LOGINAmelia opened her mouth, meaning to say something, but nothing came out.In the end, she just nodded once. "Thank you."Lincoln smiled and let it drop. He picked up a bowl from the bedside table."The doctor said to keep it light. I brought chicken soup. Have it while it's hot."Amelia took the bowl and drank in small sips.Her mind didn't slow.No one in business acts without a reason. She wasn't going to trust him fully, and she wasn't the woman she used to be.-Soon, Amelia was discharged and went home.The moment she opened the door, she saw several large cardboard boxes stacked by the entryway, each stamped with the logo of a well-known supplement brand.They looked expensive.She stopped, already forming a guess. They were probably from Christopher.A few days ago, he had shown up with herbs for recovery. Now that she was out of the hospital, this fit the pattern.She bent down and picked up a box, her fingers brushing over the smooth packaging. A faint unease set
"But you should have someone beside you who notices the little things and doesn't let you carry everything alone. That's too much for one person," Lincoln said.Amelia's fingers stilled. She didn't respond.She knew he meant well. But experience had taught her not to rely on anyone, especially after Christopher. Since then, she had kept herself guarded, leaving no room for anyone to get close enough to hurt her again."Maybe because of Christopher, you've misunderstood me. Maybe you even have a bias against me."Lincoln's voice was soft but steady. "People say he and I are rivals. You might think I got close to you for another reason. But that's really not the case. We've known each other a long time. From when Nova Nine first started to when you ran into trouble, I've never done anything against you. If I helped, it was because I wanted to."Amelia looked up at him, something unreadable in her eyes.He wasn't wrong.When Nova Nine first launched and the funding collapsed, Lin
The movement woke Amelia.She opened her eyes, still dazed, and saw Lincoln's profile above her. His jaw was set, his focus fixed as he hurried toward the elevator."Mr. Spencer…" Her voice came out weak, rough with congestion.He glanced down at her, his tone softening. "You're awake? Hang in there. We'll be at the hospital soon."She looked at him, close enough now that it made her pause."I…" she spoke, but he cut her off."At a time like this, you don't need to keep your distance." His gaze stayed steady. "You're Evie's mom, and you matter to Nathan. Helping you is the least I can do."Amelia turned her head and looked toward the dark outside the elevator, something unsettled shifting in her chest.The elevator reached the first floor. Lincoln carried her straight out to the parking lot, settled her into the passenger seat, and draped his coat over her."Are you cold? Just hold on. We'll be there soon."She shook her head and leaned back, closing her eyes.As the car pul
By the time Amelia got home, it felt like something heavy was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe.She braced herself against the wall by the entryway and stood there for a while before she could steady herself. The dull ache in her lower abdomen had worsened, each wave tugging at her nerves until a fine layer of sweat formed on her forehead.She didn't have the strength to change her shoes. She dragged herself to the couch and dropped onto it.She pulled out her phone to call Jasper, but the screen blurred into overlapping images. Her eyelids felt unbearably heavy.She told herself she would rest for just a minute.She leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes.Outside, the sky darkened. The living room lights stayed off.Her awareness faded little by little. The tightness in her chest and the pain in her abdomen were slowly swallowed by a heavy drowsiness. Without realizing it, she lost consciousness.When she came to, she heard the sound of a key turning
A dozen pairs of eyes turned to Amelia at once. The tension in the room pressed in, thick and suffocating.A failure report lay open on the conference table, the loss estimate marked in red. It wasn't just tens of millions in hardware. Missing the government timeline would cost far more.Samantha sat near the head of the table. The moment she saw Amelia, she stood. Her eyes were already red, her voice tight with grievance."Amelia, what took you so long? When you handed things over, you never said Module Three's parameters needed real-time calibration! Now the system's down. It won't connect to Corvex Solutions' database. What am I supposed to do?"Her voice wavered, as if she were the one being wronged, though there was a faint edge underneath.Around the table, engineers exchanged looks. A few softened, drawn in by her expression.Amelia didn't answer right away. She walked to the table, opened her laptop, and pulled up the handover email, projecting it onto the main screen."
Amelia and Lincoln talked on and off, mostly about the kids.Outside, the night deepened.Neither of them noticed the man passing by the restaurant entrance.Luke had just finished dinner with a client and was heading out when he spotted Amelia's table by the window. His gaze moved from Amelia to Lincoln, then to the two kids across from them, chatting easily. He paused.Then he pulled out his phone, snapped a photo, and sent it to Christopher.[Look. Amelia and Lincoln are out with the two kids. Looks like they're playing house. Wasn't Jasper supposed to be her boyfriend? Guess she's not the loyal kind. Good thing you divorced her early, or God knows how many times you would've been cheated on.]He put his phone away and left.At that moment, Christopher had just finished a long meeting and returned to his office.He was holding a cup of coffee when he saw the message. His hand jerked, and hot coffee splashed over his fingers, but he didn't react.In the photo, Amelia was s
And yet, Christopher ended up bringing his darling here for a date.Amelia twisted the bottle cap back on and shook her head. "He doesn't remember my birthday."Even if he did, he would just pretend he didn't know, or that he forgot.Winona's brows furrowed. "God, what a bastard!"Amelia chuckle
Amelia stood up and pulled Evelyn behind her. "How much did it cost? I'll pay you back.""You?" Stephanie looked at Amelia in disdain. "Isn't your money from the Zephyrs? You'll pay me back and then go to Christopher for money after that."Amelia's eyes darkened. "What do you want, then?"Stephan
Evelyn sat in the back row. As she swayed her legs back and forth, she asked, "Mom, since you and Dad are divorced, will you find me a new dad?"Her eyes were twinkling with expectation.Amelia saw Evelyn's expression through the rearview mirror. Her grip over the steering wheel tightened. "Do y
Amelia didn't want Christopher to have too many interactions with her daughter.Although he was Evelyn's father by blood, he had never acknowledged her as his daughter and even hurt her. Since that was the case, Amelia would rather he keep his distance. She didn't want him to give Evelyn false ho







