“Derek saw us together and he couldn't accept it, then he started planning his revenge against me.” Dick twisted the facts. “He did it because he was jealous of me.”He manipulated the story, turning himself from the initial suspect into the victim. He knew that Erin, who was drunk at the time, did not know the actual events, and Kitty, who also seemed unaware of it and didn't say anything to Erin about the aftermath either, so this was his loophole.A loophole for him to make Erin believe him and help his plan. But what he didn't know was that the incident he was trying to tell Erin about was a situation Erin knew was untrue. At least the part about Derek being jealous of Dick—she doubted that.Erin shook her head; for some reason, she felt like she didn't want to fall for that lie. Part of her felt exhausted. “He doesn't care about me anymore.”Her body lost strength, her heart tired of continuing to deny. She then dropped her body onto the sofa where Dick had been sitting. Now she

“Now you can leave.” Dick got up from his place without a shred of guilt, tossing his shirt directly at Erin.At that moment, perhaps for Dick, everything was over; he had gotten what he wanted to get. Amidst his already bad situation, there was at least a little comfort that distracted his mind for a moment.However, for Erin, it was destruction. The fire in those eyes dimmed, and her face lost its radiance. She seemed to have lost her soul. Her hands, numbed by Dick's restraint all that time, she now used to reach for the shirt.She loathed wearing it, but she also had no choice. Her dress was ripped at the upper part; she used the shirt to cover it. Without fixing her face or her hair, she walked right out without a word.Dick turned his head back to look at her, seeing her leave, but only snorted with a laugh, as if he was satisfied to see that woman ruined along with him. He reached for the pack of cigarettes on the table, pulled one out, lit it, and began to smoke.The place was

“What happened to this place?” Derek stared at the side of the fire station building, which looked different from before.Brett, who was accompanying him and walking alongside him, looked in the same direction as Derek. “It might sound strange to say, but this place has undergone an audit ever since the incident with the donation the West family made.” He said it as if Derek wasn't part of the West family he was referring to.Perhaps to him, he wasn't really; he was too used to the Derek he knew, and even though he was now with the West family, Derek hadn't changed. His attitude remained the same, unlike many conglomerates he knew who liked to look down on people and act arrogantly.“Everyone involved is acting like they're washing their hands of it, shifting the blame onto each other. Some are being made scapegoats for things they didn't do. Then replacements are brought in.” Brett continued.Derek turned to look at him. “Hasn't the situation gotten better?”Brett let out a long sigh

"State clearly what you want me to do, Kitty." Derek began to force her to speak.He was already reluctant to beat around the bush, circling back to what he had already explained clearly.Yet Kitty still hoped. She slowly got back up from there and returned to her seat. "You know what the condition of Ma'am's family is like, right?"Derek looked at her calmly, as though her words were the basis for all justification regarding Erin. "You and I barely had any background when I was with her either. But neither I nor you acted like her." Derek denied it.Even though the fact was that he understood Erin quite well. Kitty understood that; she nodded. "You're right about that, but both you and I know what kind of personality Ma'am Erin has, and her upbringing only made it worse."She took a deep breath. "The latest situation that occurred caused Ma'am Erin to face pressure from her father. I don't know what happened, but her father must have taught her a lesson first. Because of that worry,

“Step back.” He gave instructions to Victor.Then Derek raised his foot and kicked the door open, a loud crashing sound echoing through the cheap apartment corridor. The door slammed against the inner wall with a deafening noise.Victor, standing behind Derek, immediately turned to the bodyguards who had come with him. "Secure this entire floor," he said briefly."Understood," they answered in unison.Four bodyguards quickly scattered to every corner of the corridor. Two stood near the emergency stairs, one guarded the elevator, while another approached several residents who had opened their doors because of the crashing sound earlier."We are handling personal business. Please return to your respective rooms." His tone was calm, yet firm enough to make them abandon any thought of prying further. No one dared to approach again.Victor then turned back to Derek. "Sir."However, Derek had already stepped inside first, ignoring his words. The room was small, cramped, and stuffy. The smel