CHASING THE CARPENTER'S HEART

Chatrine Madison stood, looking up at Denton Tower, the tallest building with magnificent blue glass walls in the heart of New York City. This decision felt utterly insane and reckless. Chatrine, beautiful, intelligent, with a brilliant career, and had just fired herself from a spectacular job dreamed of by thousands of women around the world.

She had decided to leave Denton Global, a powerhouse company at the peak of the global economy. She resigned from her position as a secretary and the trusted right hand of Aron Loghan. She walked away from a prestigious career for an uncertain future, one she somehow believed in.

Chatrine let out a long breath.

“My God… this is the stupidest decision I’ve ever made.”

But she kept walking away from Denton Global, her posture straight and her chin slightly lifted. She left with nothing but sheer determination and something she could not quite define.

Let’s make this clear. Chatrine Madison, a young woman with a successful career, a disciplined personality, and a top graduate from two Ivy League universities, had suddenly decided to quit her incredibly prestigious job in downtown New York to chase a man.

Not a rich, brilliant, or famous man, but someone who worked in a lumber yard. More importantly, he was someone who had openly called her a cheap woman.

Liam Conelli.

The man who could make Chatrine angry, irritated, and offended, yet somehow still make her heart race in the most infuriating way.

They first met in the middle of a storm during Chatrine’s trip through the countryside of Canterbury. Her car had been blocked by a massive fallen tree across the road. Liam happened to pass by, pulled an axe from his pickup truck, and began chopping through the thick trunk in the pouring rain, relying on nothing but strength and raw effort. After that, he even drove her to the airport without asking for anything in return.

That day, Liam barely glanced at her beauty. He was indifferent, even slightly arrogant. Yet Chatrine had to admit that he was handsome, the kind of rugged man who could send a chill down the spine of a modern, intelligent woman like her. There was caution and hostility in his gaze every time their eyes met.

But Chatrine was not one to give up easily. The insults only made her more curious. Liam was one of the very few people bold enough to criticize her despite her image of perfection.

A strange warmth grew in her chest every time he spoke with cold, almost hostile words.

Now, several months after that stormy encounter, Chatrine was preparing to board a plane to Canterbury, a small town in England. She was going to chase a carpenter who might not even remember their brief clash in the middle of a storm.

“Wait for me, Carpenter!”

Chatrine still refused to admit that she had fallen in love from that very moment in the rain. But she did admit that something had taken root in her heart, growing despite every insult. She could not stop thinking about that rugged man from the countryside, even as she continued to complain about him.

“If this fails, I officially qualify as a fool in love,” she muttered, gripping her steering wheel.

After arriving at the international airport in London, she continued her journey by driving herself to Canterbury.

This is truly stupid.

Completely insane.

Yet she still went, determined to meet the man who had stolen her peaceful nights.

For once in her life, Chatrine was not making a decision based on logic.

She was doing it because she wanted to.

Because she was curious.

Because she wanted something more than achievements and medals.

A small smile curved on her lips as she drove along the quiet asphalt road. Yet her mind was filled with relentless questions.

Stupid? Maybe.

Crazy? Yes.

Regret? Not yet.