One of the interviewers smiled and said, "Ms. Smith, your professional expertise is outstanding. Your leadership in several team competitions during college makes you an excellent fit for the director position."Macie pursed her lips at the remark and glanced at Julian. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm qualified for that. I'd be happy to join the design department as a staff member."The interviewers were momentarily surprised by her rejection.Macie continued, "Thank you for your confidence in me. The competitions during college were team events, and the leader back then was Mr. Atkins, not me. I was just the assistant, so I can't really take credit for that."I'm well aware of my weaknesses. This is my first job, and I have a lot to learn, especially when it comes to leading a team. If I get promoted, I'd like to start from the ground up."After hearing her response, the interviewers appreciated her honesty and sincerity. Then, they turned their attention to their boss sitting
In fact, Nathan was completely helpless.The only one who could reach Macie was Yosef. Unfortunately, Edward had no way of contacting her.That morning, a manager came by with the product planning proposal for Edward. But after a brief discussion, it became clear that Edward wasn't in the right headspace. His eyes were red and swollen, so the manager had no choice but to leave."Mr. Levy, do you know what's wrong with Mr. Fowler?" the manager asked Nathan in the Assistants Department's office."Oh, he's going through a breakup," Nathan replied absentmindedly as he looked up from his computer.But then he realized that it wasn't entirely accurate. Macie and Edward were married. They weren't dating, so it wasn't a breakup. It was more like…Right, a divorce.Alas… A newly divorced man was bound to be a mess, especially since Edward had brought this on himself. Nathan could only shake his head and sigh.The other assistants who overheard that were stunned and the manager was equ
Macie and Julian had almost run into Edward the last time they went out. So, she suggested that they eat at a nearby restaurant this time.Julian had done his homework and had several well-reviewed options lined up.They ended up enjoying light, refined cuisine with clean and delicate flavors. When it came time to pay, Macie intended to cover it, but Julian wouldn't let her. He smiled and said, "You can treat me next time.""I think—" Macie had just started to speak when a voice came from the side, interrupting her."Mr. Atkins?"She found the voice familiar. Macie froze for a moment, then quickly turned and excused herself, saying that she had a bit of a stomachache.Julian wanted to go with her, but the person who had greeted him was already beside him. So, he could only respond politely, "Hello.""It really is you, Mr. Atkins. I'm Nathan Levy, assistant to Edward Fowler of Fowler Group," Nathan said, smiling. Then he turned slightly to look around, frowning as he searched the
"Sharon is Macie's friend. I don't know about anyone else," Edward said. "But she won't lead us to them anyway." He sighed again, clearly frustrated."Alright. Got it. I'll keep digging," Nathan replied.He was going to mention his encounter with Julian but then thought better of it. Macie had been a full-time housewife for two years. He figured that she probably didn't even know Julian. So, he decided to wait until he had more clarity before bringing it up.Once Nathan left, the office fell silent.Edward stopped eating and stared at his chat history with Macie on his phone.Unfortunately, only the recent messages from a few days ago remained. He had deleted everything else, leaving him with no memories to fall back on. A wave of sorrow and regret washed over him, and his eyes turned red again.It had already been four days, and there was still no sign of Macie. He didn't even know where she was. In this vast sea of people, it was the first time he truly understood what it felt
At first, Macie refused the random tasks she was being assigned, but her colleagues spoke with righteous conviction. "We're on the same team. You just got here. If you don't start picking things up, you're going to drag us down.""This is a chance for you to gain experience. Otherwise, how are you supposed to integrate into the team? Will you pay us back if we lose the bonus because of you?"Macie gave them a cold look. She hadn't expected to be singled out on her first day. She was on equal footing with them, so she couldn't understand why she should take their discarded tasks."I haven't even started working with the team yet. How do you know that I'll drag you down? Giving me a chance to gain experience? Are you my supervisor to be saying things like that?" Her tone remained steady as she shot back.The arrogant colleagues hadn't expected this seemingly easy target to bite back. Nevertheless, one of them huffed and said, "We're just thinking ahead. After all, you're the newbie
Macie didn't think Yosef would have given her number to Edward. After all, she had already made everything clear to him that morning. She thought that Edward wouldn't have a right to fault her for taking legal action if he had gotten her number elsewhere.Edward didn't answer her question. Instead, she could hear him muttering nonsense on the other end of the line. She lost her patience and said, "Not going to answer? Then I'm hanging up."Edward gritted his teeth and ultimately said, "I filed a missing persons report and told the police that you disappeared. Are you satisfied now?""You're insane."Macie and Edward were already divorced. She had even stepped aside for Sharon. So, why was Edward still clinging to her like a ghost that wouldn't disappear?"It's over between us. This is the last call, and there are a few things I need to set straight with you," Macie said coldly."Says who? Unless I agree, you can forget about divorcing me. Not in this lifetime!" Edward's furious v
Edward abruptly smashed his phone in a fit of rage. He slammed a fist down on the wooden desk, making the folders on it shift.He had thought that Macie was using the threat of divorce to force him to beg her to come back. But now, another man was hanging around her. She had even claimed the divorce papers were valid—that he had signed them.He figured she was still angry with him, which was why she had made it sound so convincing, even bringing another man in to provoke him.Edward's face darkened, seething with fury. He gritted his teeth and tried to contact the police officer again, ready to track Macie's exact location and show up in person.Unfortunately, as soon as the call connected, he was informed that the case had been closed. Edward froze and demanded, "Who permitted you to close it? I haven't found her yet!""Your family did. If you try reporting her missing again, it'll be treated as filing a false report," said the officer.With that, the call ended. Edward stood br
At Julian's words, Macie had no choice but to get up and pack her things. If she stayed any longer, Julian would definitely think Palmer was giving her trouble.Julian handed her the elevator access card. She thanked him and said, "You didn't have to come find me in person. You could've just had your assistant pass it to me."He looked at her. He couldn't have used it as an excuse to walk her out if he hadn't brought it himself."We're on the same floor, and it was just nearby. That's why I didn't bother my assistant," he explained.In the elevator, Macie's phone rang again. She pulled it out and saw another unfamiliar number on her phone screen. Without hesitation, she added it to the block list. However, another strange number appeared before she could put the phone back in her bag.Her grip on the phone tightened. She blocked the new number and set her phone to silent mode."Is that another telemarketer?" Julian asked. He had been watching her from the corner of his eye.Ma
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