جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 198

♥༺Esther༻♥ Before I could even open my mouth to explain what had really gone down, Ace beat me to it. Still sitting on the floor, he rubbed the back of his neck and forced out a pained smile while he looked up at Jefferey.“Sir, I was only trying to welcome the new girl since we went to the same college. She suddenly kicked me in the groin.” The lie hit me so hard that every bit of color drained from my face. My heart started pounding against my ribs like it was trying to escape. “No, that’s not—” He cut me off before I could finish the sentence. “You can ask everyone here, sir. They all saw it.” I looked around the conference room, and every single manager avoided my eyes. Some looked uncomfortable, others looked like they just didn’t want to get involved, and my stomach twisted into tight knots.I had never been in a situation like this before. Being falsely accused in front of an entire room full of executives was terrifying, and I didn’t even know where to begin defending myse

♥༺Esther༻♥ My heart dropped straight to my stomach the second those words left my brother’s mouth. I had known this was coming.I glanced at Mom and Dad. Both of them wore the same helpless smiles, almost as if they wanted to stop my brothers but already knew it would be completely pointless.I hurried toward my younger brothers, ready to beg them to forget the whole thing, but before I could get a single word out Jefferey calmly stepped forward. His confidence immediately caught everyone’s attention. “It’s our first time meeting,” he pointed out, his eyes moving across my brothers one by one. “Yet the first thing you do is challenge me to a fight.”There wasn’t the slightest hint of fear in his voice. Instead, he smiled politely. “I understand. That’s where you’re strongest. But what happens if I bring you into my world instead?” The room fell silent while Jefferey continued without missing a beat. “Why don’t we talk about stocks? Or discuss ways to expand both your family busines

♥༺Giselle༻♥ Joseph frowned as he pulled away from me. “Why is she calling me?” He sounded genuinely confused. Without wasting another second, he swiped across the screen, turned on the speaker, and answered. “Mr. Macmillan…” Annie’s voice trembled so badly that I immediately sat up straighter. She sounded terrified. Joseph’s expression instantly became serious. “Annie, what’s going on? You know you aren’t supposed to—” She cut him off before he could finish. “It’s Ken!” Her breathing came fast and uneven. “Did you tell him where I am? I went out to buy baby clothes, and the second I walked out of the store I ran into him. I’ve been hiding in the women’s restroom, but I know he isn’t going to leave.”A frightened sob escaped her. “Mr. Macmillan, please. You have to send someone to help me.” Hearing the fear in her voice made my chest tighten, and at the same time guilt washed over me. Only moments ago, I’d wondered if Joseph was having any kind of romantic relationship with Annie.

♥༺Annie༻♥ Ten years ago Ken walked back into my life like a storm that had finally decided to settle.He had proven over and over that the man standing in front of me was different, staying right by my side through those last hard months of pregnancy, putting every bit of his New York business on hold just so he could remain in Mexico with me, yet the memory of the version who once threatened to end me never fully left.I had seen both faces of him, lived through the tender careful one and the cold merciless one, and the question that kept looping in my head was simple: how was I ever supposed to trust that the darkness wouldn’t crawl back out one day? So we stayed friends. After Kayla came into the world, Ken and even his parents kept gently pushing for marriage, but I poured every ounce of myself into the Mexico branch of Joseph’s company instead.I had clawed too hard and too long to build something that belonged only to me, and the idea of going back to working under Ken felt lik