6. Skyla Is The Future Mrs. Winston

Troy praised, "You're amazing."

Skyla caught the deep admiration in his eyes.

It was exactly what she expected.

Winston Group was working with Norris's Labs. If the project succeeded, Winston Group would gain a lot. Skyla had come back to the country with the determination to be the one who solved the hardest problem. She believed she could do it.

This wasn't the kind of world where cooking a few

meals or acting cute could win a man's heart. A woman needed real strength. Only then would a man look at her.

Skyla wanted to be that kind of woman.

Ayla had been busy all morning. She stepped into the break room to make coffee and grabbed an extra cup for a coworker.

Just then, her phone buzzed.

It was Nadia Harmon, Troy's secretary.

The only time Ayla had spoken to her before was when she once asked about Troy's schedule.

She didn't want to deal with anyone connected to Troy, but Nadia was a sweet girl. After hesitating a moment, Ayla answered.

"Ayla, are you doing okay?" Nadia's voice was barely above a whisper.

"I'm fine." Ayla didn't understand why she asked that.

Nadia's voice carried worry. "Mr. Winston just gave a woman a tour around the company. It caused a huge stir. The executives treated her like the future Mrs. Winston. I don't know if you've heard, so I wanted to tell you. Her name is Sky-"

Her voice cut off.

Then Ayla heard a sharp, frightened gasp. "J-Jed, I-"

She had been hiding near a corner, not expecting Jed to walk up behind her.

He grabbed Nadia's phone, glanced at the screen, and his brows tightened into a frown.

"Was she asking you about Mr. Winston's schedule again?"

Nadia froze. Behind Jed stood Troy-and next to him, the woman called Skyla. Nadia was so shocked she couldn't say a word.

Jed didn't wait for her answer. He spoke in a crisp, official tone. "Mr. Winston, it's Ayla. She's digging into your schedule again."

He didn't end the call. Jed didn't care if Ayla overheard their conversation.

Ayla scowled at this.

She didn't care about Jed's false accusation. She was about to hang up when Troy's cold voice came through.

"Don't worry about her."

That was always how he treated her.

Ayla wasn't surprised.

But he hadn't even asked for the truth and had misunderstood the whole situation.

The old Ayla would have rushed to explain. She had always worried Troy might misunderstand her. She had always feared his anger.

But divorced meant divorced. Ayla no longer needed to worry about Troy's feelings, and she had no reason to care about his life with Skyla.

Then came Troy's voice again, colder than before.

"You're fired! Don't bother to show up tomorrow!"

Ayla froze. He was firing Nadia?

Of course, after the first time Ayla had reached out to Nadia, Troy had tried to fire her.

Ayla had begged endlessly just so Nadia could keep her job, but Troy had warned her that it was her last chance.

And now he meant it.

With Troy, there was never mercy. He never shows Ayla any respect.

"Troy, it's not worth getting this upset over a secretary."

That soft voice probably belonged to Skyla.

Gentle, just like her name.

She coaxed him, almost playfully. "How about this? I'll treat you to lunch. You let it go, okay? Just do it for me."

There was silence for two seconds. Then Troy answered, his tone steady, not sharp anymore.

"Alright."

Compared to the icy words before, his voice now sounded almost warm.

Skyla gave a light laugh. "Let's go."

Ayla gave a bitter smile; bitterness spread in her heart.

She had always believed Troy was difficult to please.

Every time they argued, she had to coax him for days before he would even look at her kindly again.

For her, it was a mental torture. She couldn't eat, couldn't sleep. As long as Troy was upset, she couldn't focus on anything else.

But for Skyla, it only took one sentence. Just like that, everything was smoothed over. So easy.

Jed glanced at the phone still connected to the call. He knew Ayla had heard it all.

Ayla hated being a burden. Since Nadia lost her job because of her, she would surely blame herself.

The punishment fell on Nadia, but the lesson was meant for Ayla.

After this, she would learn her lesson and stop sneaking around and pulling some cheap tricks. The truth was, Ayla had only herself to blame for constantly checking on Troy's schedule.

If every move a man made had to be monitored by a woman, Jed thought, he'd feel suffocated just putting himself in his boss's shoes.

He gestured with his hand. The chief secretary, standing by on the side, quickly stepped forward. "The paperwork of her dismissal will be handled today," the secretary said.

Jed gave a curt grunt and walked away.

Wednesday was Skyla's birthday. According to Troy's instructions, Jed was required to head over to the Jupiter Café in Bayline to book the entire place and work with the owner on a surprise party for her. Jed was far too busy to worry about a low-level secretary quitting.

The chief secretary took the phone Jed handed over, ready to return it to Nadia. By chance, she glanced at the caller ID-Ayla Keaton.

Her brows furrowed. It took her a few seconds to remember who that was. Her tone turned sharp with disappointment. "You're such a fool. She's just the maid who brings Mr. Winston his lunch. Was it worth making Mr. Winston upset over her?"

Nadia, who had been frozen ever since Troy himself had caught her red-handed, finally dared to speak. Her voice shook. "S-she's not the maid. She's his wife ... " "Are you blind? Didn't you see the matching rings? Ms. Summer is obviously the future Mrs. Winston. That's beyond question."

"No, that's not-"

"Enough. Go finish your exit paperwork!"

Nadia said nothing more. She lowered her head and quietly took her phone back.

When the secretary left, she looked down at the screen. The call was still connected.

Her whole body jolted. "A-Ayla, are you okay? Y-you didn't hear what they just said, did you?"

Nadia prayed Ayla hadn't heard. But of course, that was impossible.

"Don't listen to them," she blurted, her voice shaky and full of guilt. "You're not some maid. I'm sorry... I'm really, really sorry ... "

Troy kept his marriage a secret from the public, and he never allowed Ayla to step into his office.

Whenever she brought him lunch, the secretary took it from her. People thought she was just the maid, and Ayla had no one to blame for that.

Those words don't bother Ayla. What cut deep was something else-Troy, who almost never wore his wedding ring, was now wearing a matching couple's ring with Skyla.

Troy's hands were striking-long, fair, with strong joints. Refined but powerful. A ring on his finger gave off a charm she couldn't even put into words.

Whenever she had the chance, Ayla would secretly glance at his hands for a long time.

But the times he wore their wedding ring were so few she could count them on one hand.

She had always thought Troy just disliked the feeling of being tied down by jewelry. Turns out she was wrong.

He simply didn't want to wear a wedding ring at all.

"Sorry," Ayla said softly, "I can't help you get your job

back now."

Nadia, who had only met Ayla once, could tell she was a kind person.

When she noticed how much Troy suddenly cared for another woman, she grew uneasy and tried to warn Ayla.

But it backfired.

Nadia felt guilty. "It's fine, really. I told you before, I was planning to go home and help my parents anyway.

Getting fired isn't a big deal. I've already half-written my resignation letter!"

Her tone didn't sound like someone trying to comfort herself, and that eased Ayla's heart.

Then Nadia lowered her voice. "But why, though? You're Mrs. Winston. Why would he treat you like this?"

Troy never allowed Ayla into his office.

But Skyla could walk in anytime she wanted. Why?

Even if Troy wanted to keep his marriage private, he could have at least explained she was family or a friend No one would think much of it friend. 

And those lunches Ayla worked so hard to prepare-he rejected them at the door like they were nothing. What Troy did was more than cold. It was cruel.