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홈 / Imagination / Hearing Hearts: Stealing My Fiancé's First Love / Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

작가: Little Tomato
"She really looks pitiful. And I actually do know how to make homemade barbecue ribs. Maybe I should..."

[No! Host, have you forgotten your mission?]

[I don't know why the female lead is acting like this, but what kind of villainess makes homemade barbecue ribs to cheer up the female lead? That's completely off-script!]

I said nothing and simply kept looking at Molly.

Steven clearly felt that his authority had been challenged.

"Nadia York, stop changing the subject. This matter..."

I stepped over and stood beside Molly.

"If she's the other person you love, then I have no objection."

Steven choked on his words, clearly not expecting me to agree so readily.

…

The truth was, I'd already known about the so-called pre-wedding test a week earlier.

That day, Molly organized the gathering, and I intended to step onto the balcony for some fresh air.

Instead, I accidentally overheard Steven drinking with a few friends on the second-floor terrace.

"Steven, are you really planning to marry Nadia?"

Steven swirled the whiskey in his glass.

"What other choice do I have? She's been by my side for years. It's time I made things official."

One of his friends, Zach Whitmore, spoke with a hint of amusement.

"Let's be honest. You're just afraid she'll make a scene and damage your reputation if you don't marry her."

Steven said nothing, which was as good as admitting it.

Someone lowered his voice, unable to hide his delight at the gossip.

"Did you hear about that incident involving Mr. Sutton's wife a while back?"

Steven raised an eyebrow, signaling for him to continue.

"She mistook one of his biggest clients for his mistress and grabbed her by the hair right in public. In the end, he had to pay a fortune to smooth things over, and he lost a multi-million-dollar deal too."

Steven's brow furrowed slightly, and my heart tightened with it.

I knew he'd always valued his career above everything else. Any risk that might threaten his business empire was something he'd eliminate before it had the chance to grow.

Did that risk include me?

Zach glanced at Molly and joked, "If you ask me, Steven would be better off marrying Molly than Nadia.

"Wasn't she your dream girl back in the day? At least she comes from the same social circle. Molly grew up around all this and knows exactly what it takes to be Mrs. Cooper."

The others quickly chimed in.

"Exactly. Molly's got everything going for her. Family background, looks, poise—what does Nadia have that can compare?"

"Steven, you'd better think this through. Marry the wrong woman, and you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Steven didn't respond, but his gaze drifted toward Molly before he could stop himself.

Molly smiled and playfully scolded them.

"Stop teasing me. Steven and I are just friends."

Zach immediately jumped in.

"Just friends? I still remember what happened between the two of you back then..."

"Mr. Whitmore!"

Molly cut him off, but naturally moved to stand beside Steven.

"Still... you do have a point."

Steven turned to look at her.

Molly lowered her eyes.

"You're always busy with work and attending business dinners. The last time I sent you a text asking whether you'd eaten, Miss York got suspicious for no reason.

"If you don't set expectations now, who knows what kind of trouble she might cause in the future?

"What if one day she mistakes one of your important clients for a mistress and attacks her? The loss wouldn't just be financial. It would hurt your reputation too."

Steven lightly tapped his fingers against the side of his whiskey glass.

Molly noticed his hesitation. The corners of her lips lifted slightly before she quickly suppressed the smile.

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  • Hearing Hearts: Stealing My Fiancé's First Love   Chapter 11

    [Ding! Host, the female lead's favorability has increased by 5 points. Current favorability: 98/100.]Molly's eyes widened."Only two points left!"She grabbed my hand."Come on, tell me what else I need to do. Should I make you barbecue ribs right now? Fried chicken? Or maybe..."I laughed."You don't need to do anything.""Huh? Then how am I supposed to get those last two points?""Let nature take its course. You can't force something like favorability."Molly pouted, clearly dissatisfied with that answer.But she didn't press the issue.Two years later, our company successfully went public.The team grew from eight people to more than four hundred.Our client base expanded from local small businesses to several publicly traded companies.Everything was moving in the right direction.The last piece of news I heard about Steven was that he'd gotten into a drunk-driving accident.Molly asked me, "Apparently he lost a leg. How do you feel about that?"I thought about it for a moment."H

  • Hearing Hearts: Stealing My Fiancé's First Love   Chapter 10

    "If you didn't already have those thoughts, no one could have talked you into them."His expression froze."You say Molly manipulated you, but those words came out of your mouth. That decision was yours."I rose from my chair and walked over to the window."You came up with that pre-wedding test not because Molly told you to, but because you were already worried I'd end up like Mr. Sutton's wife and damage your business."You wanted me and Molly to get along, not because you thought it was best for everyone, but because you wanted the best of both worlds while using her to test my limits."And you're not here because you've realized you were wrong. You're here because your company is falling apart, and you need me to save it."I turned around and looked at him."Am I wrong?"Steven's expression shifted several times before settling into something complicated."Nadia, you've misunderstood..."I cut him off."No, I haven't. I've just finally seen things clearly. You were never the person

  • Hearing Hearts: Stealing My Fiancé's First Love   Chapter 9

    Molly and I treated all of it as a joke.Then we went right back to focusing on the company.After the first client came the second.Then the third.None of the projects were particularly large, but they provided steady business.By the fourth month, the company had already reached profitability.When Molly showed me the financial statements, she looked like she'd just won the lottery."Do you know what this means? It means we don't have to live off our savings anymore! The company can finally support itself!"I watched her excitement and suddenly felt a sense of warmth.But it wasn't the same feeling I'd once had for Steven.What I'd felt for Steven had been dependence, regret, and an inability to let go.That kind of love was like a rope wrapped around your neck, tightening until I could barely breathe.What I had with Molly was different.There were no complicated calculations between us, no debts and anyone keeping score.We simply supported each other.She helped me escape.I help

  • Hearing Hearts: Stealing My Fiancé's First Love   Chapter 8

    Molly raised her glass."To you."I raised mine as well."To freedom."Molly and I rented an apartment near the ocean while we were abroad.It had two bedrooms, a living room, and a balcony with a view of the sea.After spending half a month enjoying ourselves, we returned home and settled in a different city.The days that followed were a blur of activity.Molly handled the money and assets we'd brought with us.She turned out to have a surprising talent for it.Probably because of whatever life she'd lived before arriving in this world, though she'd never gone into much detail about it.Meanwhile, I began preparing to launch a new company.Half a month later, the core members of the engineering team started arriving one after another.At first, Steven refused to let them go.He offered raises, promotions, and every promise he could think of, but no one stayed.They followed me not because I paid the highest salaries; they followed me because there was trust between us.And that was s

  • Hearing Hearts: Stealing My Fiancé's First Love   Chapter 7

    After our product launched, it performed far better than anyone expected.Within two years, we secured three rounds of funding.Within three years, the company's valuation increased twentyfold.Steven returned to the world he was familiar with.He went back to wearing custom-tailored suits.He went back to riding in luxury cars.And then he started to change.At first, it was the endless business dinners. He came home later and later each night.Then all those old friends came back.Then all those old friends came back, treating him with the same warmth and respect they'd shown before the bankruptcyAnd after that, Molly returned from overseas.Molly huffed."So, in the end, it all comes down to that jerk having no backbone."I smiled but didn't argue."What about the tech team?"Molly pressed."Don't tell me everyone in the department was loyal to you."I nodded."The company's original core technology was developed by me. Later, when the company grew, I built the entire engineering t

  • Hearing Hearts: Stealing My Fiancé's First Love   Chapter 6

    The plane cut through the clouds as Molly turned to look at me."I've been meaning to ask—how did you convince the entire tech team to quit? We're not talking about one or two people. It was the whole department."I slowly rotated my coffee cup in my hand and shot back a question."You don't know?"Molly spread her hands."The system only told me how your story ended in the original novel and what plotline I was supposed to follow. Honestly, I don't know much beyond that."The clouds drifted past outside the window, and my thoughts returned to five years ago.Back then, Steven wasn't the confident, successful businessman he was today.When news of the Cooper family's bankruptcy broke, the entire city treated it like entertainment.A once-powerful business empire collapsed overnight.His father was taken in for investigation, his mother was hospitalized after falling ill, and Steven went from being the golden heir everyone wanted to be around to someone people avoided like the plague.A

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