Reborn as Mr.CEO's Fat Wife-Chapter 841: Catherine, Who is Alice’s Father?

"Catherine Ford."

"Do you need anything, Lawyer Jones?" As Catherine Ford was tidying up the kitchen, she heard the man suddenly call out her name and quickly poked her head out from the dining area to ask.

"Sit down, time for dinner." When Benjamin Jones spoke, his gaze on Catherine Ford exerted an invisible pressure.

Catherine Ford’s words of refusal were already on her lips, but in the end, she wiped her hands, took a pair of chopsticks, and sat down at the dining table.

Seeing this, Benjamin Jones served a piece of meat for Alice and resumed eating.

Catherine Ford secretly gave the man a glare and looked at her daughter before bowing her head to eat. She was not accustomed to eating at the same table with Benjamin Jones, always feeling particularly tense.

Tonight’s meal seemed to bring joy only to Alice.

After the meal ended, Abigail cleared the dishes while Alice recounted her experiences of the day at the daycare to Benjamin Jones. The little girl’s speech was stammering yet smart and clear, with a babyish voice. Benjamin Jones listened intently, occasionally asking questions, which made the little girl even happier. However, since they had dinner at eight o’clock, by nine o’clock Alice’s biological clock kicked in, and her voice gradually faded as she talked.

Benjamin Jones looked at the little girl, now collapsed on the couch with steady breathing, carefully straightened her, and covered her with a thin blanket. Then he saw Catherine Ford finish cleaning the kitchen and come over to quietly thank him, "Thank you for your help, Lawyer Jones. I’ll take Alice to bed now."

"Let me do it." Saying this, Benjamin Jones placed Alice’s jacket on the thin blanket, wrapping the little girl up in it, fastened her thick hat, and then picked her up.

Catherine Ford didn’t even get the chance to refuse and could only call out to the man as he was leaving, "Lawyer Jones, your coat."

Benjamin Jones looked down at Alice in his arms and said, "Help me put it on."

Catherine Ford was initially stunned but then, understanding the situation, took the coat to put it on Benjamin Jones. After a thought, she also wrapped around him the scarf she had washed and dried, but she was quite shorter compared to Benjamin Jones, so she had to stand on tiptoe. She also feared waking Alice in front, so she didn’t dare to make large movements. However, eventually she lost her balance and bumped into Benjamin Jones’ back, which made her nose feel sore; indignantly, she looked up at his back, grumbling inwardly, "What’s so great about being tall? Don’t even know to bend down a little."

It seemed as though the man in front could sense her emotions and turned around just in time to catch her slight expression. Quickly helping him on with his coat, she put on her own, and took small steps to follow him.

There was no snow tonight, but January’s Swallow City was really cold. Caught with a guilty conscience and with reddened eyes, she seemed both distressed and pitiable. Benjamin’s heart trembled slightly, "Are you okay?"

"I’m fine." Catherine Ford said embarrassedly, waving her hand, "Let’s hurry."

After she said this, she stepped out of the villa ahead of him, only to be hit by the biting north wind, causing her cheeks to ache. She quickly wrapped herself in her coat and ran to open the door.

Benjamin Jones followed behind Catherine Ford. Although his steps were steady, he wasn’t slow. As Catherine Ford opened the door, he also stepped in and put Alice into the bedroom.

Catherine Ford hurriedly thanked Benjamin Jones and went to the bathroom to fetch some hot water. She wiped Alice’s face and hands and feet. Upon turning around, she was surprised to see the man had not left yet, "Law... Lawyer Jones?"

"Hmm." Benjamin Jones hummed in response, looking at the person in front of him.

Catherine Ford couldn’t understand why Benjamin Jones hadn’t left and felt completely exposed under his gaze, finding herself awkward and not knowing where to put her hands, "Is... Is there something else?"

Benjamin Jones still didn’t speak; he had long noticed that this woman stammered when nervous. He used to think it was from nervousness, but now he knew it was all from having a guilty conscience.

After waiting for a long time without getting a response from Benjamin Jones, the atmosphere in the room turned even more bizarre, and her unease surged suddenly. She wondered anxiously, did she reveal something unintentionally, or did he discover something?

As this thought emerged, Catherine Ford was overwhelmed with a guilty conscience. Her heartbeat quickened as she looked at the man, but she forcefully restrained the impulse to confess under the oppressive aura of Benjamin Jones. She dug her fingernails into her palm, trying to use a calm tone to urge him, "It’s getting late, Lawyer Jones should rest early."

Unexpectedly, after deliberately exuding an intimidating presence, Benjamin Jones was still prodded by Catherine Ford. His brows furrowed slightly, but his dark eyes glanced at the woman’s taut wrist and clenched hand. Realization dawned on him, and he asked suddenly, "Who is Alice’s father?"

Boom!

As soon as Benjamin Jones spoke, Catherine Ford felt as though she’d been struck by thunder. Her mind went blank, and she stared at the man before her. Then a terrifying thought came to her: he knows, he knows...

Impossible!

Her body trembled slightly, out of her control, yet she tried her best to calm her emotions. It took her a while to force out a smile, uglier than crying, "Why would Lawyer Jones... why would you ask such a question?"

She tried hard, but her voice still shook.

Seeing her like this, Benjamin Jones suddenly felt a glimmer of pity, and his imposing aura faded, "Alice is very smart; although she is sensible, she also needs a father."

"I... that... I know, but my first love is already married and has his own life. Alice and I are doing fine now, and if I meet someone suitable who loves Alice dearly, I will consider it," Catherine Ford replied upon realization that Benjamin Jones was just caring about Alice and had not discovered anything. Her speech became more fluent, yet she deliberately indicated that the child was from her first love.

If Benjamin Jones had previously only suspected that Catherine Ford intended to keep Alice’s paternity a secret from him, in this moment he could be completely certain that this woman never intended to let Alice recognize him.

Huh!

He sneered inwardly, finding his brief moment of soft-heartedness absurd, realizing that this woman had no intention of acknowledging the truth.

"Is that so?" Benjamin Jones responded with a sarcastic retort.

Emotionally fluctuating and overly anxious, Catherine Ford failed to detect the sarcasm in Benjamin Jones’s words, and she nodded vigorously, saying "yes" several times.

Benjamin Jones looked at her deeply, then turned and left.

As soon as he was gone, Catherine Ford collapsed weakly onto the ground, unable to get up for a long time as the fear in her heart intensified, even giving rise to the impulse to flee the place immediately.

But as reason slowly took over, Catherine Ford realized she couldn’t.

Three thousand a month wasn’t much, but it was enough to cover her and Alice’s living expenses, allowing her to save all her income for Alice’s education. Besides, Alice went to the property management’s daycare center today, which had an excellent environment that made Alice very happy upon returning home. Most importantly, the community owned a nursery school, and today the property manager took the initiative to discuss with her that Alice could attend the nursery school here starting in the spring, with tuition set at the resident’s rate of eight thousand a month.

Compared to other nurseries that Alice had attended, this so-called discount was actually more expensive than a year’s fee at her previous nursery.

However, the environment and educational resources were top-notch. It was only because of Benjamin Jones that Alice could attend such a nursery school, and Catherine Ford could barely afford the monthly fee of eight thousand if she gritted her teeth. But if she left, where would she go?

Over the years, she had been constantly moving houses—or rather, fleeing—in this city, and Alice had been forced to endure hardships along with her. Just as their life as mother and daughter was beginning to improve, was she really ready to leave?

The more Catherine Ford thought about it, the sadder she felt, and she only felt useless.

Abigail feared that Benjamin would discover the truth and take Alice away from her, yet she was incapable of providing a better environment for Alice. The greatest sorrow is perhaps the realization of one’s own powerlessness.

Sitting on the ground, Catherine didn’t want to cry, but her tears fell uncontrollably, especially when she thought about the possibility of the Jones family finding out the truth and taking Alice away... her tears flowed even more.

The next day.

After a restless night, Catherine still got up early at six o’clock to make breakfast for Benjamin,

Having calmed down the night before, she understood many things. For Alice, she could no longer run away. If one day Benjamin did find out that Alice was his child, she would have to face it bravely, even though with her current circumstances, her chances of winning were almost nonexistent.

But that’s better than running away, right?

After all, deep down she was still harboring a sliver of hope, wishing that Benjamin wouldn’t find out. Hoping that when their employment relationship ended, and they no longer had any interaction, she wouldn’t have to live in fear anymore.

With that in mind, Catherine tried her best to act normal. She made siu mai, vegetable pancakes, seaweed egg soup, and a vegetable salad for breakfast. Afraid that it wasn’t enough, she took the leftover rice from last night and made three rice balls with a mix of meat and vegetables, frying them until they were golden on the outside.

After Benjamin finished exercising and took a shower, he came down to find breakfast already prepared. He glanced at the food, then at the woman who was busy in the kitchen with her head down, "Wait for me at the door after dropping off Alice."

"There’s no need for that, Lawyer Jones, I can go to the pub..."

"I’ll take you. You can make an extra lunch for me in the morning," Benjamin interrupted Catherine’s refusal directly.

While Catherine felt reluctant, her mind quickly did the math. Making an extra lunch for the man wouldn’t cost any additional ingredients, just a bit more time, yet it would save her six dollars’ worth of morning commute. If she excluded the weekends, she could save up to one hundred and fifty dollars a month. Moreover, whoever stocked the man’s fridge always bought in bulk, which led to waste if not eaten in time. Abiding by her principle of not wasting food, sometimes she could save on a meal by using up leftovers. This way, she could save some money on breakfast and dinner as well, and she could bring over her own lunch to cook, avoiding the need to prepare it the night before which always made the food taste much worse...

Thinking it through, Lawyer Jones’ suggestion really seemed very good, and the money saved could be set aside for Alice’s tuition.

Seeing Catherine remained silent, Benjamin thought the woman was reluctant to agree. When he looked up at her, he saw her muttering to herself and making calculations with her hands in front of her eyes, completely oblivious to what she was doing. His brow furrowed slightly, "What are you thinking about?"

"Calculating," Catherine replied without thinking, too engrossed in her thoughts when she heard Benjamin’s question.

Benjamin, "... So how much can you save?"

"I can save a hundred and fifty on transportation costs!" Catherine’s eyes met the man’s teasing gaze as she lifted her head proudly, only to feel instantly embarrassed, "I mean..."

"If I don’t have social engagements after work, I can also give you a lift. How much would that save you?" Benjamin ignored Catherine’s embarrassment and continued to ask.

Catherine felt very awkward, "That... About three hundred, I suppose."

"Oh, then message me in advance after work," Benjamin said, then looked down to continue eating his breakfast.

Catherine stood there stiffly, not knowing how to deal with the situation. Seeing Benjamin’s attitude, she knew he hadn’t given her a chance to refuse. After a moment’s thought, since he had been so good to her, she felt obliged to repay him, "There is something that I’ve been wanting to tell you... no, to discuss with you."

Benjamin’s heart clenched while eating, what’s this? Was the woman moved by his generosity, suddenly stricken with a guilty conscience, and decided to tell him that Alice was his daughter?

He tried to keep his voice calm, "Go ahead."

Catherine Ford licked her dry lips nervously; she knew what she was doing was wrong, but she couldn’t bear not to do it. She gritted her teeth and blurted out, "You should change your supplier!"

Benjamin Jones, who was all set to hear a confession from the woman, was speechless...

Change the supplier?

Why did the topic turn to suppliers? What supplier?

For the first time, Benjamin Jones felt clueless, looking at the woman whose cheeks were flushed red with anxiety not far away.

Catherine Ford knew she was wrong too; she was essentially depriving someone of a job, telling tales out of school, but she just couldn’t help herself, and now seeing Benjamin’s expression, she felt even more embarrassed, "I know it’s not right of me, but the waste is just too much. The ingredients you add to your fridge every week are half more than what’s needed, and every time new ones are added, the old ones go to waste, it’s especially wasteful. I’ve done the math; based on the price of the ingredients in your fridge, you’re wasting at least two thousand a week, that’s about six thousand a month, it’s just unreasonable..."

Moreover, during the week she had been cooking, she noticed that any fruits and vegetables in the man’s fridge older than three days, regardless of their condition, would be thrown away. Such waste was simply too much!

By the end, Catherine Ford’s face was full of pain and indignation.

She herself was poor and simply couldn’t tolerate such food wastage, particularly as she was the one who cooked every day.

After listening to the woman’s ramblings, Benjamin Jones was dumbfounded for a good while. The food in his kitchen had always been arranged by his mother, and now with Catherine Ford cooking, it was okay, but when he often wasn’t home, his mother still had people fill the fridge every day, and the waste was even greater back then. He never worried about such things, only finding out today how much money he was wasting per month.

He felt somewhat amused, and found the woman’s exasperated yet calculative demeanor quite adorable, which even dissipated the anger he had felt upon realizing she wasn’t being honest with him.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Benjamin Jones asked sincerely.

"You should talk to the supplier, you can’t let them waste like this." Catherine Ford thought about it; she felt it wasn’t right for someone to lose their job over this.

"The vegetables are the responsibility of the housekeepers on that end, it wouldn’t help if I talked to them," Benjamin Jones teased Catherine Ford.

Upon hearing this, Catherine Ford exclaimed, "Doesn’t that mean Mrs. Jones arranged it?" Suddenly, her cheeks became an even deeper shade of red as she realized she was truly meddling in affairs that weren’t her business.

Seeing her reaction, Benjamin Jones lifted an eyebrow, "How about this, from now on, you handle the procurement here, and as for the salary..."

"No, no need!" Catherine Ford blurted out, anxious. She had already received so many favors from the man, she couldn’t possibly ask for a salary too.

"Oh," Benjamin Jones uttered curiously, "Do you mean not to change the supplier or not to give you a salary?"

"No, I can’t take your salary."

"Then you agree to manage the procurement? Alright. But you don’t have to take a salary, from now on, both you and Alice can eat here together morning and night, and if it’s inconvenient, take it with you," Benjamin Jones said leisurely.

Catherine Ford’s eyes widened; she shook her head instinctively, trying to say that wasn’t what she meant, only to hear the man ask, "So I can save six thousand a month, but what about you?"