Chapter 3

A pin-drop silence filled the air. It was scarily tense. Although Kathryn was standing with her back straight, her heart felt as if it were in turmoil.

Chris' dangerous gaze landed on Kathryn's poker face. "What do you mean by 'probably'?" he asked.

Kathryn was rendered speechless. It was all over. Chris hated answers riddled with uncertainties.

She lowered her head. "After I walked you back to your room last night, no one else went in," she said firmly through gritted teeth. She made sure to sound absolutely certain and didn't leave any room for doubt.

Silence ensued. Kathryn couldn't help but lament over how long every second that passed felt. Even so, she had to persevere. If Chris found out that she was lying, not only would her own future be ruined, but Tally would end up getting dragged through the mud as well.

Kathyrn had already settled comfortably in Harborlean. If things didn't work out for her here, her life would be miserable.

Sweat soaked Kathryn's back as time passed. Eventually, Chris said, "I see."

Kathryn shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "Does this mean I'm finally out of the woods?" she thought to herself.

"Get me Ocean Group's bidding proposal," Chris demanded in a deep voice.

Seeing that the man had shifted his focus back to work, Kathryn's heart calmed down. She nodded and replied, "Yes, sir."

And so, the two spent the next month traveling for business. Kathryn deliberately avoided any close contact with Chris. They returned to Harborlean after spending a month abroad.

They would usually take a two-day vacation after long business trips, but this time, Chris had an urgent meeting to attend at the company.

After the meeting was over, Markus Hunt approached Chris. "Sir." He greeted Chris.

Upon seeing him, Chris instinctively frowned. "Where's Kathryn?"

"Have you forgotten? She always takes some days off after a long business trip. She's been away for a month this time. Ms. Michaels probably went to visit her boyfriend," Markus replied.

Coldness flashed in Chris' eyes for a moment, but he quickly regained his calm composure. Markus sensed an odd tension in the room and felt somewhat puzzled.

Meanwhile, in the company-owned apartment, Tally leaned close to Kathryn's ear and asked, "Did Mr. Albert do anything to you afterward?"

Kathryn was startled when Tally suddenly brought up the incident from a month ago. She quickly glanced over at the doors to the other two rooms that were shut.

"Don't worry, everyone's left. It's just the two of us here," Tally said.

Kathryn breathed a sigh of relief. She'd barely managed to fool Chris that day. Even though a month had already passed, she couldn't help but feel her heart racing from fear when Tally mentioned what happened.

Thinking about the dark expression Chris had sported that day, Kathryn thought, "Mr. Albert probably hoped that he hadn't been with a woman that night."

Perhaps the questions that followed up were just so that Chris could make sure. It was likely that he didn't care much about the matter. With that thought in mind, Kathryn's tense nerves finally relaxed.

Tally nodded. "That's good news, then. Women who tried to pursue Mr. Albert over the years ended up miserable after all. Sleeping with him just screams bad news."

"I know that already. Alright, let's not bring it up again. I need to drop by the bank." Kathryn didn't want to dwell on what had happened anymore.

Upon hearing that Kathryn was going to the bank again, Tally instantly felt sorry for her. "Isn't your younger brother working as an intern somewhere? Is he still asking you for an allowance?"

Kathryn had already picked up her bag and walked to the entrance at that point. As she put on her shoes, she explained, "He hasn't found a suitable job yet. He called me several times when I was away on the business trip."

Kathryn's father had passed away when she was five. She was the middle child in the family and had an older sister and a younger brother.

Her sister was already married and had established her own business. Meanwhile, her brother was in his internship semester at college and was half a year away from graduating. Once he graduated, Kathryn and her sister could finally rest easy.

When Tally heard that Kathryn's brother had called to pester her several times, she looked disgruntled. "I honestly think that your mother spoils him too much. She didn't even help you out with your school fees when you were in school. Your brother's already three months into his internship semester, yet he hasn't even found a job yet? Is it possible that he's aiming higher than he can reach?"

Whenever her mother was mentioned, coldness flashed in Kathryn's eyes. She didn't want to talk about it anymore. She turned toward Tally and asked, "Are you coming with me?"

"No, but remember to buy me some food when you get back," Tally replied.

Kathryn nodded. "Okay." With that, she walked out of the apartment.

The sun shone brightly outside, but Kathryn still felt a chill spread through her entire body. Since her grandmother passed away all those years ago, she'd never felt warmth.

Her phone vibrated furiously in her bag. She took it out and saw that it was a call from her younger brother, Maxwell Gavin. She declined the call, feeling annoyed. But as soon as she declined the call, her phone rang again.

Kathryn answered it right away and barked out in annoyance, "How do you have the time to even call me this much? If you have so much time on your hands, you should've already interviewed with several companies and gotten a job by now!"