The Unforgivable Husband

Chapter 5

Olivia stared at Asher like a deer in headlights. She waved her hands frantically and said, “I just said those casually. I’m not a professional...”

“Just answer from a user’s perspective.” Asher did not give Olivia a chance to refuse and shoved the design directly into her hands.

Under the watchful gaze of the entire design department, Olivia looked at the design, pondered for a moment, and said, “I seem to have seen this design previously. If I remember correctly, it was designed by a new-age designer two years ago. The design was called Time and it was centered around the clock face. This design is very similar to ‘Time’, and the color scheme is in line with the mainstream market’s preference, other than that, nothing else is outstanding.”

After she finished, she quickly looked down, fully expecting to be reprimanded. However, Asher stretched out his strong hands, applauded in admiration, and turned around to glare at the other designers. He said sarcastically, “To think that the janitors in this company are better than you designers. How dare you plagiarize? Aren’t your drafts reviewed? How dare you submit such trash?”

Asher took the draft from Olivia, tore it up, and threw it into the air.

The tension in the air was so thick that one could cut it with a knife. Everyone looked down guiltily and no one dared to speak.

At that moment, John came back after reviewing the security footage. “Sir, I’ve gone through the security footage in detail regarding the janitor’s version of what happened this afternoon.”

Asher said coldly, “And?”

“Olivia did clean the conference room next door before entering the design department. Furthermore, she began by cleaning the entrance of the office area which was captured by the surveillance camera at the lift lobby. Thus, there is enough evidence to prove that she did not go to Vivian’s work area.”

Vivian’s face turned increasingly pale and nervous when she heard John explain the situation. She then looked toward Asher and stuttered, “Mr. Taylor, I... I really did not mean to... I thought...”

Asher pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes as he said frostily, “Vivian, shouldn’t you apologize?”

Olivia was startled and looked at Asher. Never did she imagine that the CEO of the Taylor Group would stand up for her over such a trivial matter.

“Olivia, I’m sorry for accusing you. Please forgive me.” Vivian said unwillingly but she was able to appear genuine as Asher was right beside her. However, she was coldly interrupted by Asher. “Even if Olivia forgave you, the company can’t accommodate you anymore.”

Vivian gasped when she heard this and looked at Asher with her eyes and mouth wide open. She was momentarily dumbfounded.

“Mr. Taylor, please don’t...”

“The company will never tolerate a designer who plagiarizes other people’s works!” Asher said ruthlessly like Hades who had delivered a merciless verdict.

Vivian tried to defend herself and said, “Mr. Taylor, she’s just a cleaner. What does she know about jewelry designs?”

“So, you think that I don’t know?” Asher sneered.

That was as good as a slap in the face. The design Olivia commented on earlier was her design. She had submitted the design done by a freelance designer who she hired as she was too lazy to design it b herself. She thought that the design was unique enough that no one would find out.

Little did she know that...

On noticing her reluctance in leaving, John contacted security and two guards soon appeared to escort Vivian out of the office.

“Let this be a warning to all of you to do your work conscientiously and not resort to plagiarism,” Asher said to the rest of the designers.

“What are you all still waiting for? Go back to your work!” John said on behalf of Asher. The remaining designers quickly scattered and returned to their work while Olivia began to push her cleaning cart to continue with her chores. She took several steps before Asher said, “Olivia, come out with me.”

Olivia was startled and her heartbeat pounded nervously as she followed closely behind Asher to the elevator lobby.

“Are you interested in jewelry?” Asher asked with his hands in his pockets and a raised eyebrow.

Olivia nodded vigorously. “Yes, I love designing jewelry and always dreamed of joining the Taylor Group.”

Asher looked at Olivia’s eyes which were glittering as if they had stars in them.

“Then why didn’t you apply for the position of designer?” Asher asked.

As soon as he asked, he noticed that her eyes went dull and she lowered her head despondently.

“I don’t have a college degree and no professional training. But it was okay, I am willing to start from the bottom.”

Ding... The elevator arrived and its doors opened.

Asher reached out and patted Olivia’s head like he was comforting a wounded kitten. “You’re very talented, go for what you want.” He then stepped into the elevator leaving Olivia’s heart pounding and in utter disbelief.

Did the CEO of the Taylor Group just pat her on the head? Did that really happen?

Olivia was dazed and on cloud nine for the rest of the day. However, her joy was short-lived and would soon be mercilessly crushed.

“Ma’am, we can’t let you see your child without the permission of the child’s guardian,” the manager of the Child Welfare Services said to Olivia.

Olivia forcibly controlled her temper and said, “But Sir, I am the children’s mother! I have the right to see them! Furthermore, if Aiden had done his duties as a father, he wouldn’t have left his children with the Child Welfare Services!”

No matter what Olivia said, the manager was adamant about not letting her see her children that day.

Olivia was outraged and she barged her way in when the manager was distracted by his staff. She walked briskly toward the play area in the courtyard.

“Draw the shapes on the chart, do you understand?” Aiden said angrily to the child, who was holding a few drawings in his hand.

When Reese did not react to his demands, he raged and slapped Reese across the face. “Do you understand!” he yelled.

The two children were startled by his outburst and burst into tears.

Olivia immediately understood what Aiden was doing when she saw this.

Just like when Aiden made her imitate the jewelry designs, he was now nurturing their children to do the same thing!

Olivia was furious and rushed forward. She grabbed the drawings and tore them to pieces!

“Aiden, you son of a b***h! How dare you? How dare you!” Olivia squatted and hugged the children. She was so angry that she was flabbergasted.

“What are you doing here, you b***h?” Aiden frowned and looked at the manager who appeared helpless. “Don’t you want to keep your job? Didn’t you hear what I said? I don’t want this crazy woman seeing my children!”

Olivia held the two frightened children in her arms and her heart was utterly broken.

She did not want the children to see their parents in a heated argument. Olivia calmed them down and then dragged Aiden outside of the Child Welfare Services.

“Get the f**k off me!” Aiden violently flung her hand off his. “Olivia, you need to remember that I am the legal guardian of the child! You are an ex-convict so don’t come to see the kids. You are a bad influence on them!”

“Are you any better now that you’re teaching a child to copy designs and sell fake jewelry? How can you bear to let your children follow your footsteps?”

Olivia was so angry that she lunged and pushed Aiden, who stumbled backward and almost fell over.

When Aiden regained his footing, he slapped Olivia, and said, “I’m their father! They have to do whatever I tell them to do!”

Slap! Olivia slapped back hard and just as she was about to raise her hand for another slap, he grabbed her hand.

“You’d better not test my patience!” Aiden said through gritted teeth, “I won’t pursue this on account of the two kids. But I warn you not to visit them again, or I will make you suffer!”

Olivia was shaking with anger! How could he prevent her from visiting her children?

The manager saw them fighting and quickly came out to mediate. “Stop fighting! The kids can hear you. Let’s talk about this!”

Aiden composed himself, glared menacingly at Olivia a warning look, and was about to leave. Then suddenly, he lunged forward and pushed her off the sidewalk toward the road!

An electric scooter zipped by and she tried desperately to avoid it. It barely brushed against her, spun her around, and she fell heavily on both knees.

“This is just a warning! If you come to see the kids again, I’ll starve them for a day. If you see them a second time, I’ll starve them for two days!” Aiden then turned to walk into the Child Welfare Services.

Olivia sat on the roadside curb and began to sob helplessly. The manager looked on and pitied her. He squatted next to her and said, “I advise you not to fight with him on this. He has brought in a lot of funds for the Child Welfare Services, so we all have to listen to him.”

“What funds? Where did he get the money?” Olivia asked.

“A rich lady invested the money and gave him full authority to manage the operations here. Thus, I have to listen to him too.” He quickly stood up and left as if he was worried that Aiden found out.

Olivia rolled up her pants and examined her bleeding knees.

Honk...

An ear-piercing horn sounded from a car nearby.

Olivia looked over at the car as its window rolled down slowly, revealing an enchantingly handsome face.

It was Asher!

She was stunned. Before she realized it, Asher’s assistant had already gotten out of the car and stood next to her to help her to her feet. He then invited her toward the awaiting car.

She was still in a state of shock when she sat beside Asher in the back seat. It was all too surreal for her to be sitting in the car with the CEO of the Taylor Group.

When she finally came to her senses, she thanked him and said, “Mr. Taylor, thank you so much for your kindness! I...”

“Enough. How did this happen? Why were you hurt so badly?”

Asher just took a glance outside during the drive home and spotted the cleaning lady who impressed him earlier today sitting on the curb and sobbing!

“I was careless and fell accidentally,” she said as she wiped her tears.

“John, head to the hospital,” Asher instructed.

“No, it’s not a problem, it’s superficial and I’ll just clean it when I go home!” Olivia tried to stop him but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

The car soon pulled up in front of the hospital.

Olivia struggled to get out of the car by herself. As soon as the door was opened, a man wearing a long black jacket bent forward and placed one hand on her back while the other hand reached for her legs. He forcefully picked her up into his embrace and then walked briskly toward the emergency ward.