towards him again; instead, she fell towards the direction of the glass, about to hit it, when the man quickly reached out his hand to catch her.

But after catching her, Benjamin Jones himself was stunned, sitting awkwardly in the car, looking at the small head in his hand. He hadn’t realized before that Catherine Ford’s face was truly small, not even as big as his palm. Under the faint light outside the car, her skin glowed with a pearly light, her eyes closed, seemingly dreaming uneasily as her eyelashes trembled slightly right at his palm, very lightly, yet causing an indescribable itch throughout his body.

When he first met her, he thought Catherine Ford resembled Abby, but now he felt they were not alike at all. If he had to describe them with animals, Abby was a cat, smart and proud, while Catherine Ford was a hamster, soft and silly.

With this thought, Benjamin Jones slightly strengthened his grip, adjusting Catherine Ford’s head to rest on his shoulder. That itch in his palm persisted, causing him to take another look at the woman beside him. Just as the car passed by some light, a beam shone directly on Catherine Ford’s face, casting her lips in an even softer light. His hand had not yet fallen when, almost bewitched, he reached out and touched them; they were as soft as he had imagined. His Adam’s apple involuntarily moved, and random images suddenly flashed through his mind. Just then, Catherine Ford softly moaned in her sleep.

Benjamin Jones instantly regained his composure, sat up straight, and thinking of his actions just before, felt utterly stiff, a huge question mark erupting in his mind—what was he just doing?

What was worse, even though he had already withdrawn his hand, the softness of her lips seemed to linger on his fingertips, along with the itch in his palm, making his entire right arm so weak he couldn’t lift it.

Just then, Catherine Ford woke up.

She seemed confused from sleep, her eyes hazy as she opened them, her voice softer than usual as she murmured, "Where is this?"

Because she was still leaning on his shoulder, she turned towards him as she spoke, her lips inadvertently brushing against his neck, a warm breath making Benjamin Jones’s throat dry. It took him a while to find his voice, "You can sleep a bit more, there’s still half an hour."

"Ah, oh, okay." Catherine Ford’s voice pulled her back to reality. She realized she was resting on Lawyer Jones’ shoulder and quickly sat up straight, feeling embarrassed, her cheeks reddening as she apologized, "I’m sorry, Lawyer Jones, I fell asleep."

Benjamin Jones suddenly felt a void on his shoulder and heard the woman’s apologetic voice, a flash of discomfort crossing his face, yet his tone was indifferent, "It’s okay."

After that, silence fell in the car again, yet the air carried an indescribable hint of ambiguity.

"Um..."

"You..."

Seeing the strange atmosphere, Catherine Ford was just about to break the ice when Benjamin Jones also spoke up at the same time, causing both to fall silent again.

Even Reed, who was driving through the night, noticed the peculiar atmosphere in the car. Glancing at the two who sat apart in the rearview mirror, he felt it odd that the BOSS seemed different towards Miss Ford.

"You go first." Benjamin Jones, with a rare touch of awkwardness on his usually cold, icy face, spoke to ease the situation.

Catherine Ford nervously pursed her lips, "Could I call your parents to ask about Alice’s condition? I’m worried she might not be used to my absence."

"Okay." Benjamin Jones replied and dialed his mother’s number, switching on the speakerphone.

It took a while before someone on the other end picked up, speaking in a low tone, "Have you arrived? Alice just went to sleep, she’s very obedient, tell Miss Ford not to worry."

"Thank you, Aunt Jones." Catherine Ford thanked her through the phone, feeling slightly relieved.

As soon as Mrs. Jones heard it was Catherine Ford, she eagerly asked about Alice’s daily routine, and then they started chatting.

Benjamin Jones listened from the side as his mother and Catherine Ford talked about what Alice ate every day, to how much she weighed at birth, when she started walking, and plans about her future schooling...

Benjamin Jones never knew his mother was such a chatterbox until the car exited the highway, at which point he decisively interrupted and ended the call, then heard the woman beside him sigh softly, slightly stunned but then amused, "In the future, you can reject directly if you don’t want to; no need to force yourself for others."

Upon hearing this, Catherine Ford knew Benjamin Jones misunderstood; her sigh of relief was not because she didn’t want to talk to Mrs. Jones about Alice, but because she feared accidentally saying something wrong.

However, she couldn’t explain this to Benjamin Jones, so she opted to stay silent.

Unlike Catherine Ford’s careful demeanor, the moment the phone was hung up, Mrs. Jones, not being as cautious, cursed her son a few times and then lightly snipped two strands of Alice’s hair using a small pair of scissors and left the room to enter Benjamin Jones’s master bedroom. In the bathroom, after searching for a while, she finally found a few strands of his hair.

Putting both samples into a clear small bag, she then handed it to her husband, "You find someone to send this to a reliable testing institution now."

"Really need to do this? From what I see, our son seems completely unaware, nor does he appear to have any special feelings towards Miss Ford. If we do this and he finds out, he might get angry," said Mr. Jones who always acted honestly and felt unsure about this approach.

"So what if he gets angry? If the child isn’t his, it doesn’t matter, but what if she is? Not to mention not letting the Jones family’s bloodline fall outside, just think about Miss Ford raising Alice alone, can you bear it? Didn’t you hear just now? Alice was less than four pounds at birth and only slowly recovered over the year. I’m not saying Miss Ford isn’t good, on the contrary, I think she’s very capable, managing work and caring for a child on her own, and reportedly her previous husband was abusive. Under such circumstances, she raised Alice so well, it’s not easy. Hence, if Alice is Benjamin’s daughter, we should help her out and also give Alice a bit more care..."

Mrs. Jones, a teacher by profession, was naturally coherent in her reasoning. Mr. Jones, tired of being out-argued by his wife, quickly interrupted her, "Alright, alright, let’s first find out the truth, but if Alice isn’t Benjamin’s child, don’t be too disappointed."

"I know, even if Alice isn’t ours, she’s so well-behaved that we should still dote on her more in the future." Mrs. Jones showed joy as her husband agreed.

Mr. Jones, who also liked Alice very much and had a good impression of Catherine Ford, thought after the phone call that even if she wasn’t Benjamin’s child, they could still consider her a god-granddaughter.

"Alright, I’ll have someone take care of it." Mr. Jones agreed to his wife’s request and immediately dialed a number; an hour later, his confidant came to collect the two samples.

With the matter settled, Mr. Jones was about to head to another guest room but saw his wife holding a delicate box, "What is this?"

"Your son secretly hoarding snacks is just unbelievable." Mrs. Jones said as she opened the box, only to find cute animal-shaped cookies inside. Thinking of her son’s perennially frosty expression, she found the contrast quite astonishing and marveled at it while helping herself to one cookie, then another, and another...

Although Mr. Jones found it incredible that under his son’s serious demeanor hid such a habit, he disapproved of his wife’s sneaky eating, "Eat less, if he likes it, he’d be upset seeing you eat like this."

"I’m his mom, I can’t control him usually, so taking some cookies isn’t something for him to get mad at me about." While saying this, Mrs. Jones handed a piece to her husband.

Mr. Jones typically didn’t indulge in such trivial treats, but with his wife offering it right to his mouth, and being curious about the taste of his son’s snack, he opened his mouth and took a piece.

Then, the two sat on the sofa, taking turns eating the cookies, and soon, half of the box was empty, leaving only one piece behind.

Both of them looked at one another and then reached out for the last piece simultaneously.

Mrs. Jones said irritatedly, "Is it appropriate for a grown man to compete with his wife for his son’s snacks? And didn’t you say you weren’t going to eat any?"

"I didn’t eat enough at dinner." Secretary Jones said sheepishly, his face otherwise usually stern and revered.

Mrs. Jones couldn’t help but tsukkomi, "You have the nerve to say you didn’t eat enough, when you ate twice as much as usual at Alice’s place today."

"Heh, did I?" Mr. Jones chuckled unknowingly, admitting to himself that Alice’s mom indeed was a great cook.

Mrs. Jones just snorted in response.

Seeing his wife annoyed, Mr. Jones, although reluctantly, fed the last piece to his wife and watched her eat it up, thinking to himself to ask his son later where he bought them. It’s no wonder why his usually aloof son would snack. Indeed, they were delicious, crispy, sweet, yet not overly cloying.

Benjamin Jones, who had just exited the highway, had no idea that his parents not only ate his cookies but also sent his and Alice’s hair for analysis. At this moment, he continued on his way under the guidance of Catherine Ford.

As they were about to arrive, Catherine Ford called her cousin. Hearing that she was coming back, her cousin quickly sent a location pin and urged her to hurry over.

Seeing the location was at the district hospital made Catherine even more anxious. She kept calling her mother, but no one answered, so she doggedly continued to dial, only for Benjamin Jones to take the phone from her hand.

While Catherine was persistently dialing, she turned to look back at the man and heard Benjamin Jones say, "Don’t panic, we’re almost there."

A simple sentence, and Catherine’s anxious heart suddenly calmed down. She nodded and thanked him, no longer as frantic as before.

"We’re here." At this moment, Reed parked the car and spoke up.

Catherine hurriedly opened the car door, the cold night air of winter greeting her face, making her shiver, when suddenly the man beside her offered her a light gray scarf, "Put it on."

The warmth in her palm made Catherine instinctively look up, her lips brushing past the back of the man’s hand, causing her heart to involuntarily skip a beat.

Upon returning, she would have to keep her distance from this man.