OMG!!! My Crippled Husband is a Hot, Powerful CEO-Chapter 146 - Joanna’s Ruthlessness

"I never invited anyone to sit at my table, so why should I pay for them?" Alex asked in annoyance, his expression cold.

From the beginning, he just waited for them to embarrass themselves. If Joanna’s friend or whoever she was had been around, she would have been grateful that Alex saved her life by refusing to let her sit at the table with them as she wanted. Nora paled instantly.

"Alex..." she began, reaching out to touch his hand, but he pushed her away.

"If you try to touch me one more time, I will make sure you don’t have a hand to use anymore."

Joanna smiled. As much as this was just a contract, she enjoyed Alex’s attention and respect, which was more than enough for her.

When Alex allowed them to share the table earlier, she was afraid he was going to pay due to his generosity towards her.

It turned out that only she and the people closest to her enjoyed that kind of generosity. Her heart warmed, and a smile stretched her lips.

Nora was slowly accepting the truth. Alex had changed so much and was no longer as generous to her as before. But how in heaven’s name was she supposed to cough up so much money?

Everything she and her friends ordered amounted to roughly five hundred thousand dollars, and she had done it to upset Joanna.

Now, most of the dishes remained untouched and could not be returned. But maybe if Alex could pay for this, then she could order for it to be packaged for her to take home.

These were not everyday dishes but once-in-a-blue-moon indulgences she took advantage of, not knowing it was going to hook her in the neck.

"Alex, please, just this once, and I would never ask for anything from you again."

She was also just realizing that everything Joanna ordered had been consumed with just a little left over. As Mrs. King, she could have anything she wanted but chose to order just what they needed, which was the sign of a responsible woman.

Not her, Nora, who acted on impulse at the mere sign of jealousy. Alex was already all over Joanna, helping her from her seat like some kind of queen.

"Angel, we should leave now for that massage," he winked. Tears stung the corner of Nora’s eyes, and her friends stared at her with a look of disappointment.

If Nora had stayed with Alex, then they would have also been benefiting from him now because from the looks of it, Alex was not going to spend on any woman who was not his.

"Nora, you know I don’t have money, and Paps is also sick," one of her friends reminded her, prompting Alex to make a suggestion that sent fear into their hearts.

"There are ways around these things. The three of you could render your services as janitors, waitresses, or maybe all of them put together for years to pay the bills."

Looking at the salary of workers in the hospitality industry, they would indeed have to work for years unless they agreed to multiple jobs. Not only did they ruin Alex’s romantic moment, but they also disrespected his wife by joining their table.

Aside from that, Nora had embraced him without his permission, all of which added up to the anger he felt towards them.

Feeling afraid and ashamed, Nora realized that Alex was very ruthless to bring up such a suggestion.

He had no respect for her and obviously wanted to embarrass her, but she didn’t have a choice and decided to continue pleading with him, hoping to touch his heart.

"Alex, please, I will do anything," she said desperately, but Alex did not even try to give her request consideration, lifting Joanna in his arms bridal style.

Nora and her friends were heartbroken, her friends especially were afraid and wanted to cry.

"Nora, they are leaving. Do something," another friend implored. Nora felt helpless and afraid. As a gentleman, Alex should have just paid for everything, but he refused to do so.

Even some of the wine remained untouched. Nora was about to run after Alex when security blocked her path.

"Ma’am, we won’t allow you to leave if you don’t pay for the food you ordered."

The three women felt humiliated, tears filled their eyes, but an idea came to mind, and Nora screamed before Alex disappeared at the entrance with Joanna in his arms.

"Joanna, I was wrong in everything I did. Can you please let Alex pay for everything?"

Her teary voice caught Joanna’s attention, and she told Alex, "Wait, are you really not going to pay for her?"

Alex stopped in his tracks, a frown lining his face. "I beg your pardon?"

Joanna’s heart thumped a little, and the way he carried her in his arms made her even more uncomfortable.

"Please drop me on the floor first," she requested. Alex was greatly disappointed but obeyed her command.

Joanna forced a smile and began to implore the best way she could. "Look, Alex, I’m not in support of what they did, but who knows? They might have families out there. From the looks of it, the manager isn’t ready to let them off until the bills are paid."

Alex was not liking this, making it clear to her. "Joan, my decision is to keep them away from me forever. If you give them a mile, they would take two."

Joanna smiled and leaned in, playfully tugging his necktie. "Please, darling, just do this for me."

Alex frowned imperceptibly. "If this is your way of seducing me, then you already failed, or perhaps, you don’t have it in you."

Though he sounded jovial, Joanna was blushing like a fool because that was exactly what she was doing.

"Was it that obvious?" She asked for his confirmation, and Alex was honest with her.

"Exactly the point. For as long as you remain my wife, I can’t deny you anything, so you should refrain from using such cheap tactics."

Ashamed and flattered, she could not believe that he was indeed going to grant her request if she hadn’t used such means. "But you refused when I said it the first time."

"I didn’t," Alex promptly refused before explaining it to her. "I was merely cautioning you against the consequence of your request." fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

With warmth filling her, Joanna embraced him without permission and whispered. "Thank you."

Alex wrapped his arms around her, lifted her chin gently with his forefinger, and pressed his lips on her forehead. She infused him with her kindness each day, but he always felt helpless whenever it had to do with her.

"Alright. Here’s my card. You should be the one handling it."

Joanna pulled away and stared at him with joyful tear-filled eyes, but it saddened Alex to see her like that.

"What happened? Why are you crying?"

Joanna forced a smile and shook her head. How could she tell him she had fallen in love with him after he warned her not to?

Alex seemed to know the end of the contract right from the beginning and warned her against it, but she was too confident, thinking she was too strong to withstand anything.

That confidence did not only fail but also broke her into pieces. "You make me happy," she said, almost in a whisper. Alex chuckled and wiped her tears with the thump of his hands.

They both got what they wanted from the contract, and Grandpa already knew the truth of the matter. Even now, they could end it, but was he ready to let her go?

Going back to the restaurant, they were stunned to see that the three women had changed into working clothes and were waiting on customers.

Seeing Alex and Joanna, Nora did not know whether to be happy or sad, finding it hard to guess their reason for coming back.

"I don’t believe that you three could not foot the bill," Joanna said. Nora was confused, unaware that Joanna was testing her.

"You think I would subject myself to this kind of torture if I had the money? My bank account is in credits," she said honestly, wanting to say more but afraid she might end up offending Joanna for whatever reason.

To their shock, Joanna took her phone and began to video them waiting on customers and mopping the floor for a total of ten seconds.

"Isn’t it enough that we are so pitiful? Why do you want to embarrass us further?" Nora asked in a deflated tone, a tear streaming down her cheek.

"I just want to have something against you," Joanna replied. Not only Nora but even her friends were confused.

At this juncture, they had stopped all they were doing, focusing their attention on Joanna.

"What do you mean by having something against us? What have we done to you?" One of Nora’s friends asked. Alex watched from afar and did not intervene.

"I’m going to pay the bills for you, but just in case you gather any ideas of getting close to my man like you tried doing earlier, I will make sure to send this video viral."

Nora wiped another tear from the corner of her eye. At this point, she could not discern between Joanna and Alex, who was more ruthless.

She was about to say something when the ringing of a phone interrupted them. It was Alex’s phone, and he answered it.

"Alex, I was right all along," Aiden said. Alex was confused. "Right about what?"