A Billionaire In Disguise

Chapter Thirty-One

The living room remained quiet for a couple of minutes. Then Rome looked at Edward and said, "Come

with me."

"Why? Whatever you have to say to me, you can say it before the entire family." Edward firmly said.

Frowning, Rome narrowed his eyes and casually uttered, "Are you going to act so blind and only see

what you want to see? If that's the case, you are useless to me since your mind is one-sided."

A look of shock crossed Edward's face as he stared at Rome, realizing what those words meant.

'He has the position of one of the most powerful men in the country, and after I just accused him, he still

wants to help me. Maybe it's time to stand by his side because with him, I have so many potentials to

unlock.' Edward thought, drawing a silent breath.

Then he woke off the couch and walked toward Rome, and when Edward reached him, he looked at

him and said, "Okay, let's talk."

Afterward, he walked past Rome, and as Rome was about to follow Edward, he caught Catherine

gazing at him. But he said nothing and walked out of the living room.

When Rome met Edward outside, he looked him dead in the eyes for a couple of seconds, heavily

sighed, and said, "How about you take Cyper Co. off my hand and run things there? You can start as

the vice president there until you have proven yourself for a higher position."

"What!?" Edward mumbled with a blank expression. "Why are you helping me?"

"I have absolutely no interest in taking you under my wing. This is for Catherine." Rome coldly said in

annoyance.

Then he drew a deep breath and casually uttered, "Although you are terrible at being a good father to

her, you are still her father. So I want to take you out of the toxicity in this mansion and see if you

change."

It grew silent as Rome studied Edward's face, and then he said, "Working at Cyper Co. will put you in a

position that will keep the other from looking down on you. But prove to still be a useless father

afterward, and I will fire you and send you far away from my wife!"

"You are being serious?!" Edward said, widening his eyes as excitement glowed in them. "But Cyper

Co. is such a thriving company, and even DreamTeam is beneath it. Can I really handle being its vice

president?"

Turning away from Edward, Rome walked ahead as he said out loud, "That's up to you to figure out. I

have left my wife with those wolves for too long. I'm going back inside."

'It seems like I really misunderstood him this time. He truly cares about my daughter.' Edward thought,

feeling regretful of his previous action.

When Rome entered the living room, his face hardened and his expression grew cold as he stared at

everyone in the room.

"These few months, I have been quite lenient with you all, and it has been because of my wife. But the

time has come for you all to know your place and where you stand!" Rome coldly uttered with

dominance in his tone.

No one spoke after he paused, glaring at them, and then he continued, "If not for the fact that my wife

has a heart for this family, I wouldn't be this calm and accepting of you all rubbish! To be honest, it is

the hardest thing I have ever done."

Frowning, Charles glanced at Rome and thought, 'I hate this jerk to my bones!'Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

"From today onward, there will be some rules and boundaries set! Rule number one, I want you all to

keep to yourself and stay out of Catherine and I affairs!" Rome firmly said, fixing his cold gaze on Mr.

Barlow.

Even though he kept his silence, Mr. Barlow swayed his gaze to the floor and thought, 'I am years older

than him, but why do I feel so little in his presence.'

"Rule number two, my wife will not get judged, looked down upon, or humiliated by anyone of you!

Also, she answers to absolutely no one in this household!" Rome said, swaying his icy gaze to Madam

Rosey.

With a look of nervousness in her eyes, she stared away from Rome as she thought, 'If you weren't a

Ford, do you think I would have even spoken on your behalf!'

Pausing for a moment, Rome focused on Catherine's eyes, wondering what she would think about the

words he was about to say.

Then he looked back at Mr. Barlow and boldly uttered, "If any of these rules get violated, Catherine and

I will cut ties with this family. Then I will make sure that the Barlows would be nothing but a name lost in

the wind!"

A look of raw fear mixed with touch of shock clouded Mr. Barlow's expression as he stared at the trace

of seriousness in Rome's eyes, knowing that he had to do something quick.

Even though Catherine was just as shocked as her grandfather, she kept her silence.

Finally getting over his emotion, Mr. Barlow nervously laughed and said, "There's no need to be this

serious about something we said out of thoughtlessness."

Ignoring Mr. Barlow's words, Rome looked at Catherine and said, "Babe, let's go. I have said what

needs to be said."

In desperation, Mr. Barlow looked at Madam Rosey. Then when she noticed her husband's gaze and

understood his stare, she softly cried, "Catherine, we know we have failed you in so many ways. But

we are the only family you have known since you were a baby. Please beg your husband on our

behalf."

"Yes, Catherine. You are a part of this family, and we might not be perfect, but we are all still blood."

William hastily said, knowing that their plan A was about to get ruined.

As Elijah and Anthony fixed their gaze on Catherine's eyes, they both nodded slightly, and Anthony

gently intoned, "Your uncle is right. You should listen to him.

But Catherine shunned their remarks and pitifully stared at the tears in her grandmother's eyes, feeling

stuck in a feeling of dilemma. Then she gave her a brief smile before holding onto Rome's hand and

saying, "Let's go."

With a look of envy in her expression, Chloe watched with burning desire as her cousin calmly followed

Rome with her fingers entangled with his.

After Catherine and Rome walked out of the living room, Mr. Barlow stared at his wife and asked, "Do

you think she will talk some sense into that boy?"

"I hope so." Madam Barlow mumbled with a look of worry on her face.

Not uttering a word, Richard suddenly stood to his feet, shoved his hands into his trouser pockets, and

walked out of the living room with nothing but hate glowing in his eyes.

Acting on her feeling of envy, Chloe hastily took out her phone from her purse and texted, "Why have

you been ignoring my messages since the night of the party? Have you seen the news about Rome

being at a strip club?"

It took a couple of seconds, then a message arrived on her phone screen, "Because I set the platform

for you, and you failed to get Rome's attention. I don't like wasting my time and money on useless

people."

Although it annoyed Chloe that someone called her "useless," she held back her anger and wrote, "I'm

sorry for wasting such a good opportunity. But I'm begging for a second chance. If Rome could find

interest in a stripper, then I can get him to fall for me."

A few seconds went by, then a text displayed on the screen, "Rome is not interested in that stripper. He

was there for another reason. But that's none of your concern."

Frowning, Chloe read the message for the second time and then thought in annoyance, 'So Catherine

was telling the truth, and Rome isn't cheating on her?'

At that moment, her phone screen glowed bright, and she focused on the new message, "You will have

your second chance, and when the time comes, don't mess it up!"

"I won't. Right now, I am willing to do anything to claim the title of Mrs. Ford." Chloe wrote back.

Three seconds passed, and then another text popped out, "Good. I hope you can keep that same

energy when the time comes. I have other plans, so for now, stand back and wait for my orders."

"Other plans," Chloe mumbled beneath her breath. "What other plans?"

Feeling frustrated within himself, Charles frowned as he woke from the couch and then silently walked

out of the living room.

When he reached the hallway, the vibration from his phone caused him to stop in his tracks and take it

out of his pocket.

His face hardened as he looked at the phone screen and read, "Charles Barlow, how would you like to

be a part of DreamTeam once more?"

Then he hesitated for a moment before texting back, "Who are you, and what sick joke is this?"