MasukIt had barely been three days since I resumed work. And work flowed smoothly. No complains, no workload.Just the right amount of work. Exactly the way I liked it.I stepped out of the elevator with a stack of documents tucked under my arm, heading toward the Strategy Department. Someone called my name. “Klaire.”I stopped. I hadn’t heard that voice in weeks.Slowly, I turned around. “Elise.” She stood a few feet away, dressed elegantly as always. There was no smile on her face. Only a strange expression I couldn’t quite understand.“I’ve been looking for you.”I offered a small smile. “It’s been a while.”“It has.”I tried to lighten the mood. “I thought you were avoiding me.”“I was.” Her blunt answer caught me off guard.“Oh…”She crossed her arms. “I just wanted to ask you something.”“What is it?”“What’s going on between you and Aleksander?”“…What?”“You heard me.”I couldn’t help laughing. Maybe because this was coming from Elise. Or because everyone was ridiculous to think tha
I had forgotten how much I loved this place.The moment I stepped back into my office, everything felt… right. Even my coffee mug was exactly where I’d left it.I smiled to myself. It just felt good to be promoted the right way. “I’m home.”A knock interrupted my thoughts. The door slowly opened. One person. Then another.Within seconds, almost everyone from my department had squeezed into my office.“Klaire!”“We missed you!”“I almost resigned!”“You left us with Mr. Vilmorre!” Everyone burst into laughter.I covered my mouth. “Stop exaggerating.”“I’m serious.” One of the junior strategists dramatically placed a hand on his chest. “He nearly made me cry.”“He rejected my proposal before I even finished presenting it.”“He told me the title alone gave him a headache.”I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. “He actually said that?”“He did!” Everyone began talking over one another.“I swear he became worse after you left.”“No.”“He became impossible.”“We even started making bets.”“Bets
I checked my watch for what had to be the tenth time in fifteen minute. 8: 42 a.m.The meeting wasn't until nine.Yet I had already walked from my desk to the floor-to-ceiling windows so many times that even I found it irritating.Why was I pacing?I stopped myself, walked back to my desk and picked up a file.Today being the resumption day for Mrs Klaire didn’t have to make me so nervous. But I slightly had doubts. What if she decided on not coming back? What if getting vindicated was enough for her and she didn’t want to go through this tough side of life anymore?What if her husband…who doesn’t like me, convinced her to stay back?I set the file down with a sigh."Sir?" Hale poked his head into my office."You called?"I looked up. "Yes. Has everyone arrived?"He smiled knowingly. “Mrs. Kingston signed in five minutes ago."My shoulders relaxed before I could stop them. "Good."Hale's smile grew. "You've been waiting for her, haven't you?""I've been waiting for the meeting.""Of co
The ride back was… quiet. Not awkward.Just quiet.I sat in the passenger seat with my forehead resting lightly against the window, watching the city lights.For the first time in a long while…My chest didn’t feel so heavy.I had finally told someone…detailed explanation about how my father disowned me.Someone knew. Someone believed me.I glanced sideways. Mr. Vilmorre’s hands rested firmly on the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the road.His expression was as unreadable as ever.Yet… He had hugged me and thinking about it made my cheeks warm. Was he returning a favor? Because I had also hugged him when he was going through his problems.He had held me so tightly.Not because I was his employee. Not because he pitied me. But because…I had broken. And somehow…He had stayed. A small smile unconsciously found its way onto my lips.Then my phone vibrated.Lance I answered almost immediately.“Klaire.” His voice was warm as always. “How did it go?”“It…” I looked briefly toward Mr. Vi
Klaire's fingers were still wrapped around my arm, trembling. Kingston stared between us, his face cycling through disbelief, suspicion, and anger. "This..." he laughed bitterly. "This has to be a joke."Klaire swallowed but didn't let go of me. "It isn't."He scoffed. "You expect me to believe that the CEO of Vilmorre Enterprise married you?"She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. I knew she was lying...I knew she was trying to survive. And somehow, I couldn't bring myself to expose her.Kingston looked at me. "Mr. Vilmorre. You don't have to entertain this. This girl has always been dramatic. I've known her for twenty-six years."I finally spoke. "I think you've said enough."His eyebrows lifted."My relationship with Klaire is none of your concern."His expression darkened. "You know she's my daughter?"I nodded once. "I do now… I wish I didn’t”His jaw tightened. "You've embarrassed me enough today." He looked at Klaire. "When you're ready to stop pretending...you know where
I remained where I was. Hidden by one of the marble pillars that neither of them noticed my presence.Something about Klaire's face...It wasn't the expression of an employee meeting a business partner nor was it the expression of a spy reporting to her employer.Kingston stood before her with both hands tucked into the pockets of his expensive suit.I saw a father speaking to his daughter without an ounce of kindness."So..." Kingston said with a dry chuckle. "This is what you've become."Klaire remained quiet."You walked away from Kingston Enterprises because you wanted to prove yourself. You wanted independence. You wanted to show the world that you didn't need my influence."His voice was too calm…but the weight of his words…"And what have you achieved? You couldn't even protect your own reputation.""I did protect it." Klaire's voice came out firm despite the tears beginning to gather in her eyes. "I was proven innocent."Kingston scoffed. "Innocent? You still became the laughin
The door to my office opened without a knock. Only one person in the company was annoying enough to do that.Hale. He entered carrying coffee and entirely too much enthusiasm this afternoon. "I heard. But I want to know if it's true." I didn't bother looking up from the report in my hands. Hale
“Klaire?” Immediately the elevator stopped, Elise’s voice resounded through the quiet hallway. My eyes widened. But before I could react, Mr. Vilmorre moved.Very fast.One second I was standing in the hallway, The next I was pulled into a corner beside the office wall. My back hit the surface soft
His smile immediately faded as Mr Hale said those words and he retracted his hand from mine.His expression was rather confusing. Was he angry? Did he not have a good relationship with his grandmother?"Grandmother?" He repeated flatly, stepping forward and completely blocking view.Before Mr Hale
“Mrs Claire Kingston, this way please,” the tall suited man called for me. I sucked in a deep breath, murmuring a quick prayer before walking in. After crying myself to sleep yesterday, Elise had offered to help me retrieve my important documents from my cloud. I don't know how she did it but th







