Dating the Bossy CEO Next Door
Chapter 43- settle

Chapter 43: Chapter 43- settle

Lilian was genuinely touched. That feeling of shared suffering—only those who had been scolded by Morrison could truly understand it.

"Thank you, Sean."

After saying thanks, Lilian reached out to take the box of snacks. When she saw the brand was her favorite, she couldn’t help but smile and ask,

"Sean, how did you know I like this brand of snacks?"

Sean casually replied,

"How would I know? It was the boss who bought them."

That one sentence made Lilian freeze, the box still in her hands.

Sean immediately realized he’d let something slip and felt awkward. Lilian promptly shoved the box back into his hands.

"Sorry, Sean. If it’s from him, I can’t accept it."

Lilian thought to herself, What’s going on? I got yelled at like crazy this morning, and now someone’s sending me snacks in the afternoon?

Besides, they were broken up now. She didn’t feel right taking anything from him anymore.

Sean grew anxious.

"Hey, hey, listen to me! The boss felt really bad about yelling at you this morning, so he sent me to deliver these snacks as an indirect apology."

Lilian shook her head firmly.

"He doesn’t need to apologize to me. It was my fault to begin with. He’s the boss; it’s only natural for him to scold me.

So, I can’t accept this box of snacks. Please tell him that for me."

After saying that, Lilian turned and walked back to her office, resolute not to keep the snacks.

Sean held the box awkwardly, unsure what to do.

He knew the boss had deliberately instructed him not to reveal the snacks were from Morrison — he was supposed to deliver them as if they were from himself. _{f .r e\ewebnov(e)(l).c om}

Sean had thought it was contradictory: either the boss forbids him from interacting with Lilian, or he sends him to deliver snacks to her under his own name.

But Sean understood Morrison’s pride too well. The boss could never bring himself to apologize in person.

If he did, or if Lilian knew it was a gift from him, it would mean the boss was the first to give in.

Yet at the same time, Morrison felt sorry for having yelled at the girl and wanted to make amends.

Norton didn’t know Lilian well and probably wouldn’t be accepted if he delivered the snacks, so reluctantly Morrison sent Sean.

No matter how well Morrison tried to cover it up, Sean’s careless slip about the gift’s origin ruined everything. Lilian still refused it.

Sean felt his luck was running out. He was sure he’d get another scolding when he reported back.

He nervously took the box back upstairs and told Morrison the truth.

Morrison almost threw a pen holder at him in anger.

"Are you an idiot? Can’t you handle something this simple?"

Morrison was furious. Sending snacks should’ve been easy, but Sean had blundered.

He couldn’t understand how Sean had been chosen as his secretary in the first place.

But no matter how angry he was, the damage was done.

He kicked Sean out and threw the box into the trash bin.

Later, sitting back at his desk, Morrison suddenly bent down, pulled the discarded handkerchief he once liked from the trash, and decided to keep using it.

But definitely not because it was a gift from Lilian.

After this, Morrison and Lilian had no real contact.

Lilian kept a low profile, working diligently in finance, trying not to make any mistakes to avoid further scolding.

Morrison continued to command the top floor, managing the company’s affairs from his cold, high perch.

Though emotionally intelligent and confident in handling women, Morrison had, one night after drinking, thought about finding Lilian.

But then he decided against it.

He told himself women can’t be spoiled; if he kept chasing her, she’d only lose respect and go wild.

So he gave up the idea, laughing at himself.

He had plenty of women; why cling to one?

"Time will prove to her that she’ll never find a lover more perfect than me."

If she ever turned back, he wasn’t sure there’d still be a place for her by his side.

After all, he was a popular man, and then he’d have to consider if he even wanted her.

What he didn’t know was that because of the troubles with her parents and brother Laurent’s own romantic woes, Lilian had no plan to spend her life attached to any man.

She didn’t need long-lasting love, deep passion, or a happy marriage.

After this relationship, she’d truly let go and was content living alone.

To her, living alone wasn’t a big deal and definitely something she could endure.

So Morrison’s attempts to tie her down were futile.

Meanwhile, at Burg Eltz, chaos deepened.

Daniel’s illegitimate son Bert had returned, stirring up trouble.

Bert’s direct attacks were aimed at Laurent, who had only just reconciled with Dave.

If anything happened to Laurent, Dave might lose his mind.

Lilian had no particular feelings for Bert; they had never really interacted, and Bert had never targeted her. They were strangers.

Since Bert focused on Laurent, Dave was spending most of his energy protecting his brother.

To be safe, Dave called Morrison and asked him to arrange someone to escort Lilian to and from work, specifying that one of Morrison’s twin brothers should be the one to protect his sister.

Norton and Sean, the two brothers, were both tall and well-trained. Their skills were decent enough for protection duties.

However, Morrison ignored Dave’s orders to send them to escort Lilian. Instead, he decided to do it himself — claiming that their abilities just didn’t match up to his own.

Since their breakup, Morrison hadn’t had any contact with Lilian. She kept to herself quietly at work, and he hadn’t found any excuse to bother her.

Now, taking this chance to see her again, he planned to make things difficult for her. After all, he still couldn’t swallow the bitterness of being dumped. Yeah, he was petty and spiteful like that.

Before leaving work, Morrison called Lilian and asked her to walk out with him. She replied curtly, "We broke up. It’s not appropriate for us to leave together."

His words caught in his throat. Meanwhile, someone else called her from the other end — a male colleague inviting her out to dinner and karaoke later.

That infuriated Morrison. How could she live so happily after their breakup? Hanging out, eating, singing...

So naturally, he refused to back down. He stormed into her office and threatened her, forcing her to give up her plans for the night.

When escorting her home, he deliberately smoked heavily nearby, blowing smoke into her face, enjoying the way she was silently furious but powerless to say anything.

He thought he’d get satisfaction by tormenting her — but ironically, he was the one who ended up angrier. After dropping her off, she cleverly locked him outside her door, nearly driving him to kick the door down in frustration.

Fuming, Morrison left her place, only to have Linda call him. Irritated, he ignored the call.

He knew exactly why Linda was calling — to grill him about the rumors surrounding his "new model girlfriend."

For half a year, Morrison had told Linda he had a reliable girlfriend and even promised to bring her home for the New Year. Linda had been waiting patiently.

Then the media exposed his dinner and date with a model just days ago. Linda immediately called to confront him.

He couldn’t tell Linda he’d been dumped. That would be a total loss of face — she’d mock him forever.

So, he lied and said he’d gotten tired of his ex and switched to someone new, which sent Linda into a furious rant.

Truth was, that so-called "new girlfriend" was just a model he met at a party, someone clearly trying to climb up by him.

In his anger over being dumped, he’d played along — even leaked the news to the media — hoping to provoke Lilian.

A new love right after a breakup? What woman could tolerate that? Morrison was waiting for her to break down in tears.

His quick move to a new flame was also a clear message: He was still highly desirable, and losing him was her loss.

Yet Lilian didn’t even flinch — she still had time to party with coworkers that night.

Morrison was furious and schemed to find ways to "settle" the score.

He thought he’d smoothed things over with Linda, but she kept pushing — demanding he get back with the "reliable girl," almost driving him crazy.

Linda believed Morrison had dumped Lilian, so she nagged him: "If you think she’s reliable, why get tired of her? You’re in your thirties. It’s time to settle down and marry her."

Morrison felt helpless. Who made him lie about dumping her?