After Divorcing my Captain Husband (Chloe and Michael)

Asher, who had been covertly watching the scene unfold while waiting for his coffee, suddenly realized he had completely forgotten the reason he had come. "Mr. Cooper, your coffee is ready!"

The server's voice echoed through the restaurant, making it impossible for Asher to remain inconspicuous. With a sheepish look, he rose awkwardly from his corner. "That's mine, my coffee!" Candy and the others raised their eyebrows, finally piecing together who had tipped them off.Belonging to NôvelDrama.Org.

Asher, holding his coffee, offered a strained smile. "Uh, would you mind if I joined you?"

And just like that, the dinner party grew from five to six.

Chloe wasn't bothered, and Candy seemed to brush it off. Wesley and Michael, being seasoned pros at social situations, were hardly phased.

But Asher was visibly uncomfortable, caught between eating and not eating, wishing he could just disappear.

Once the meal was over, Candy shared a piece of gossip from back home with Chloe.

"Chloe, did you hear? Victoria's bestie, Zooey, had a falling out with her. A few days ago, Zooey messed up a shipment at the port that included both her husband's and Victoria's goods. Now Victoria's facing a multi-million-dollar loss." Chloe looked surprised. She glanced at Michael. "Did you know about this?"

Michael gave a nod. After all, Victoria was part of the Shawn family. Even though he was overseas, news from back home had a way of reaching him.

Admas had almost cut ties with Victoria over this issue.

Victoria had always pushed to get her daughter Cathy into the management at Paramount Airlines. When she married into the Swift family, it was only because she was pregnant that they even considered her. Admas had been frustrated with the situation, especially since the Shawn family was one of the top players in the country, and he didn't think they should be so eager to please the Swift family.

But Victoria insisted on staying with the guy from the Swift family. After Victoria married him and had a daughter, the Swift family paid even less attention to them.

Realizing her husband wasn't going to help, Victoria set her sights back on the Shawn family.

Admas, ever cautious, made it his mission to keep Victoria's people out of Paramount Airlines.

With no way to get her people in, Victoria sought other means to make money. Partnering up with Zooey's husband for business was simply a practical move for her. She never meant to slight Zooey.

But Zooey took the situation very personally. After the party, no matter how Victoria tried to explain, Zooey wouldn't hear it.

They stopped communicating for a long stretch. Just when Victoria thought things had cooled down, Zooey caused chaos at the port, disrupting the shipment and leaving Victoria to face hefty penalties. Victoria was left scrambling, unable to come up with the millions needed to cover the damages, and had to turn to Admas for help.

Admas was furious and nearly severed ties with her right then and there. If it hadn't been for Jennifer and a few others calming him down, Victoria would have been barred from the Shawn Manor.

Today, Victoria was doing everything she could to get back in Admas' good graces, even sending Cathy to the Shawn Manor to smooth things over, hoping Admas might be persuaded to help cover the losses. Chloe found the whole situation quite amusing.

Chloe had already told Zooey about Victoria's underhanded dealings behind her back.