Edward snorted and asked, "Do you guys know Bennett?"Brian, Frederick, and Stephen nodded in confirmation. Of course they knew him. Bennett was Edward's father, after all.The three of them wondered why Edward brought his father up until his voice dropped into a dark, chilling tone. "I yelled at him until he fainted. He's still in the hospital. If you three want to find out what that's like, by all means, stay here."The three businessmen were at a loss for words."Why don't you and Mr. Hart catch up, Mr. Fowler? I just remembered that Mr. Zuniga was looking for me…" Frederick blurted. He gave a forced smile to Edward."Right. I should be heading out as well. Let's talk business another time," Stephen added hastily.The two of them practically dragged Brian away and disappeared into the crowd. Judging by their expressions, they probably wouldn't dare strike up a conversation with Edward ever again.They had never heard of Edward having such a bad temper. They couldn't believe t
Meanwhile, a red Ferrari pulled up outside the mansion. Alice stepped out with a thermal food container in hand. After reading Sean's message, she thought, "There's no way Edward could do anything to me. Not unless he wants to end up in prison."She wasn't Macie, who had been tortured but couldn't fight back because of the influence Fowler Group wielded. If Edward messed with her, he'd regret it. With that sneer fresh on her face, she suddenly spotted someone running toward her in the distance. She squinted and realized that it was none other than Edward.Instinctively, she stepped aside. She wasn't afraid of the Fowlers, but a punch would still hurt. Moreover, her older brother hadn't shown up yet.As the man drew closer, she had already moved out of the way. Alice assumed that Edward was charging at her, but instead, he blew right past her. Alice was dumbfounded. She turned around and noticed him rushing up to her Ferrari. He bent down, knocked on the window, and called out Ma
The Hart family's driver was doing his best to hold Edward back while Alice took a few steps back, adding fuel to the fire. She sniped, "Even if Macie told you herself, I bet you'd still be in denial. Why don't I call you when they go out on a date and kiss? I'll reserve front row seats, just for you!"Edward snapped, shoving the driver out of the way. Alice hurriedly backed away and thought, "Crap. I've gone too far!" It seemed that Edward had truly lost it.As she turned to run, her high heels tripped her up, and Alice let out a startled gasp. Edward was almost in front of her, his hand stretched out like a claw. Just as disaster was about to strike, two security guards leaped in—one from the left and one from the right—grabbing hold of Edward. Meanwhile, a large hand caught the thermos that was about to slip from Alice's grasp. Then, a calm voice sounded. "Careful. My girlfriend made that soup. It would be a shame to spill it."Alice steadied herself and noticed that the voic
Sean was about to leave, but before he did, he delivered the final blow. He said, "Macie's a real gem. She's beautiful and has a fantastic figure. Her waist is so slim that I can hold her with one hand. Her hands are soft, smooth, and pale. "But she's a little skinny. No worries, though. I'll fatten her up soon."Edward and Alice were both dumbstruck. Consumed with jealousy, all Edward could see was red as he glared at Sean's retreating figure. "Damn you! Get the hell away from Macie! Stay out of other people's marriages, you home-wrecking bastard! "I won't let this slide, you hear me? You'd better watch your back! I'm going to bring down Hart Group and make sure you disappear from Williamford for good!" However, his outburst didn't make Sean turn around at all. The latter kept walking with one hand in his pocket, looking like he couldn't care less about what Edward had said.Alice, still frozen in shock, snapped back to her senses when she noticed her brother walking away. S
Sean quietly finished his soup. Once his stomach felt warm and settled, he opened the other two containers. One had a small serving of pasta, and the other had braised ribs. He ate everything, and by the end, the containers were spotless. There wasn't even a crumb left."Well, how was it? Good, right?" Alice asked, watching him polish off the last bite.Sean nodded and, for once, didn't hold back his praise. "It was terrific." He then added, "So I'll let it slide. I won't hold what happened against you." After all, he had eaten the meal Macie made.Alice breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that, only for Sean to follow up with, "But don't make a habit of it. If word gets out, it'd be bad for Macie."Alice nodded like a bobblehead and swore up and down that this would be a one-time thing. She then took the thermos back from Sean. After getting out of the car, she noticed that Edward and the others had already left.When she got back to her Ferrari, she heard footsteps behind h
Meanwhile, at the Fowler residence, news of the incident outside the business gathering soon reached Yosef. He was livid. "Mr. Fowler Senior, please… have some water," Nolan said, handing him a glass of warm water.Yosef took a sip, calmed down a little, and sighed heavily. "What was he thinking? He's just humiliating himself, bringing about his own downfall. Fortunately, the Harts weren't injured. Forget about a marriage alliance. This might just turn us into enemies."Nolan tried to reassure him, saying, "Mr. Fowler knows where to draw the line. He wouldn't actually hurt anyone.""Did you already forget how we had to bail him out of the police station last Friday night? Do you really think he wouldn't dare hurt anyone? I think he'd even kill someone if it came to that!" fumed Yosef.Nolan fell silent for a moment before responding, "But… this was the Hart family. Mr. Fowler would at least weigh the consequences.""He got his own father so worked up that he ended up in the hosp
Julian nodded and said, "Palmer has always been detail-oriented. Go ahead. It's in the left corner of my office. The clients have already arrived downstairs, so I'm going to greet them. As for the coffee, don't stress over it. Even if it's not perfect, it's fine. He's probably not going to drink it anyway, so just the gesture will do."Macie understood what he meant. The client likely wouldn't care for their company's coffee since they were picky. She went into Julian's office, walked toward the coffee machine, measured out the coffee grounds, and started brewing. While the coffee brewed, she whipped up a layer of milk foam and poured it over the coffee, drawing a simple leaf design in the foam.By the time she returned to the conference room with the coffee, the clients had already arrived. Julian was seated at the head of the table on the right, while the client was at the left end. The two of them were in the middle of a conversation.Macie could only see the man's sharp jawline
Julian frowned from across the table. He had initially assumed that Macie had run into Sean because of Alice, but now, he vaguely sensed the presence of a love rival. "I happened to arrive early, and since we were short-staffed at the time, I offered to help with the coffee," Macie explained, maintaining her professional smile.Sean's eyes crinkled with amusement as he watched Macie get riled up by his teasing. But, of course, he wasn't exactly the nicest guy. He reached out and picked up the cup of coffee. He remarked, "I don't usually drink coffee made by just anyone, but since you went through all the trouble, I'll make an exception."That only made annoyed Macie further. Her gaze locked on the cup in his hand, and for a split second, she genuinely wanted to throw it in his face. If she'd known that this self-absorbed, overconfident narcissist was their client that day, she would've just grabbed a packet of instant coffee from the pantry and called it a day."Nice latte art," S
When Macie heard that Edward had driven Sharon away, she was a little surprised. Alice was even more shocked, but Macie quickly said coldly, "I really did get divorced. He's the one who keeps pestering me. We're going to court next week." She glanced at Sharon. "Once that's over, Edward and I will have nothing to do with each other. Don't believe me? Come to the court yourself."Sharon frowned when she heard that, clearly unconvinced.What if they went to court and the divorce didn't go through? Then she would just end up being played yet again."May's right. She and that scumbag Edward are definitely getting divorced," Alice said mockingly. "You're the only one who still treats him like he's some kind of prize. No one else gives a damn. "You two had better lock it down. When you get married, I'll show up with a gift and wish you all the happiness in the world."Sharon shot Alice a glare. Wasn't this the same woman who had bragged last time that Edward was about to marry her?
Sean couldn't help but think to himself that he'd really gone too far. He wondered how he was any different from the bullies who had tormented Macie.He remembered how Macie had looked that morning with her anger held back, forced to endure his teasing with a fake smile. Meanwhile, he found it amusing, as if it were some kind of game to him.He couldn't believe what a monster he had been.Macie's quiet demeanor was the result of years of enduring suffering, with her anger only surfacing when she was pushed too far.Macie was a young woman with a vintage landscape as her profile picture—someone who had already seen the world's harshness and matured well beyond her years. And all of this was the result of childhood trauma and constant bullying. At this moment, Sean could no longer dismiss what Alice had told him. He fully believed her now. …After returning to her private office downstairs, Alice didn't dare admit to Macie how spineless she had felt. All she could do was firmly
"Stop it right now. Don't bully my friend anymore, or I swear I won't let you off easy," Alice warned. However, Sean didn't even flinch, arrogantly ignoring her threat.Alice was furious, but there was nothing she could do. She wouldn't win if she argued or fought with Sean. He could easily slap her down to the ground, and she wouldn't even be able to get back up. If anyone else had bullied Macie, she would have gone all in, but this person was Sean—her brother, the one who had always pushed her around since they were kids.Alice sighed, moving from anger to helplessness, feeling stuck and useless. She couldn't protect Macie and felt she wasn't a good friend. "Macie has already been through enough. Can't you show a little compassion? Stop bullying an innocent, vulnerable lady!" Alice tried softening her tone. "You don't know how much Macie has suffered. Do you even have an ounce of human decency?" She switched tactics, telling him everything she knew about Macie's past and th
It looked like Macie hadn't just been flustered—she'd fully entered rage monster mode. Sean could imagine her fists flew, as if they could actually do damage, even though they barely stung. He genuinely found it endearing.When Sean finished reading the last screenshot, he closed the chat and saw a new message from Alice. Her text read, "So, are you going to explain why you were flirting with my friend? "And what about the things you said to Edward last night? It sounds like you meant what you said. You weren't just playing along with me."Did you put your arm around Macie's waist? Hold her hand? You had better come clean!" Sean just typed a simple response. He typed, "Go ask her if I did that." Alice, on the other end, was speechless.Sometimes, Alice really wondered if Sean was just a brooding, black-bellied guy with an obsession with keeping things mysterious. She didn't respond right away. Instead, she stormed over to his office, yanked a chair out, and took a seat rig
Alice immediately called Macie, venting all her frustration about Sean. She cursed him as much as she could, even bringing up stories from their childhood to illustrate just how terrible he had been.Macie listened to how Alice described her miserable childhood, living under the shadow of Sean, enduring various "torments".As Alice spoke, Macie couldn't help but picture that insufferable face, and she felt that it wasn't surprising he could do such things. If he treated his own sister that way, what would he do to her? Indeed, some people's bad habits formed when they were young. Macie felt sympathy for Alice, and what started as one person venting turned into a united front, two people joining in on the complaints."Ugh, my brother's the worst. When we were kids, he ripped the ears off my plush bunny, and then claimed it was the turtle pillow that did it." Alice continued, venting, "I love cake, but I got cavities. He'd eat it right in front of me and mock me for not being able
Not far from Macie's workstation, Lily had been listening to their conversation, especially when Macie, with a hint of pride, casually mentioned her good relationship with Sean. Lily's fists tightened, and a flash of hatred and jealousy crossed her eyes. There was also a sense of helplessness and resentment. Julian hadn't fired her, but had only made her apologize publicly in the company's group chat, and now this happened.Macie was not only Alice's friend, but she also had a close relationship with Sean. Moreover, Julian clearly favored Macie, openly confessing his admiration for her.Macie's relationships within the department would only be stronger. Her promotion to team leader would only be a matter of time. Lily had crossed her, and sooner or later, she'd be the one getting sidelined. Lily was already worried about her future and deeply regretted causing trouble for Macie on her first day. She shouldn't have tried to embarrass her last night either. At her desk, with ju
Now that Macie knew who Sean was, she was sure she wouldn't just sit there and take it like she did that day if he ever visited again."It's my fault. I didn't know that Mr. Hart and Macie had a history," Palmer said, breaking the silence."I didn't know either," Macie replied, her voice tight. "And even if I had known, I still wouldn't have recognized Sean. I would've gone to the meeting, and I'd have still been bullied."She clenched her fists, anger rising inside her. She didn't owe Sean anything. Indeed, the two companies were collaborating, but she couldn't understand why he should make her his personal target.Still, she couldn't care less now. She would let him think whatever he wanted. He was the one who crossed the line first. Back in the design department, only Macie and Palmer remained. Palmer, still curious, asked, "Macie, did you offend Mr. Hart?" That seemed to be the only explanation for Sean's strange behavior that day. Although there had been some "tension" bet
Macie managed to hold back her anger, reminding herself that Sean was a client and that her supervisor had emphasized how important this collaboration was.Sean smiled at her. He was still watching Macie, who was silently glaring at him. He then casually pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to her.Macie glanced down at the card. Despite not wanting to take it, she accepted it out of politeness and flipped it over to read it.In bold, gold letters, it read, "Chief Executive Officer, Hart Group."Macie froze for a moment when she read "Hart Group". She was familiar with the name because it was Alice's family's company. And then, her eyes landed on Sean's printed name. She began to wonder if he was related to Alice.Suddenly, she looked up, her gaze shifting toward the elevator. No wonder he had seemed familiar—she now realized his features resembled Alice's.The answer was almost painfully obvious.Inside the elevator, Sean stood in front of his employees, smili
Macie clenched her fists, gritting her teeth as she took two steps forward and said, "You say five minutes, then five minutes it is. There's no need to bother the technician." She tried to remain calm, though inside she felt a little flustered. The idea that Sean would actually want to check the security footage over something so trivial seemed ridiculous. However, the fact that Sean was so insistent, almost as if he were out to get her, left her feeling uneasy. Sean, sensing her discomfort, stepped to the side and casually said, "Ms. Smith, you were so adamant in denying it earlier. Let's just check the footage anyway. I said I'd apologize if I were wrong. You have my word as a man." He was so precise with the timing, down to the second, and had even given her his solemn word. Macie couldn't help but snap. She looked up at him and, unable to hold back her anger anymore, said, "Then shouldn't you be apologizing to me for what happened that night?"I already explained everythin