ELLIOT'S POVThe automated door leading to the marketing department slid open as I marched fiercely into the open office space. The various workers froze on the spot at their various points of duty. None of them bothered to greet me as usual, because they could sense from my vicious-looking countenance that I was in no mood for such. They were used to it, though, and right then, many of them could tell that an unlucky staff member was in trouble, and I could almost hear them silently praying to not be the victim.The only person who still dared to approach me was Olivia."Darling, you have come to flatter us again with your presence. What may you do for you, sir?”"Stand aside now.” I snapped.“But horn..”“I said stand aside this minute.” The tone of my voice rose higher and harsher.She fidgeted and stood aside, looking humbled.It was the first time I would speak to her in the presence of the staff in that manner, but I care less.“Where is Anderson?” I barked, even though I alread

Sophie's POVJoseph went back into the car to wait for us while Carter and I shared a hug. During the hug, I could feel Carter's arm tighten around me a bit, so I patted his shoulder to signal that it was enough. He immediately got the message and loosened his grip, breaking off the hug.I took some steps backward and straightened my dress. My eyes instantly caught the curious gaze of Owen and his siblings; they blushed at once and looked away. From their body language, they must have assumed that Carter and I had something together in the past, which wasn't exactly the case. Just like Lucas, Carter was also a former classmate. However, unlike Lucas, Carter had openly declared affection for me when we were teenagers. He had even asked me out before Adam. During our final term, he had offered to be my prom date, but I declined because of my father, who banned myself and Olivia from engaging in school parties. Father nicknamed Prom Night Lucifer's sex feast. However, Olivia would secre

SOPHIE'S POVIt was about 4 in the morning; I had woken up about three hours earlier to work on the last phase of my ongoing research. I was having a hard time concentrating; my mind kept going back to days ago and my surprise encounters with Adam. But I had promised myself not to grant him much space in my heart ever again.I slept late yesterday on the same office project, dozing on and off, fighting off the urge to think and the urge to sleep all at once. Even when I later succumbed to sleep, I had only been able to sleep for about four hours.Now in my office, I was back to the same research, which had to do with discrepancies I noticed in the financial data for the month of March. My trace led me back to the same marketing department alongside another department this time around, which was the sales department. Apparently, these new yet-to-be identified culprits of mine have also been selling Harrington's customer data records, among others, to external agents, making the company

ELLIOT'S POVI looked up from where I was sitting with a stupefied expression plastered on my face. Gerald was still standing by my desk. After he made the announcement about Sophie and her new date, Carter, my shoulders suddenly shrank."The kids really mentioned that there was someone like that. But I thought they had said he was only an old friend."I thought to myself, taking on a demeanor that screamed of defeat."Sir, are you still waiting for the other members of staff like you said?" Gerald asked when he noticed I had become silent for too long.I looked up at him tiredly. "Just go; I'll join you," I ordered, swinging my hands flimsily.“Alright, sir.”He curtsied and breezed out.I supported my jaw with one of my hands, thinking about what I was supposed to do next. This coming Sunday, Father had fixed a meeting between just the both of us. He was certainly going to ask questions about the date I informed him about the last time he came, and when he did, I wondered what in th

SOPHIE'S POVI stood near the fridge, pouring myself a glass of orange juice. It was quite late into the night—about some minutes past 11 p.m.—and my kids were already fast asleep in their room. Tomorrow was a work day, yet I still couldn't bring myself to fall asleep. My laptop lay half shut on the sitting room center table, flashing a glimpse of my Polar Bear screensaver.I have been working for about four hours since Carter left and have even made considerable progress on the project I started some days ago, particularly the aspect relating to unveiling those behind the illegal sale of company data records to competitors.I had taken a break to get some juice, and immediately I noticed I was beginning to lose concentration. For some reason, I had been really trying hard not to reminisce too much about the very dramatic day that had just passed. But even now, after I had gotten the drink, the suspended memories still had not gone away, especially with the kids asleep and the whole h