Reborn as Mr.CEO's Fat Wife-Chapter 848: The Drunken Woman

In the car.

Catherine Ford was carried onto the car by Benjamin Jones.

The cold of winter was alleviated by the sufficient heating in the car. Her stiff body finally began to regain sensation, but her little face was still frighteningly pale, and her whole body was still shivering slightly, mumbling something in her mouth.

Benjamin Jones’ heart clenched tightly, and he turned his body to help Catherine Ford fasten her seatbelt before speaking in a voice softer than he had ever used before, comforting her, "Reed has already gone to check the situation, don’t scare yourself."

Catherine Ford seemed not to hear, still huddled in the car, not comforted at all, and even shivering more violently.

Benjamin Jones had no choice but to reach out with his broad palm to hold the woman’s trembling hand, "Catherine Ford, do you hear what I’m saying?"

Catherine Ford finally came back to her senses, but instead of immediately answering Benjamin Jones, she focused her gaze on the man’s hand.

His hand was large, dry, and warm, holding hers with a sense of strength, and the warmth transmitted made her whole body gradually warm up, but she was somewhat panicked, raising her eyes to look blankly at the man. What was he doing?

Benjamin Jones felt a bit uncomfortable under Catherine Ford’s blank stare, "You haven’t answered my question yet."

"Oh, I..." Catherine Ford slowly regained her composure, but she didn’t know how to respond to his question. She had heard him, but she had also seen May Coffey’s situation just before and with Anna Ford’s screaming, up until now, Catherine Ford still felt breathless and anxious.

At this moment, Benjamin Jones’ phone rang; it was Reed’s call.

Benjamin Jones glanced at it and activated the speakerphone directly. Reed’s voice immediately filled the car, "BOSS, Miss Coffey is not seriously harmed. She has regained consciousness now, and it seems she fainted due to low blood sugar."

"Okay," Benjamin Jones hung up the call and looked toward Catherine Ford.

After hearing this, Catherine Ford gazed at the man, perplexed, "She’s alright? She fainted because of low blood sugar?"

"So can you relax now?" Benjamin Jones raised his eyebrow and asked lightly, clearly somewhat displeased with Catherine Ford’s previous distrustful attitude.

Catherine Ford nodded, and then she remembered she had been scared stiff and it was Benjamin Jones who had carried her to the car, causing her cheeks to burn slightly, "Thank you."

"How do you plan to thank me?" Benjamin Jones, abandoning his usual indifferent demeanor, actually asked Catherine Ford for compensation.

Catherine Ford was taken aback and looked at the man driving, as if trying to understand the meaning behind his words. After thinking for a while and not getting it, she tentatively asked, "How do you want me to thank you?"

"Let’s keep it pending, I’ll tell you when I’ve decided," Benjamin Jones said this casually as if it was an offhand remark, with neither his attitude nor tone showing any peculiarity.

Catherine Ford thought for a moment. Since Benjamin Jones had helped her so much, it was only reasonable for him to ask for compensation. She nodded, "Alright, tell me when you have decided, Lawyer Jones."

Upon hearing Catherine Ford’s response, the corners of Benjamin Jones’ lips lifted subtly.

The car continued on its way. During the year-end period, the entire Swallow City was filled with festive atmosphere, with red lanterns hanging everywhere. Catherine Ford pressed her cheek against the car window, looking out at the scenery.

The panic of thinking she had accidentally killed May Coffey had passed, but the unease in her heart had not lessened. She thought she had not been affected by Foster Newman over the years, but today she realized that wasn’t the case. The life of a scared bird over the past three years seemed to have passed, but the injuries left in her heart had not been completely erased, prompting her to think of Alice, who would occasionally wake up from her dreams. Was she also trapped in them?

"What are you thinking about?" Benjamin Jones turned his head and saw the shallow shadow of the woman reflected in the car window, her eyes vacant and forlorn, tinged with a faint sorrow that lightly pricked his heart, prompting an involuntary question.

Perhaps it was the overly soothing music in the car, or maybe she really had been holding back for too many years, that when Benjamin Jones asked, she suddenly felt an urge to confide. Her voice, still somewhat hoarse from shock, murmured softly, "I’m thinking, among these lights of thousands of homes, where is mine?"

She came to this city at 18, and soon she would be 27, nine whole years achieving nothing; unable to provide her daughter with a stable life, nor affording her material wealth. What she had, apart from troubles as numerous as scattered feathers, was this most useless love.

Sometimes, the feeling of powerlessness arrives very suddenly.

Like right now.

Benjamin Jones hadn’t expected Catherine Ford to speak her mind to him, yet he felt an inexplicable sting—so she longs for a home of her own.

After answering, Catherine Ford realized her lapse and hurriedly regained her composure, explaining, "The housing prices in Swallow City are too high, beyond my means. I’m afraid I’ll have to rent for a lifetime."

Having said that, she laughed awkwardly to mask her embarrassment.

But Benjamin Jones did not laugh; he gave Catherine Ford a brief glance and continued driving.

Catherine Ford felt incredibly awkward, thinking of this man’s annual salary and the price of the villas in Rose Valley, she suddenly wanted to cover her face. How could a naturally noble man like Benjamin Jones understand the feelings of a poor commoner? He probably owns countless houses—what does he know of poverty?

With a light sigh, Catherine Ford decided to continue watching the scenery from the car to hide her embarrassment.

Upon arriving at Rose Valley, Benjamin Jones went to the property management to pick up Alice, and then brought mother and daughter back. To his surprise, as soon as he opened the door, he saw his mother sitting in the living room.

His movements hesitated for a moment as he hung up his coat, while Alice had already run to Mrs. Jones, tenderly calling out, "Grandma Jones."

All the mental preparation Mrs. Jones had done collapsed at Alice’s call, as she hurriedly caught the little girl, "Did Alice miss Grandma?"

Deliberately ignoring Jones.

Alice nodded vigorously, "Yes. Did Grandma miss Alice?"

"Missed, Grandma missed my precious Alice so much." Mrs. Jones said, lifting Alice into her arms.

Benjamin Jones stepped forward quickly, intending to take Alice, "Mom, be careful holding Alice; she isn’t that little anymore. Don’t drop her."

Mrs. Jones shot her son a furious glare, securing Alice in her arms and scrutinizing Catherine Ford.

It was only then that Catherine Ford found an opportunity to speak, "Hello, Aunt Jones."

"Hmm." Although Mrs. Jones felt that Catherine Ford wasn’t quite a match for her son, she was holding Alice and couldn’t help feeling a bit soft-hearted. After a prideful hum, she asked, "Why have you come back so late today?"

"Well..."

"I got off work a bit late," Catherine Ford was about to honestly reply to Mrs. Jones when Benjamin Jones interrupted her.

Mrs. Jones watched her son protect Catherine Ford like this and did not know whether to be happy or worried. She sighed lightly, "Alright, since it’s so late today, let’s not have Catherine cook. I brought a meal over."

"I’ll take Alice over first, and tomorrow..."

"Let’s eat together." Catherine’s words of refusal were not yet complete when Mrs. Jones cut her off.

"It’s not appropriate..." was all Catherine managed before the glare from the man forced her to swallow the last word and she began setting the table proactively.

Alice liked Benjamin and Mrs. Jones, and was very happy to stay and cheerfully answered Mrs. Jones’ questions.

Mrs. Jones listened for a while, then suddenly looked up and asked Catherine, "Does Alice go to the daycare at the property management during the day?"

Catherine faintly replied with a tone laden with guilt.

Mrs. Jones had investigated Catherine’s situation and knew that she had no other choice, but she felt very sorry for Alice. She thought about it and suggested, "How about this, when you’re working during the day, send Alice to my place, and after you get off work in the evening, I’ll have the driver send her back?"

Catherine looked up in surprise upon hearing this. She always felt Mrs. Jones was overly kind to Alice. Clutching the dishes tightly, she strove to appear indifferent, "Thank you for your kindness, Aunt Jones, but Alice is quite mischievous, I don’t want to trouble you."

"It’s no trouble, not..."

"You might not find it troublesome, but the commute of over two hours would be troublesome for Alice." Mrs. Jones was still speaking when she was bluntly interrupted by her own son.

Mrs. Jones cast a disdainful look at her son and turned to ask Alice.

Although young, Alice was very clever and understood that her mother meant to refuse. Although she liked Mrs. Jones, she shook her little head, "Alice likes Grandma, but I promised Kerry to play with him every day. I am no longer a one or two-year-old child, I need to keep my word."

The three of them were amused by Alice’s grown-up response, and Mrs. Jones stopped insisting. However, Catherine still sensed a change in Mrs. Jones’ attitude towards Alice and herself, and felt uneasy. Could it be that Mrs. Jones had come to know something?

But if Mrs. Jones really knew something, wouldn’t her first course of action be to confront Catherine?

So, with disquiet gnawing at her, Catherine finished the evening meal and went back to the other side with Alice. Until Alice fell asleep, she racked her brain for answers, but in the end, came up with nothing. She simply decided to prepare the ingredients for tomorrow’s breakfast and lunch.

But perhaps it was the day’s events or the emotional rollercoaster that left her distracted in everything she did. She ended up grabbing a pack of beer from the fridge and for the first time, climbed up to the third floor of the villa in her slippers.

She knew there was a terrace upstairs but had never been there before. Today, casting away her usual caution, she just wanted to give her suppressed heart some air.

Mrs. Jones’ display of affection towards Alice today frightened Catherine. Although both Benjamin and Alice had rejected Mrs. Jones, she still felt scared.

Her acquaintance with Benjamin was not long, but she knew he was a true gentleman. If one day he found out about Alice’s origins, he might not necessarily fight her for custody of Alice, but what about Mrs. Jones?

Or say, the Jones family?

Like when May Coffey fell in front of her today, all she felt was fear and trepidation. If the Jones family wanted Alice, what power would she have to fight for her?

Love, marriage, work – she couldn’t hold on to any of them. What if she couldn’t hold on to Alice in the end?

The most desperate moment for a person is probably when they realize their own incompetence.

Catherine Ford, wrapped in a thick down jacket, sat on the third-floor balcony. The cold beer slid into her stomach, chilling her to the core and fully exposing her failure.

During the day, she had to pretend not to care in front of her colleagues, to put on a good motherly face for Alice, to show no cracks in front of Benjamin Jones; only at this moment could she be herself, a disheartened Catherine Ford.

Benjamin Jones felt some tightness in his chest from his mother’s attitude before she left. After finishing work, he went up to the third floor for some air. Just as he lit a cigarette, he noticed that the light was on at Catherine Ford’s place across at the third floor as well.

The two villas were very close to each other, and he could easily see Catherine Ford’s movements from here. After watching for a while, he realized she was drinking. This notion circled his mind, and after a double-check to confirm he wasn’t mistaken, he understood that she was indeed drinking.

"Huh," Benjamin Jones let out a light chuckle mixed with surprise and worry. The cigarette pinched between his fingers flickered, yet his gaze stayed fixed on Catherine Ford. Noticing that his cigarette was about to burn out, and Catherine was still drinking, he wondered if the woman had lost her mind. It was then that Catherine suddenly started to wobble towards the edge of the balcony and began to climb over it with bare hands.

Benjamin Jones instantly felt a chill run through his body, he stamped out his cigarette and dashed downstairs. He ran to Catherine’s next door, burst through her door, and rushed up to the third floor. Just as he saw her still climbing over the edge, he rushed over and pulled her into his arms with a cold reprimand, "Catherine Ford, are you f*cking crazy!"

Catherine Ford felt she must really be drunk, seeing Benjamin Jones holding her—the next thing she felt was aggrieved, and looking up with her little head, she asked, "Why are you being mean to me!"

Benjamin Jones braced for all the excuses Catherine might have but didn’t expect to be asked why he was being mean to her—a question so outside his logic that he was momentarily speechless, awkwardly denying, "How was I mean to you?"

"You are being mean to me, all men are no good!" Catherine Ford huffed, and wasn’t it true? One had loved her for many years, yet couldn’t resist temptation and rolled in the sheets with another woman; another seemed gentle and considerate, but was actually a pervert. The man in front of her was good indeed, but sadly he too was a bastard, who after rolling in the sheets with her forgot her completely, and even caused her to become pregnant before marriage.

Benjamin Jones, "..."

Glancing at the canned beer bottles not far away, then at the woman in his arms with her cheeks flushed red and reeking of alcohol, he held back and said, "You’re drunk."

"I know!" Catherine Ford responded loudly when she heard this, of course she knew she was drunk, otherwise how could she have seen Benjamin Jones in the middle of the night.

Yet this righteous tone of hers made Benjamin Jones feel somewhat uncomfortable. His deep eyes studied the woman closely, "Drunk, huh?"

"Yeah, otherwise why would you be here? Hehe." Catherine Ford’s tone softened from her earlier anger, teasing with a naughty chuckle, then suddenly pinched Benjamin Jones’s cheeks, "Tsk tsk, so your face is soft too, huh."

Benjamin Jones, "..." His face, in her eyes, was it supposed to be hard?

Then he heard her continue to babble, "I thought all icebergs were hard, but... hehe, let me tell you a secret, I’ve known it’s soft for a long time."

Benjamin Jones’s body tensed up slightly, and he asked with a restrained voice, "How do you know?"

A proud smirk spread across Catherine’s blushing face upon hearing this, "Of course, I’ve touched it. Tsk tsk, I’ve not only touched his face but also his abs. Super hard."

Benjamin Jones, "...Right, anything else?"

He was now certain Catherine Ford was truly drunk.

Upon hearing this, Catherine tilted her head and pondered seriously. She looked just like Alice when she made this gesture—adorable and dopey—but the woman before him playfully charming. Benjamin watched her, knowing he shouldn’t, yet he couldn’t help leading her on.

After a while of thinking, Catherine giggled, "There’s more..."