Chapter 193: Chapter 193: The Bodyguards Stop Her from Leaving

Chloe Reed replied, "You be careful, too."

"I will," Preston Vance said gently.

Just then, the bedroom door opened, and Walker Grant walked in.

He was wearing an apron, and his sharp gaze fell on her. "Chloe, come and eat now that you’re awake."

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was pitched perfectly for the person on the other end of the line to hear clearly.

Preston Vance went silent for a moment before saying, "Well, I won’t keep you then. Let’s grab a meal together some other time."

"Okay."

Chloe agreed and hung up.

Without looking at Walker, she got out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

She grabbed a change of clothes, and seeing this, Walker didn’t say anything else.

After her shower, she felt much more refreshed. When she went downstairs, she saw the meal already laid out on the dining table.

Walker was sitting on the living room sofa, replying to a message on his phone.

She only spared him a brief glance before heading for the front door.

"Chloe."

Walker called out to her when he saw her trying to leave.

Chloe’s pace quickened, but when she opened the door, she saw bodyguards standing outside.

Her expression immediately darkened.

"What is the meaning of this?"

She whipped her head around, her eyes blazing with anger as she glared at him.

Walker said, "I just want to have a meal with you. You can ignore me, but you have to eat."

Chloe’s hands balled into fists.

’He must have anticipated I would try to leave, so he had bodyguards waiting at the door.’

’That manipulative bastard!’

Her stomach started to protest. She wasn’t one to make herself suffer.

She walked over to the dining table, sat down, and began to eat with her chopsticks.

Seeing this, the coldness in Walker’s expression finally eased a bit.

’Even though he had forced her to stay.’

She kept her eyes down, eating without any expression on her face.

He stared at her for a long time, a bitter feeling consuming him from within.

There was a time when she would watch him with a beaming smile every time he cooked.

After he finished cooking, she would lavish praise on everything she ate, as if it were the most delicious food on Earth.

But now, he had to resort to trickery just to get her to eat a meal with him.

A wave of frustration washed over him.

Just then, his phone suddenly rang. He answered, his tone cold. "Mom, what’s up?"

Judith Pierce said, "Noah is making a fuss, demanding to see you. Where are you right now?"

Walker said, "I’m at home."

"Well, you should come over now," Judith Pierce said, her head aching from all the fuss. "Come and see your nephew."

"Mom." Walker’s tone became even colder. "You’re Noah’s grandmother. You two hardly get to spend time together. You should be the one bonding with him, building your relationship." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Judith Pierce fell silent. She had been avoiding it subconsciously, but Walker was right.

"All right, then."

Judith Pierce gave in, then casually asked, "You’re home at this hour? What about Chloe? Is she with you?"

"Yes, we’re together." Walker’s tone softened slightly as he looked over at Chloe.

Judith Pierce’s voice was filled with a mix of emotions. "It would be wonderful if you two could just work things out. Then I wouldn’t have to worry so much about you. Anyway, I’ll let you go. Be good to Chloe."

"I will."

The call ended.

Walker looked at Chloe and asked, "Is it good?"

"It’s terrible."

Chloe held nothing back. Once her stomach stopped complaining, she set down her chopsticks. "Your cooking is absolutely terrible."

Walker: "..."

Looking at her plate, where she’d barely taken a few bites, he started to doubt himself.

’Was it really that bad?’