Chapter 6

"Mr. Hale is here!" one of Lawrence's colleagues shouted.

Seeing Julia and Patrick, Lawrence wanted to leave, but it was too late. He was already dragged into the room.

"Mr. Hale, you're quite influential. Even Ms. Ware came!" someone joked.

Lawrence frowned. Had he known she would be there, he wouldn't have come.

"Ms. Ware, who's this by your side? Care to introduce?" one of Julia's long-time colleagues asked.

Lawrence lifted his eyes and saw Julia holding Patrick's hand.

"Oops, I forgot to introduce him. This is my boyfriend, Patrick Harrison. He just returned from being abroad."

At that moment, Lawrence thought he heard the sound of his own heart breaking.

He had waited for seven years, hoping Julia would finally acknowledge him as her boyfriend. But now, she was officially announcing another man as her partner.

The mood in the room grew awkward. Everyone looked at Lawrence.

Over the years, he had always been by Julia's side. His contributions to her and her company were well known.

Everyone had assumed that he would marry Julia one day. Lawrence had even believed it himself.

"Come on. Let's all raise a glass to our future boss!" someone suggested.

The crowd started to cheer. Julia glanced at Lawrence. "What about you? You're resigning. Aren't you going to drink?"

Lawrence had developed a stomach problem due to Julia. The doctor had advised him against drinking.

"I can't drink." He then picked up a glass of water from the table. "I'll drink to you with water instead, boss."

He emphasized the word "boss" with bitterness before draining the glass in one go.

However, Julia was not pleased. "What now? Now that you've resigned, you can't even have a drink? You're really testing my patience, Lawrence."

His resignation letter was still in her car. Every time she thought of how Lawrence was acting out of spite, she felt a sharp pang of discomfort.

"Jules, don't do this. Today is Mr. Hale's farewell party. How about this? Mr. Hale, let me toast to you. Thank you for everything you've done for Jules and the company all these years."

Patrick wanted to drink, but Julia stopped him.

"What are you drinking for? Your stomach isn't good. What if you get sick again tonight?"

"That was seven years ago. You still remember? My stomach's fine now."

Julia was insistent. "He won't drink, so why should you?"

Her words were like daggers, piercing Lawrence's heart over and over again. She didn't know about his stomach problems, but she remembered Patrick's from seven years ago.

Lawrence couldn't bear to look at them any longer. He grabbed a bottle of beer from the table, opened it, and began drinking with a frown.

Julia glanced over at him. Seeing him drinking, she couldn't help but speak up, "You said you can't drink, but now you're drinking nonstop. Why do you have to be like this, Lawrence?"

She sneered. "You won't even toast to Patrick, but now you're drinking away. When did you become so petty?"

With that, she stormed out of the room. But before she could get far, a few burly men blocked her path. "Well, well, what a beauty!"

Frowning, Julia tried to walk around them, but they stopped her.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"What do we want? You tell us." The man at the front, Brandon Foster, waved his hand, and the others immediately stepped forward to restrain her.

Just as Julia was about to call for help, Lawrence appeared.

"Let her go!" he commanded.

"Lawrence, save me!" Julia was scared. Although she was used to being decisive in the business world, she was still a woman, and this situation naturally made her nervous.

"Who the hell are you? I suggest you stay out of this!" Brandon growled.

As soon as he said that, Lawrence had already raised his fist and landed a punch right on Brandon's face.

"Let her go!" Lawrence shouted again as he delivered a powerful kick to Brandon's stomach.

Anger flashed in Brandon's eyes at once. "Mr. Hale! Punching me once is fine, but you should know when to stop! I'll be charging extra money for this!"