I frowned, about to ask Chloe and Phoebe what was going on, when the master bedroom door opened. Mia Jones glanced outside first, then muttered in a low, angry voice, "That scumbag. I can't believe he has the nerve to show his face here again."Following behind her, Will Carter quickly shushed her. He forced a smile at me and nodded, a silent greeting.I was even more confused now. Will's expression was odd. Beyond the fear and nervousness, he also looked… guilty.Why? What did he have to be guilty about? What was his connection to Chloe, or to the man outside?Also, when Mia opened the door, the look she gave me was strange, too.But I couldn't figure out what was wrong.Maybe Mia noticed my confusion because she whispered to me, "The guy at the door is a total scumbag. He's been chasing Chloe for a long time, and she was just about to give him a chance. But then some older woman called and started screaming at Chloe, accusing her of seducing her man. She said some really nasty thing

I didn't leave the video on the company computer. I uploaded it to my personal cloud storage and deleted the local file.When lunchtime came, I skipped lunch and took a cab straight to Mandicor Tech Solutions, which was also headquartered in Starlight City.I found a quiet fast-food place near their building and called Laura Wells."Kian?" Laura sounded surprised when she answered."It's me," I said flatly."Weren't you... taken away by the police? Are you okay?""Looks like Caleb didn't tell you. I've been fine for a while now.""Oh. Well, that's good. I'm glad you're okay."I didn't want to waste time. "Is Caleb there? I need to talk to him. You know I don't have his number.""What do you want with him?" Her voice immediately became guarded."Relax, I'm not going to hit him. I just want to discuss a deal."There was a moment of silence on the line before Laura said, "Hold on."A few seconds later, Caleb Vance's cool voice came through. "Kian?""Mr. Vance.""I hear you want to make a

Ava didn't answer right away. Instead, she just looked at me with a knowing, triumphant gleam in her eyes.I couldn't help but smile. "Ms. Barlow, you're not going to use this opportunity to lay down some ground rules, are you? Like no confessions of love, no kissing, no teasing..."A smirk played on her lips. "Hmph. If you ever try anything like that again, I'll march straight to Zane Irwin's office and sign the papers to have you thrown out."I shook my head. "No, you won't. Because you're an upstanding, kind, and noble person. You're the very image of the goddess Athena, a perfect blend of beauty and wisdom. But in my heart, you're even purer and more beautiful than Athena. You are, without a doubt...""No smooth-talking your boss during work hours," she interrupted, trying her best to sound serious while holding back a smile."Understood. So, let's get back to it. Will you have my back?""If Zane Irwin really pushes it that far, I'll go to the general manager and explain the situa

I didn't bother thinking about it and just left for work.On the way, I stopped at a pharmacy to buy a box of aspirin. When I got to the office, Ava wasn't there yet, just like yesterday. I went into her office to check on the roses. They were still in full bloom.I changed the water in the vase, crushed an aspirin tablet into it, and used a spray bottle to mist the petals and leaves. I’d read online that this could help them last longer.Not long after I returned to my desk, Ava arrived. As usual, she was dressed in a sharp business suit, her heels clicking as she walked past me without a glance, offering only a cool reply to my greeting before disappearing into her office.I didn't go in to tease her. I focused on my work.Around ten o'clock, a commotion erupted from the main office area, punctuated by a familiar, angry shout:"Kian Shaw! Where are you? Get your sorry self out here!"Hearing that voice, I frowned. It was Caleb Vance.What was he doing here? And why was he shouting f