"You can contact my assistant and let him know if you suffer any losses for tonight's show," Edward said.The director's eyes instantly lit up. He liked speaking to someone like Edward, who was generous and straightforward. He smiled slightly."We won't suffer huge losses because of a minor incident like that. Besides, we should have considered the possibility of accidents like this happening too. Ms. Emerson can join our fashion shows again once her injury is healed. I'll always have a place for her."Edward rose to his feet. He gave the director Nathan's business card nonetheless. Then, he helped Sharon get up from the chair.When he noticed Sharon limping and swaying slightly, Edward picked her up in his arms again. Sharon looped her arms around Edward's neck and leaned against his shoulder, looking rather shy.Meanwhile, the reporters had gathered outside the exit a while ago. They managed to take photos of the pair as soon as they emerged from the building.Sharon seemed fri
"What should I do, then? I left my personal documents in my luggage. I won't be able to stay at other hotels…" Sharon sounded lost and helpless."You can stay at my place," Edward suggested.Sharon paused for a split second. She lowered her head and replied meekly, "That's not a good idea. I don't want to see you and May argue because of me again.""She has no right to decide that. That's my apartment. I decide who gets to stay in my own home," Edward said monotonously.Her cheeks were still wet with tears as she tried to politely decline his offer. However, he ignored her refusal and took her back to his residential area.They got into the elevator and went to the floor where Edward's place was. Sharon followed behind him. With her finger, she wiped off the foundation applied to her neck to reveal her hickey.The door was opened. Sharon thought she would immediately see Macie, but the place looked quite empty. She briefly scanned the living room and softly asked, "Is May already
Macie bit her lip as she remembered about the diary. She blamed herself for not tearing it to bits or setting it on flames beforehand. However, she figured that Sharon probably would not be able to find it since the diary was locked inside a drawer.She eventually calmed down. When she was about to turn off her phone, a notification window for a news article popped up on the screen. The title read, "The Fowler Family's Next Successor Rushes Onto the Stage for a Model During a Fashion Show."Macie stared at the screen for a brief moment.The Fowler family's next successor… She figured that the media could only be referring to Edward with that title.Her gaze fell on the word "model" next. When she came to her senses, she noticed that she had tapped on the link for the news article.A photo was displayed above the article. Edward was carrying a woman in his arms. That person buried her face in his chest. Macie recognized that it was Sharon just by looking at her side profile.Her f
Edward helped Sharon regain her footing. Just then, one of the straps of her top slid off her shoulder.From his angle, Edward could see Sharon's deep cleavage. The red marks he had left on that part of her skin last night were still visible. Yet, the top that Sharon was wearing… belonged to Macie.At that moment, Edward felt as though he was caught cheating right before Macie's eyes. His palms grew numb, and he instantly turned his face away."Edward, can you hold onto my left arm? I want to wash my face." Sharon looked up at him.Edward helped wring out a wet towel and passed it to Sharon. After wiping her face, Sharon tried to support herself by holding onto the sink."I'm done now. Thanks. You can go…"Before she could finish her sentence, Sharon was about to fall again, but Edward was prepared this time. He grabbed her by the waist and caught her effortlessly."You shouldn't push yourself. You need to be mindful of your foot injury," Edward said.Sharon gripped his arms an
Even though the news articles were quickly taken down, Yosef had learned of what had happened. He called from the Fowler residence early in the morning and yelled at Edward furiously.Edward was on his way to work. He quietly listened and did not talk back while Yosef scolded him harshly."Macie is such a nice woman. Do you not feel guilty toward her at all? Do you not appreciate all the sacrifices she's made in the past two years?" Yosef felt so frustrated with his grandson.Edward pursed his lips."Sacrifices? Just because she's prepared our meals? She used the washing machine to wash our clothes and the robotic vacuum cleaner to clean the floor. I was the one who had to look after her during the past two years. What's more, she's utterly ungrateful. She even slapped me yesterday," he thought."If you really can't appreciate her efforts… I hope you won't regret this someday. There's only two weeks left—" Yosef continued.Edward cut him off since his patience was running out. "I
"How's the soup? Is it good?" Sharon looked at Edward expectantly.She had the soup ordered and delivered from a restaurant. So, she was confident that he would be satisfied with the taste."It's delicious. You have excellent cooking skills," Edward remarked after having a sip.Truthfully, he found the soup to be quite oily and salty. It tasted like something a regular restaurant would make.Edward much preferred Macie's cooking, which tasted lighter on the palate. Her dishes were different from the food that was prepared outside."You should have some more if it's to your taste. I can make it for you every day," Sharon said chirpily.When Edward heard Sharon's offer to make soup every day, he quickly said, "I'll help bring over your personal documents tomorrow. You can stay in one of the hotels owned by Fowler Group. No paparazzi would dare follow you there."Sharon bit her lip hard. Yet, she was smiling again two seconds later. "Alright. Thank you, Edward."The two of them co
Hence, Sharon instructed Rebecca to move Macie's things out of the room. Although she did not get to stay in the master bedroom, Sharon found it satisfying to have kicked Macie out of her own room.Edward furrowed his brows as he watched them move Macie's belongings. He entered the room and noticed Rebecca trying to pry open a drawer. He went over to help.Men were physically stronger. After a few tries, Edward managed to yank the drawer open with his brute force. Even the metal parts of the lock were bent out of shape.Only a notebook with a light blue cover was placed in the drawer.Edward picked up the notebook and flipped to the first page. He instantly realized what the notebook was."Only those with secrets would write diaries," Edward snickered. He was about to flip to the next page when a hand reached over from above his head and snatched the notebook away."You shouldn't be reading a woman's diary. I'll help May keep it somewhere safe."Edward pursed his lips. He stared
Nathan deduced that Edward cared about Macie a lot. Yet, he couldn't understand why Edward was fooling around with another woman, to the point of bringing his mistress back to his home.Nathan ordered the meals for Macie. However, he was savvy enough to tell her that the order was placed by the Fowler family and not Edward.He worried that Macie might just flush the food down the toilet if she knew who it was really from.At the hospital, Macie ate those meals. She figured that it was most likely Yosef's idea since they were from the Fowler family.However, Macie furrowed her brows. She wondered if Edward had told Yosef that she had been admitted to the hospital.Strangely, she did not receive any new messages from Yosef. Macie did not send him any messages either since she would probably have to share details about her injuries.Macie spent her days leisurely. During the day, she watched tutorial videos or worked on her sketches. She had enough practice to ensure that she could
Sean thought that Edward was truly scum. Alice had said that the one who stirred up trouble that day was Edward's ex-girlfriend—the same woman he had flaunted publicly as his mistress while still married.Now, Macie and Edward were divorced, yet the mistress still showed up in front of the ex-wife, while Edward just stood by and did nothing. Sean really thought that Edward was a piece of trash.Not long after, the officer from the interrogation room emerged again, this time with a few others."Mr. Hart, Ms. Hart, Ms. Smith," he addressed them. "Surveillance footage confirms that the suspect was the first to lay hands on Ms. Smith and made a deliberate attempt to drag her into a car by the roadside. This establishes criminal intent."Also, our investigation confirms that the three men were not the suspect's bodyguards, but were hired by her. They've admitted to receiving payment from the suspect to abduct Ms. Smith."Alice immediately said, "I knew it! Sharon was still making excus
Alice knew that her own injury wasn't even worth mentioning, so she walked over to Macie and tugged up the sleeve of her shirt. She stated, "Look at this. May's arm is going to be all bruised by tomorrow."Sean looked at the woman Alice had pulled over. Her fair, slender arm was covered in several glaring marks. It was evidently caused by someone grabbing her forcefully. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.Macie felt uneasy under his stare and quickly pulled her sleeve back down. But the moment she did, Alice yanked it up again and turned toward the officers."Look at this. Does that woman look like she came just to talk things out? If she only wanted to talk, why did she get physical?"The officers glanced at Macie's arm. Just then, Sean's voice cut in, cold and sharp. "My sister and her friend were attacked. I hope your station handles this seriously and doesn't let the perpetrators walk away unpunished."The officers turned to Sean. The man had an overwhelming presence. Eve
"Who could possibly beat you?" Sean asked.Alice snapped, "I'm not joking! Edward's ex-girlfriend ambushed me and May, and she brought three thugs with her! May and I both got hurt! And they ruined my favorite handbag!"Sean furrowed his brow when he heard this. Alice kept going on, full of grievance and rage, until he cut in, saying, "Send me the location of the police station."Alice hung up and saw that the police had already arrived. They had come just in time.Sharon and the three men were all caught. Not a single one got away.The three of them headed to the nearby police station. It was the same one as before. Macie and Julian were already familiar with the place.In the lobby, Alice sent Sean the location. The three gave their statements while Sharon and the men were taken into an interrogation room.When they finished, one of the officers came out to mediate. "Ms. Emerson said that those men are her bodyguards. She claims that she wasn't trying to abduct anyone. It seem
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