Chapter 804: Depending on Each Other for Survival?

Walker Grant’s expression didn’t change at all as he replied, "That sounds like a ’you’ problem. Your mind is in the gutter, so you see dirt in everything."

Fiona Linton was speechless.

Her fists were practically itching to punch him!

Walker added, "Besides, I’m only stating the facts. You two are just bullying me. We’re all sitting right here, yet you’re chatting on WhatsApp. Did you think I’m blind and deaf?"

Fiona didn’t know what to say to that.

Chloe Reed simply continued sipping her juice.

"Chloe."

Walker called her name, his voice unexpectedly tinged with a hint of grievance.

Fiona looked at Chloe. "Hurry up and coddle him, will you? I’m seriously about to throw up."

Chloe sighed helplessly. She pulled out her phone and typed out a reply, which the app read aloud: "You took so much of his money, you should probably dial it back."

The corners of Walker’s lips curled up. "So that’s what you were talking about. It’s really no big deal. Everything I have belongs to Chloe anyway, so it’s basically Chloe giving you money. You can spend it with a clear conscience."

Fiona twitched her lips and ignored him. That man was far too good at twisting words.

Chloe continued typing, "I’m a little tired, so I just want to play on my phone for a bit. You can either go upstairs and rest or sit there quietly. Just stop calling my name over and over again, okay?"

Walker sounded inexplicably wronged as he muttered, "Okay."

Chloe let out a long breath, deeply feeling the pressure of dealing with someone so clingy.

She suddenly understood why playboys disliked clingy girlfriends.

It really was a bit unbearable.

Fortunately, she wasn’t a female player, nor were she and Walker in that kind of loving, intimate relationship.

That evening.

Annie York suddenly sent Chloe a message.

Annie: [Chloe, can you come to where I work right now?]

Annie: [Image attached]

Chloe tapped on the image to find Charles Reed’s aging figure sitting inside the shop. A drink sat untouched in front of him. His gaze was somewhat hollow, and his face seemed lined with many more wrinkles than before.

Chloe’s beautiful brows instantly furrowed. She replied: [I’ll be right there.]

Immediately after, she informed Walker about the situation.

"Have Daniel Hayes go with you," Walker told her.

"Mhm."

Chloe texted Daniel, who promptly agreed. He arrived shortly after and headed to the garage to pull out the car.

By the time they hurried to the bubble tea shop, Charles was still sitting in the exact same spot, the drink in front of him completely untouched.

Annie walked over and whispered, "Chloe, he said he wanted to see you after he got here. But he didn’t have your contact info and didn’t dare go to Jardinelle, so he could only wait here in hopes that I’d pass the message along. I was worried something might have happened to him, so I texted you."

"Mhm." Chloe nodded.

She then walked over to Charles, her delicate, stunning face completely devoid of warmth.

Hearing her approach, Charles raised his eyes. The moment he saw her, his gaze instantly lit up.

He forced a smile and spoke in a very gentle tone. "Chloe, the New Year is almost here. Come home for the holidays, won’t you?"

Chloe typed on her phone, and the cold, electronic female voice rang out. "You wanted to see me just to say this?"

"Yes." Charles nodded, appearing incredibly stiff and constrained. His former high-spirited vigor was entirely gone. He looked at her with a pained expression. "Chloe, even though we aren’t bound by blood, we’ve called each other father and daughter for over two decades. You’ve always been my daughter. Now that your mother is gone, the two of us are all we have left to rely on."