Chapter 3

At the hotel, Cherise placed her parents' urn safely on a table. Only then did she sag in relief.

There was no doubt in her mind that she would go through with the divorce. The past two years had been a result of poor judgment, and she'd paid the price for that. However, she wouldn't allow herself to continue being trapped in Morgan's cage.

She turned on her laptop and started drafting a divorce agreement. She'd put herself through the wringer for Sterling Group over the past two years, and most of the company's operations were linked to her. There were even two ongoing major projects that would crash and burn without her.

It wouldn't be easy for this divorce to go through. Still, having Morgan's signature on a divorce agreement would simplify things.

After some thought, Cherise pulled up one of her project's contracts and began drafting two different versions. Just then, her phone buzzed. She glanced at it to see that it was Morgan calling.

She frowned but still answered.

"Where are you? Why aren't you back yet?" The impatience in his tone was evident. Before she could answer, he said curtly, "Prepare the documents related to the plot of land in the west of the city and bring them to me. It's urgent."

With that, he hung up.

Although Cherise's official position at Sterling Group was as Morgan's secretary, she actually handled nearly all aspects of the company. All documents had to go past her before they reached Morgan's desk.

She took a deep breath and got to her feet. Now was not the time to openly fall out with him.

…

Cherise took a cab to the company. Before she could enter the CEO's office, she heard a voice drift out from inside. "Morgan, when are you going to kick Cherise to the curb?"

She halted and recognized the voice—it belonged to Eugene Lane, Eloise's brother.

Eugene had performed horribly in his college entrance exams and had gone abroad to study at a nondescript college there just to make his record look better. However, he was incapable and had failed to find work upon returning to Dalea.

Morgan, however, had hired him as if he were a rare gem. He'd even placed the latter in a position where he did nothing but got paid well.

Cherise grimaced. He sure was willing to do anything for Eloise.

Eugene continued yapping inside the room. "Don't blame me for not taking your side, Morgan. Eloise may have been abroad all these years, but she hasn't stopped thinking about you. She only went abroad to be a war correspondent for peace. That alone puts her leagues above Cherise.

"Cherise is just a petty, materialistic woman! She doesn't want to get a divorce because she's in it for your money! All you need to do is give her a bit more of that so you can kick her to the curb!"

There was an unfathomable look in Morgan's eyes. Eugene was right, but Morgan hadn't considered divorcing Cherise just yet. No matter how disgraceful she was, she was still his lawfully wedded wife. Besides, getting a divorce a mere two years after marriage would make people talk.

When Eugene saw that, he asked, "Are you worried that Cherise won't leave you alone? Don't worry about that. If she dares cling to you, I'll teach her a lesson!"

The words were barely out of his mouth when Cherise entered the office. "Maybe you should clean up the mess you've made before thinking about teaching me a lesson. What do you say?"

Her tone was calm and composed, but her words still made Eugene's expression shift drastically. He shot to his feet and snapped, "What the hell does that mean?"

She raised an eyebrow and mocked, "Isn't it clear enough? I said it as it is. It must feel bad to be extorted by your secret lover, isn't it? You're so desperate for your sister to marry Morgan—is it because you can't wait to have him clean up your mess once it's official?"

Eugene's expression turned stormy, but his curses became lodged in his throat. Damn Cherise! He'd hidden this matter as best as he could—he hadn't even told Eloise about it! How had Cherise found out?

Seemingly reading his mind, Cherise chuckled and said, "Don't do anything that you don't want people to find out about. Instead of worrying about when Morgan and I will get divorced, I'd advise you to think of a way to keep your lover in place."

That infuriated Eugene. He stormed over to her, wanting to hit her. "You did this, didn't you?"

Cherise didn't expect him to pin something like this on her. She backed up half a step and fell into a classic defensive stance. However, before she could do anything, Morgan spoke up.

"Eugene, that's enough!" He didn't look too happy as he glanced at the man beside him, who seemed unfazed. Then, he continued, "Where do you think you are? I told you long ago that you have to change your thuggish ways now that you're working here!"

Eugene was still somewhat afraid of Morgan and shut his mouth, albeit reluctantly. He glared at Cherise.

She ignored him and followed Morgan's line of sight. Then, she was taken aback.

The man seated on the couch beside Morgan wore a dark suit that complemented his flawless complexion. His features were chiseled masterpieces, and a pair of rimless glasses perched on his tall nose. His eyes were deep and unfathomable behind the lenses.

His face was devoid of emotion, but he exuded dominance and power just by sitting there. It was Lucien.

Morgan's behavior carried a hint of ingratiation as he said politely, "I'm sorry you had to witness that, Mr. Camden. This guy is like a brother to me, and he's used to being unruly. I'll make sure to teach him a lesson later."

Lucien lowered his gaze, looking careless and absent-minded. He didn't seem to hear a word of what Morgan had said.

Morgan didn't dare let any of his true emotions show despite Lucien's cool attitude. He turned to Cherise and barked, "Why are you still standing there? Bring us the papers! You can't bear the consequences of wasting Mr. Camden's time!"

Cherise strode forward with the documents. "These are all the documents related to the project."

She paused, then extracted one document. "This is a proposal that the design department submitted yesterday. I've looked it over; all you need to do is sign."

Her back was a little stiff as she stood there. Her tone wasn't any different from usual; she was the only one who could sense the hint of anxiety in it.

She'd pulled a tiny trick with the proposal and had swapped out one of the papers with a divorce agreement. If she could get Morgan to sign it regardless of her methods, there wouldn't be much of an issue with getting the divorce to go through.

Cherise's palms were slightly clammy with sweat as she stared at Morgan's hand, waiting to see him sign the document.

Only a second passed, but it felt like a century. To her dismay, Morgan took the proposal and quickly thumbed through it before throwing it aside. "Where do your priorities lie? We can talk about such minor things later. This project in the west of the city is what's important now!"

Cherise pursed her lips and suppressed her urgency. Being too overt in her anxiety would alert Morgan, and her efforts would go down the drain.

In the end, she said softly, "I'll get going, then."

Morgan's attention was on Lucien, so he didn't even spare Cherise a glance. He merely waved dismissively.

Cherise returned to her office and gulped a few mouthfuls of her water before her racing heart calmed slightly. If Morgan didn't sign the divorce agreement, she would have to wait for other opportunities.

While deep in thought, she suddenly heard footsteps. She looked up to meet a pair of unreadable eyes, which took her aback. "Mr. Camden?"