The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 308

“Hazard pay?” Nova raised an eyebrow, then took out her phone and played a recording.

Holden’s voice filled the car.

“I’ll take you.”

“No, Mr. Covington, I can get a cab…”

“It’s late and it’s not safe for you to go alone. Don’t worry, I have no ulterior motives. No charge, no robbery, and no making things difficult for Ramona.”

A muscle twitched in Holden’s jaw. He had actually thought the little spitfire was letting her guard down. But in the few seconds it had taken to convince her, she had managed to record their entire conversation.

Nova put her phone away. Seeing the thunderous look on Holden’s face, she turned to stare out the window. After a moment of silence, she sighed. “Fine. What kind of hazard pay did you have in mind?”

The world outside was pitch black, and the road was rough. She didn’t want to provoke him, even if she had her entire trip tracked by a friend who was ready to call the police at a moment’s notice.

Holden shot her a sideways glance. “I’m getting tired. We’ve still got another half hour to go. Just talk to me.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it,” he snapped.

Nova nodded. “Alright, Mr. Covington. What do you want to talk about?”

“Tell me…” Holden paused.

They had nothing in common. Their lives, their interests, were worlds apart. His hobbies consisted of working, drinking, and chasing women. And Nova certainly wasn’t going to discuss which sexual positions he preferred.

A few minutes later, he asked another, more personal question. “Is your mother good to you?”

“Yes,” Nova said, glancing at him. “My mother is the best mother in the world.”

Holden burst out laughing. “The best? Your mother is so poor she can barely take care of herself, and she’s the best?”

“Mr. Covington, you might measure a mother’s worth in dollars, but I don’t,” Nova said, her voice turning cold. His mockery had struck a nerve.

“I love my mother, and she loves me deeply. That makes her the best mother in the world. Maybe my family isn’t wealthy, maybe my mom has had a hard life, but even when she was sick, she took wonderful care of me and my brother. She would endure her own pain just so we could go to school, so she could buy me my favorite snacks. I didn’t even know she was ill until after I graduated. She never complained, not once. Her love and her strength are the greatest gifts she could have ever given us. That’s the inheritance she left me. A wealthy mother can provide for her child, yes. But for a mother with nothing to still give her children everything… isn’t that a form of greatness?”

Holden was stunned. He had never heard her speak so passionately. Her words unsettled him, shaking the foundations of his materialistic worldview. For the first time, looking at the slight redness in her eyes, he realized just how cynical, how utterly shallow, he had become.

“Alright, alright,” he muttered, breaking the heavy silence. “I was out of line.”