Boswell had no feelings for Angelina, but not because he looked down on her.
He thought of marriage as useful, not necessarily for love. If he could get something out of it, something good for himself or ZL Group, then it was worthwhile. But marrying Angelina wouldn't achieve that end.
Boswell thought if he really loved a girl, he wouldn't have to marry her. There were a few celebrities who just lived together, and refused to wed. When it came to marriage, he would marry someone who could help him in business. It would be even better if he could get along with his wife.
It was not that his career needed a woman's help, but that he wanted someone around to help when he needed her. He could bring her along to social engagements, or hand the reins of the company over to her when he couldn't be there to handle those affairs himself.
To put it bluntly, he needed a businesswoman for him, the businessman. And she should be well-educated, so she might be interesting to talk to. And she'd make fewer mistakes when she took control of the company.
So he thought about marrying a woman with a similar family background.
As for Angelina, he had brought her home to become a member of the family. She wasn't a bad person, and he wanted to see her do well. If it weren't for Damian, who liked her so much, he would have arranged another good man for her.
Damian seemed to be head over heels for her, so that made his brother happy. Angelina could marry into the family and would be taken good care of by Damian, so Boswell didn't have to worry about her anymore.
Now that Angelina and Damian were together, Boswell only needed to concern himself with Erma's marriage.
Colman was a playboy, with a new girl on his arm every night. Boswell decided to leave well enough alone.
Edmond was the bad boy. He had a reputation, and girls tended to avoid him. Boswell didn't even want to try and fix him up with anyone.
So that left Erma, his dearest sister. Because he was her brother, he would find the best husband for her after he settled down.
He had been trying to find a wife who fit his standards, and by the time he was 28, he did. Her name was Chloe Shen. And when he found her, he didn't want to lose her. So, having been invited for dinner, after some pleasant conversation, he made an offer to her father.
Because he was all about business, Boswell wrote it out as a contract and handed it to the man. "Sir, I'd like to marry your daughter, Chloe. I'm prepared to pay—10 million dollars. Besides, as my wife, she'd be Mrs. Huo. There are a lot of women clamoring for that title. Of course, I would like to learn how to fashion the Purple Charm, so we can preserve the secret. It's dangerously close to being lost, and I'd like to change that, with your permission, sir."
The Purple Charm was a special silk produced in the Shen family in Elm Town of Y City. The people who fashioned it used a special chemical dissolving process to treat silkworm cocoons, leaving their molecular structure intact. This process prevented shrinkage, leaving it bleach-resistant, and it wouldn't be yellowed by perspiration. Obviously, this made the Purple Charm material rare and expensive. It was known as "soft gold" in the silk industry.
The fabric was cool and pleasant, like silk usually was. It would dry quickly after getting wet and did not wrinkle easily. It had been produced for nearly a thousand years.
There were no boys born to this generation of the Shen family, and few people were willing to learn. It was not mass-producible thus far, so it didn't really turn a hefty profit. Gradually, fewer and fewer people knew how to make it. The ones who knew would age and die off. The secret could be lost to the mists of time. The contract would prevent that.
Chloe Shen's father had never had much interest in money, nor did he look at the contract. He asked Boswell, "Why do you want to marry her?"
With a confident smile, Boswell answered, "Miss Shen is your favorite daughter. I'm sure you want her to marry a good man and have a happy life. I'm the CEO of ZL Group, so I can give your daughter that life. She'll never go hungry, she'll always have nice things to wear—she'll want for nothing. Of course, if she's good to me, I'll be good to her. I'm offering her everything."
Chloe Shen's father had never teamed up with such a big company before, but he knew why Boswell came to him. Once Boswell's men learned the technique of making the Purple Charm, it would bring endless benefits to ZL Group.
Looking at the neatly dressed young man in front of him, he thought of his mother, Erica.
Because she was spoiled by Matthew, Erica was a childish woman, despite her age. His daughter was the same. The two should get along splendidly. The father could definitely see his daughter and Erica as happy in-laws.
However, Boswell resembled his father a lot in business, who was a decisive businessman. Even in his teens, he had a powerful stake in ZL Group, and made some decisions that grew the company even more—before he had stepped into the CEO role.
Chloe Shen's father was quiet for a long time, but Boswell was in no hurry. After all, it took time to figure this out. And Boswell was prepared to wait quite a while.
Fortunately, Chloe Shen's father didn't make him wait too long and signed the contract in front of him.
Before leaving, he left a message to Boswell. "I don't need the bride price. Keep your ten mil. You guys need time to figure out if you're compatible. If you don't like her, you can just send her back to me." No matter what happened, he didn't think Boswell had the right to discipline his daughter.
Boswell nodded. "Don't worry, Dad. We'll be okay."
When he was 29 years old, Boswell married the youngest daughter of the Shen family—Chloe Shen, three years his junior. Although the two of them didn't love each other, he still gave her everything a woman should have when she got married.
A bride price of ten million, a grand wedding ceremony, three plots of real estate in the city, five percent shares of ZL Group and so on.
Since then, Chloe Shen had become a member of the famous Huo family.
Chloe Shen was the most beautiful girl in Elm Town, and she had many suitors. Now that she had married Boswell, most of them had no choice but to give up on courting her. After all, they knew they were no match for the rich and powerful Boswell Huo.
Not all was peaceful, though. As CEO, Boswell still had responsibilities. He needed to go on a business trip on the day of their wedding. Something was going down in one of the branch offices, and he was not comfortable sending someone else. So he attended to it personally. In the bedroom, he held his wife's chin. She hadn't yet removed her makeup. "Wait for me at home. I got this," he said confidently. "And after I get back, we have a lot of catching up to do." There was a glint in his eyes that said they wouldn't being much sleeping when he returned.
If it weren't for the emergent business trip, he would have made love to her right now, and then caught the flight. 'Forget it. I'll make it up to her when I come back!' he thought to himself.
With an expressionless face, Chloe Shen nodded and watched him leave.
On the second night, Boswell met an interesting girl on his business trip outside the country. She was as cute as his sister, and he was very happy when she was around.
The girl was not happy. She had just offended the boss and was fired by the company. She went to the local watering hole to drown her sorrows, and that was where she met Boswell.
After she'd had a few, she became a chatterbox. The girl was like a talk show host, and every word out of her mouth made Boswell laugh.
When Boswell was about to leave the bar, she held his hand tightly and insisted on following him. "Hey, listen. I have no job, and no parents to help me, either. Treat me right, and I'll do anything for you," she said in a pleading tone.
'Do anything for me?' Boswell was amused. Many people were willing to do anything for him as long as they could get associated with him, and yet he was not interested. However, after thinking for a while, he agreed, "Okay, let's go."
And that was how the girl got to Y City. Then, Boswell took her directly to his and Chloe Shen's wedding villa.
The man stood in the living room, hands in his pockets, quietly watching the woman coming downstairs. The woman wore a long dress made of beige silk, which outlined her nice figure vividly. She was elegant and graceful, and it showed in every step she took.
Boswell clicked his tongue and he suddenly changed his mind. He turned and told the butler behind him, "This girl is Rosa. Show her to her room."
"Yes, Mr. Huo."
Boswell walked up to his wife, who was already on the first floor. Before she could say anything, he lifted her into his arms and strode upstairs.
The moment Chloe Shen was gathered in his arms, she put her arms around Boswell's neck and stared at the girl being led away by the butler.
The girl glared at Chloe Shen with obvious jealousy in her eyes.
Chloe Shen gave her a scornful smile. She could tell what was on the girl's mind. She hugged Boswell tightly and said, "You must be tired after your trip, honey."
Chloe Shen didn't mind romantic rival came so soon. She was not a kind person either.
"No matter how tired I am, I still have the strength to deal with you," Boswell said. He had no idea what was happening between the two women. All he could hear was the soft voice of the woman in his arms.
In the master bedroom on the second floor, when the sun hung high in the sky, Boswell and Chloe Shen explored each other's bodies for the first time since they were married.
After that, Boswell put on his pajamas and walked out of the walk-in closet. He told the sleepy woman in the bed, "I brought the girl back here so she could serve you. You can give her whatever orders you like."
Chloe Shen was so tired after their lovemaking session that she didn't even have the strength to laugh, but she still answered, "Okay."
So, was her husband good to her? If he was a good husband, why would he bring a woman to their villa two days after the wedding?
But he said that he brought the woman here so that she could serve her and told her she could tell the girl what to do.
Well, as long as he didn't use that as an excuse to have an affair with that woman, Chloe Shen didn't mind. She would make sure that didn't happen.
Thinking of this, Chloe Shen gradually fell asleep.
She didn't wake up until midnight, and then only because she was ravenous.
Before leaving, Boswell had told her that he had to work and had a heavy workload. If nothing went wrong, he'd sleep in his office after he was done.
