"Do you have nothing to do?" asked Caroline.Her sudden appearance successfully stopped the crowd from continuing their gossip about Cheryl. All the staff members lowered their heads and continued working. Caroline gazed in the direction of Cheryl's office. She averted her gaze a bit later and returned to her own office. …In Cheryl's office, Aiden sat with a glass of water in one hand. He thought of himself as a person who could talk endlessly to just about anyone for hours. But now he didn't know what he should say as he sat in front of his daughter. The one thing he felt strongly about was that he owed her a lot for the past 20 years. Eventually, he broke the silence and asked, "What do you think of the matter that we discussed yesterday?"Cheryl looked at him calmly. She was very much at peace with herself now that she had accepted her fate. "I've made my decision. I'll keep my promise to return to your family," she said. Keeping her promise … Aiden's smile faltered
The person on the other end of the line was Kirk. It came as a surprise to Cheryl, making her freeze. She wondered if she had picked up the wrong phone. After all, Kirk had never called her before this. "Cheryl? Are you listening?" he asked. There was no mistaking that voice. Cheryl was sure that she hadn't gotten it wrong. Kirk called her using Jack's phone. "U-Um, is something the matter?""Aiden went to see you, right? Have you decided to return to the Hackett family?" he asked. It was no surprise that Kirk had learned of this, so Cheryl replied, "Yes. Is there something you need me to do?" This thought automatically popped into her mind, and she voiced it out right away. The corners of Kirk's mouth tilted upward at her question. "They must've said that they wanted to host a banquet for you, right?" Cheryl couldn't help but admire Kirk for his foresight.She said, "Yeah. They intend to do just that, but I'm against it. I'm not close to anyone in the family, and
What was Kirk trying to do?"What else did he ask you to do?" asked Caroline, pressing one hand against her chest. She had a bad feeling about this. "Nothing." Cheryl shook her head. After a moment of silence, she asked, "Caroline, was I wrong to agree to his request?"Caroline's mind was a jumbled mess now, but she held on to the edge of the table and said, "I'm sure he has his reasons for asking you to do that. But he won't tell me why, even if I ask him.""Well then …""Just do what he says," Caroline said. "Tell me if he contacts you again." "Okay," said Cheryl. "I'll head back to my office then." "Go ahead."After Cheryl left, Caroline took her phone and stared at it for a long, long time. She resisted the urge to call Kirk and ask him what he was trying to do. …After concluding the discussion about the banquet, Aiden brought up the matter of Cheryl's resignation. "Cheryl, I know that you and Caroline are close," he started. "But you're a Hackett. It'll be wei
The distance from the elevator to Caroline's office was short, but it took Cheryl five whole minutes to get there. When she finally placed her hand on the doorknob, she was so overwhelmed with emotions that she was on the verge of breaking down. "Is that you, Cheryl?" Caroline heard someone outside and raised her head to look at the door. Cheryl recomposed herself, straightened her back, and replied, "Yes."Caroline's assistant, who had just finished preparing coffee and was standing by the door, looked at Cheryl with puzzled eyes. Cheryl stood stock-still at the door without moving an inch. She glanced at the cup of coffee, which had steam rising from it. "Give it to me," said Cheryl. The assistant stared at Cheryl in confusion for a brief moment before handing her the tray. After picking it up, Cheryl walked into Caroline's office. "Caroline," she said as she placed the coffee on Caroline's table. "I remember preparing coffee for you when we worked at Thorne Corp be
Cheryl looked at Caroline with a meaningful glance again. She began to tear up once more, so she hastily said, "Um … I won't delay you from working any longer. Bye.""Okay. Let me see you off," said Caroline. "Don't." Cheryl shook her head lightly. "I want to leave the company like I always do, like I'm getting off work on a normal day. As if I'll still come back here tomorrow after I clock out today." Caroline's face fell. A while later, she said, "Okay. Go ahead." Cheryl got out of the office and walked to the elevator as usual. She went downstairs and headed to the punch clock. She clocked out, placed the card aside, and left. The rays of the setting sun shone on her when she stepped out of the building, but she felt no warmth from them. The next instant, she saw the car parked in front of the building. The person standing beside the car was none other than Jack. "Tired, huh?" Jack reached out one hand to her as he approached her. Cheryl stared at him for some time
Cheryl laughed. "You're so childish!" she teased. Despite her words, she stuck out her little finger and made a pinky promise to Jack. When their thumbs pressed against each other, she suddenly thought that maybe the future wouldn't be that bad after all. At the very least, she would always have Jack. …Caroline sat in Cheryl's office until it was time to get off work. Her assistant entered the room and asked, "Ms. Evans, Ms. Hackett's resigned. Should we tidy up the place for the next—""That's not necessary. Just clear out another office when the new one comes. We'll keep this office as is." "Wouldn't it be a waste, though?" the assistant asked gingerly. "Are you saying that I don't have the power to decide how a room should be left now?" Caroline snapped. The assistant paled. "N-No! That's not what I meant. I'll go and tell the cleaners about this then." That said, she walked out of the room in haste. Since Caroline wasn't in a good mood right now, the best optio
"I heard that the Hacketts are going to hold a banquet for Cheryl to welcome her back home. It's said to be held in three days' time. Is it true?""Of course it is! I heard that all the members of the big four families have received invitations for the banquet.""Hackett Group and Evans Group were enemies before this. Will Caroline attend it?""She probably will. Didn't Cheryl work at Evans Group before this? Besides, the Hacketts have promised that they won't make things tough for Evans Group anymore." "Who knows? We'll get our answers on the day of the banquet." …At the Hacketts' residence, Cheryl was occupied with checking the invitations."Have we sent one to Eddy Morrison?" she asked. One day ago, Kirk had called her and specifically asked her to make sure that Eddy would attend the banquet. Although she wasn't sure what Kirk was up to, she knew that he wanted to teach Eddy a lesson. The maid in charge of the invites replied, "We sent it to him a couple of days ago
At Morrison Manor, Simon knocked on the door and entered the room. "Mr. Morrison, Mr. Eddy, the Hacketts called us again. They're asking if Mr. Eddy will attend the banquet for Ms. Cheryl." Eddy scoffed. "They called us again? Weren't they rude enough to stop working with us all of a sudden?" Thomas said, "It's always been nothing more than mutual cooperation between us and the Hacketts. But they betrayed us by chickening out so suddenly."He continued, "If we attend their banquet, it will only seem like we're the ones who fear them. I don't think you should attend it this time." "Why not?" Eddy didn't agree. "The Hacketts must have invited Caroline. This is a golden opportunity for me to see her. Why shouldn't I attend it?" This made Thomas frown in displeasure. "Eddy, didn't I tell you to let go of her? It does you no good to keep on thinking about her." "You want me to give up on her just like this? No. I want to tell her in person that the man she loves is a coward who w