Vanya's POV
I did my best to suppress the tidal wave of complaints within me, forcing them back down into my stomach.
Cliff seemed to care little for my feelings and, instead, abruptly stepped on the gas.
His tone was icy as he said, "After we get home, transfer the money you spent today to me."
Hearing this, I was displeased.
"You're making me come out, and yet you want me to pay my own way?" I stared at him, my eyes wide with disbelief.
"It's just for show," he responded with a blank expression, as if to say that it was the most natural thing in the world.
"As a husband, what's wrong with spending a little money on his wife?" I couldn't help but raise my voice, eager to argue with him.
"You said it yourself that we're a contractual couple," his words left me speechless.
I was filled with frustration, having hoped to gain some advantage from him. It seemed I was being too naive.
Cliff, a thorough businessman, would never tolerate even the slightest loss.
"Miser!" I took a deep breath, trying my best to calm my emotions.
'Forget it, no need to be angry. I don't want to be in his debt anyway. If he wants money, I'll give it to him. I'm not short of that amount.'
When we returned to the packhouse, my phone notifications went off one after another, with a flood of Twitter news alerts, complete with photos of Cliff and me shopping.
#ToddFamilyCoupleHandHoldingShoppingSuperSweet
#WealthyCEODotesOnWife#RomanceNovelComesToLife
Such cringe-worthy headlines were flying everywhere.
One in particular, #CEOSpendsThousandsWithLoveWife, made my teeth itch.
'Spends thousands? And I have to pay for it?'
I glanced at Cliff, who was walking towards the kitchen to wash his hands, and said with a somewhat timid tone, "I'm a bit tight on cash recently, so..."
"It's okay, you can pay in installments," he remained indifferent, with no room for negotiation in his voice.
Seeing him so stubborn and unyielding, I felt frustrated and suffocated.
I took out my bank card and slammed it on the table. "Here you go!"
I shouldn't have bought that expensive pearl necklace. Now, I had to pay for it.
"Mm," Cliff responded without giving me a second glance.
I asked, "Are you gonna cook?"
"Why not?" he retorted while drying his hands.
Jenny was not here, and he shouldn't expect me to cook for him.
The undisguised expression on his face showed his doubt about my cooking skills.
‘Humph, whatever, I don't care. If he doesn't want me to cook, I'm more than happy.’
Melinda's POV
I was bored in the dorm, swiping through my phone screen when a trending topic caught my eye.
It was a report of Cliff and Vanya's sweet and loving shopping trip.
Although they wore sunglasses in the photos, I recognized them instantly.
"Wow, I wish I could have a wealthy CEO as my husband too. That would be the epitome of happiness," Raven clutched her phone tightly, her face glowing with infatuation, her eyes almost narrowing into a slit.
Clearly, she didn't recognize Cliff and Vanya in the photos.
Fawn also chimed in, sighing, "Think about it. We ordinary folks probably won't have a chance to meet such a dominant CEO. At most, we might meet an uncle who works for them."
"Are you sure? Melinda's boyfriend is handsome, wealthy, and a boss!"
Raven wrapped her arm around me, her face full of longing, saying, "Melinda, if you ever become a wealthy lady, you can't forget about us, alright?"
I forced a smile, but inside, my heart was filled with fear and unease.
No one in the dorm knew that the boyfriend I mentioned was Cliff.
In the past, Cliff never liked to appear in magazines or on major media platforms, but recently he had been frequently trending on Twitter and Instagram.
If Raven and Fawn discovered that Cliff was my "boyfriend," the lies I had carefully woven would be completely exposed.
Moreover, as long as Vanya stayed at Wolfe for a day, I couldn't feel at ease.
She was like a bomb that could explode at any time, posing a great threat to my relationship with Cliff.
Thinking of this, I bit my lip fiercely, vowing in my heart that I had to come up with a plan.
I had to make Vanya leave Wolfe forever!
I couldn't let her continue to disrupt my plans there. I needed to remove this obstacle altogether, ensuring that Cliff's attention was always focused solely on me.