Yulia had been waiting for Pierce to reach out to her first, but there was still not a single sign from him even after waiting for a few days.She had not expected Pierce to have so much patience. Was he playing hard to get?Every day, Yulia waited for Pierce in the lobby on the first floor, wanting to see him one more time. Because of that, she came in late for work, but no one said anything about it.However, what was disappointing was that she never succeeded in meeting Pierce—not even once. Little did she know that Pierce's car was parked in a designated location and he took the elevator, so he never passed through the first floor at all.Instead of running into Pierce, Yulia ran into Millie.When she saw Millie coming, she instinctively tried to put her best foot forward. She intentionally walked toward her and then pretended to bump into her, spilling the coffee she was holding onto Millie."I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that," she apologized.Millie glance
"Are you all done with your work? Why are you slacking off during working hours? "Yulia, your proposal is terrible. Fix it!" It was Isabella. She just could not stand the arrogant look on Yulia's face.Yulia pouted, but she didn't dare get on Isabella's nerves. After all, she was the top performer in the sales department.When she got the chance to see Pierce, she was definitely going to talk about how Isabella was bullying her.When Isabella walked away, someone immediately took the proposal from Yulia. "I've done something similar before. Let me do it. It won't take me too much effort anyway.""Thank you so much.""Yulia, I bought an extra cup of coffee. Here you go.""Thanks, Wady."So, Yulia sat leisurely at her workstation. The only eyesore was that paper bag. If only it was really Pierce who'd sent it.…Besides getting her clothes dirtied, Millie's body was also sticky, so she decided to take a shower.Once she was done, she got out of the shower wrapped in just a
Millie couldn't help but share with Pierce who she'd met earlier on."Who?" Pierce asked."Do you still remember the young lady who tried to hit on you while we were waiting in line to buy cake last time? She's currently working at Atkinson Group—as a permanent employee, no less! She's probably been working here for a while."Since interns had a three-month probation period, Yulia must have worked for the company for quite some time now if she was already a permanent employee. "Really?" Pierce didn't know this, but neither did he care about it. He simply continued, "By the way, I have something to tell you too. I met her not long ago—she was being forced to work at a nightclub. Apparently, her family was declared bankrupt, and loan sharks were looking for her to collect debt."When I saw her, I couldn't help but think of you. If I had not been sent on a mission and stayed at Arbelton back then, maybe you wouldn't have been forced to a dead end. And in turn, maybe you wouldn't hav
When Yulia tried returning the cleaned clothes, she ran into Tobias downstairs. "Mr. Shaw," she greeted."Who are you?" Tobias didn't even remember Yulia."We met before at the CEO's office.""Oh, I remember you now. Is there something you need?" Tobias curiously looked at Yulia.Yulia showed him the bag in her hand. "Is Mrs. Atkinson coming in today? I accidentally stained her clothes last time, so she told me to have them dry cleaned. They're cleaned now, so I wanted to return them to her. "If she's not here, I can hand them over to Mr. Atkinson instead.""Give the clothes to me then. I'll handle it." Tobias extended his hand.However, Yulia shook her head. "These clothes are very expensive. It's better for me to return them in person. It's going to be troublesome in case something goes missing."Women's clothing tended to have accessories, and some were not cheap either.Tobias was not Millie, so naturally, he didn't know what the clothes originally looked like. If somet
Millie had the distinct feeling that Yulia and her colleague were talking about her, but she had no proof. All she could see were their furtive glances.She became annoyed by their persistent glances and said, "If you two have something to say, why don't you say it out loud? Are you gossiping about me?""Of course not! I have no idea why you'd say that, Mrs. Atkinson," Yulia replied with a smile."You better not be lying."Yulia and her colleague left the elevator when they reached their floor, leaving Millie standing there with a frown.Millie just couldn't bring herself to like Yulia. It led to her pondering whether she should just fire Yulia. That way, she wouldn't have to see her every time she visited Atkinson Group.The strange thing was that Millie had never seen Yulia before when she was still working here. But now, she ran into Yulia almost every single time she came to Atkinson Group.In the end, Millie made up her mind to just fire Yulia.Instead of heading to the CE
While some people chose to stay away from Yulia to avoid getting into trouble, there were still a few who sided with her. Then again, these people were just going to use her as a stepping stone to climb the corporate ladder with less effort."You're firing me? What did I even do wrong?" Yulia confronted the HR Department."The case that you messed up here has cost Atkinson Group millions of dollars. This big of a screw-up is enough to get you fired."Even if Yulia filed for labor arbitration, she would not receive any compensation. But of course, she couldn't be bothered by that small amount of money anyway. As long as she managed to keep her job in Atkinson Group, she would still be working under Pierce's leadership and was bound to see him again eventually. Unfortunately, she was about to leave the company for good. Now how was she supposed to see Pierce again?"I have to go find Mr. Reyes," she said.However, when she came to Carlos' office, he seemed to be in a gloomy
After that, Millie went upstairs to look for Pierce and told him the story of her firing Carlos and Yulia."Okay," Pierce nonchalantly said. He didn't even look up once, and his tone sounded very calm as well."I've been laying off employees without your consent. Don't you have anything to say about that?"Pierce laughed after hearing what Millie said. "You're my wife, so you also have a say in Atkinson Group. You're just exercising your authority, so why would I say anything about it? I know you're not a reckless person. If you fired them, you must have had your own reasonings." Pierce didn't even question why Millie had fired two employees or the reason behind their layoffs.What's done was already done. He couldn't care less about the two employees who got fired."Does this mean that I can do whatever I want as long as I'm here?" Millie asked."Of course! Whatever I own is also yours. I'll even let you sit on my lap if you want." Pierce sounded exactly like a king back in th
"Ms. Shaw, if you don't leave now, someone will have to escort you out," Tobias said.So, Yulia slunk downstairs in embarrassment. She even got to see Tobias harshly reprimanding the receptionist."Are you out of your mind? How dare you bring just anyone to the CEO's office? You're fired!" Tobias sternly said.The receptionist argued, "But, Mr. Shaw, this isn't my fault. She's someone Mr. Atkinson seems take special care of—""That was nothing more than a few minor favors. You failed to do your job properly, so don't make excuses. Pack your things and leave," Tobias stated indifferently.The receptionist felt deeply wronged, and her gaze toward Yulia turned resentful.Yulia didn't understand where things had gone wrong. Pierce had seemed to be so concerned about her previously, so why was he being so cold to her now? Had Millie discovered something? Was that why he wanted to cut ties with her completely?Feeling lost and dejected, Yulia left the company, only to run into Carlo
Millie gently closed the box.Suddenly, a single tear slipped down, landing silently on the surface. Only then did Millie realize that she had been crying. She wasn't sure if she was mourning the love she once had or if her tears were for something else entirely.No wonder Pierce had told her to look at it in private. He didn't want to see her shedding tears for another man."It's all in the past. Why send this now?" Millie murmured.She wiped away her tears and picked up her phone. "Tobias, do me a favor. Auction something for me. Donate every last cent of the proceeds to charity. Not a single penny should be kept."She then ended the call and looked at the small box again. At least this way, it would be put to good use…Afterward, Millie headed to the study to check on Pierce. He watched her closely, his deep eyes unreadable.Millie pretended not to notice and said, "You keep working. I'm just going to sketch for a while."Pierce pressed his lips together as if he wante
Millie followed Pierce back home. As she stepped into the familiar space that belonged to just the two of them, her heart felt heavy with emotions.It had been two months since she had last been here, yet everything remained unchanged. Even the wardrobe had been stocked with new seasonal outfits.In those two months, Millie had lost a lot of weight. So, Pierce instructed the kitchen to prepare nourishing meals for her. He was determined to bring her back to full health.Pierce remained bedridden for another half month before he could finally use a cane to walk around a bit. His right leg was still severely injured, and every step sent searing pain through his body, making his face go pale and his forehead damp with cold sweat.Millie couldn't bear to watch him suffer and urged him to rest. But Pierce was stubborn and walked until his legs trembled, and he could no longer stand. Only then would he sit down."Does it hurt?" Millie worriedly asked."It doesn't. I just need to pr
With that, Millie turned around and left without hesitation. But just as she was about to step out of the room, Stefan's voice called out behind her once more, "Millie, I owe you an apology for everything. I never really said it before. It's late… but at least I'm finally saying it. "Millie, I'm sorry. I was the one in the wrong." Stefan's voice was soft, weakened by his injuries. It sounded as though those few words had drained all the strength from his body.Millie's body stiffened, and her hands were tightly clenched into fists at her sides.Stefan was apologizing at long last.Millie wanted to turn around to see if he was truly sincere or if this was just another one of his manipulations. However, she held herself back. Unimportant people didn't deserve even a second glance.Millie didn't say anything. She didn't say whether she would or would not forgive him. She just walked away.Stefan's face turned even paler. He knew that after everything he had done, he would never
Millie didn't want to see Pierce struggling alone, bottling up all his pain like a wounded lion licking its wounds in solitude.Upon hearing her words, Pierce simply tightened his embrace around her. "Mills… I'm scared…""I know. I understand," Millie whispered, gently patting his back."I'm afraid I won't be able to lift you anymore, and I'm afraid I won't be able to run or jump. I'm scared I won't be able to fight the bad guys and protect you anymore." Pierce's voice was soft and barely above a whisper. His sorrow was almost imperceptible, but it could be because he still hadn't fully released his emotions.Millie started, "You still have me. If you can't carry me, then don't. If you can't run fast or jump high, then I'll slow down and walk beside you. I can be your crutch and your support for a lifetime, okay?"And listen, Pierce, you may not be able to fight on the front lines anymore, but you're still there in spirit. We can move to the back lines to provide funding and strat
Pierce didn't tell Millie everything—such as the fact that Stefan had initially wanted to kill him. He spared Stefan some dignity, not wanting Millie to hate him forever.Millie stayed in the hospital to care for Pierce for two days when there was finally a change in Stefan's condition.Before he even regained consciousness, he was already calling her name. Robin anxiously rushed in to find Millie, and she hurried over."The patient's wound has gotten infected, leading to complications. We need to start emergency treatment immediately!""How could this have happened? Wasn't he supposed to wake up?" Robin was beside himself with worry."Millie… Millie…" Even in his fevered delirium, Stefan kept murmuring her name.Millie went over to him. His hand, which had been weakly grasping at the air, finally caught hold of something—her fingers. He clung to her tightly."I'm here, Stefan," she softly uttered.It was as if her words held some kind of magic, as Stefan immediately calmed d
Every word Pierce spoke was firm and impactful. Each word hammered on Stefan's heart mercilessly.Pierce owned up to his mistakes. But what about him? Could he do the same?All this while, he had been shifting the blame to everyone else. He blamed Pierce for stealing Millie away. Then, he blamed Millie for not forgiving him. He even blamed Wanda for seducing him, and the list went on…He had blamed so many people, holding onto their faults while conveniently brushing aside his own. When it came to himself, he always found a way to justify his actions. He completely ignored that he was the true cause of everything.Stefan's grip on Pierce's collar loosened. He took a few steps back in a daze and stumbled on his own feet, causing him to nearly fall to the ground."Those criminals… They're planning to strike again. I agreed to help them," Stefan said."Why are you telling me this?" Pierce responded."She said… She said that if you died, she wouldn't live either." Stefan's voice was
Millie gave Pierce a profound look that contained a myriad of emotions. Pierce could have been selfish and not tell her any of Stefan's good deeds. He could've even stopped her from visiting Stefan. Yet, he didn't do that.After giving Pierce one heavy nod, Millie went over to the adjacent hospital room.Stefan was seriously injured too. His health wasn't as good as Pierce's to begin with, so he still hadn't woken up yet.Robin was in his room, sitting beside him. He kept silently wiping away tears at one side."This is my only nephew. If anything were to happen to him, how would I face his late parents?" Robin mournfully said."Does Grandma know about this?" Millie inquired."I don't have the heart to tell Mom about this. She's old and frail. I don't want her to have a breakdown," Robin replied."I'll keep him company, Robin," Millie said.Robin hesitated for a moment and ultimately nodded. He believed that Stefan would want to see Millie upon waking up. So, Millie staye
"Don't move around. You're still very weak. The doctor said to give you some oatmeal porridge when you wake up. Your digestive system is still quite weak, so you need to eat something that goes down easily."A familiar voice sounded in Millie's ears."G-Grandpa? Why are you here? Where's Pierce? Pierce? Pierce…" After a moment of silence, Millie mumbled, "I forgot… Pierce is dead. Not even his body remains.""What nonsense are you speaking, child? Isn't he lying right beside you?" Bill interjected.Millie visibly froze for a second. Then, she whipped her head around to look. As Bill had said, Pierce was indeed right beside her. Layers of gauze were wrapped around his body, and he seemed to be heavily injured. However, his vital signs were steady, and his heartbeat was rhythmic—he was no longer in a critical condition."Pierce…" Millie tumbled out of bed without a care for the pain in her limbs.Bill quickly went over to support her and combined their beds together."H-How is t
Millie broke down emotionally. She was done with Stefan's constant self-righteous justification. He always blamed everyone else and deemed himself free of any wrongdoing. He acted as if the whole world had wronged him, while he had never wronged anyone.He painted himself as the pitiful and innocent victim, twisting logic to justify everything he did.Millie was done acting her part. She would let things play out however they should. There was no longer anything tying her to this world. If anything happened to Pierce, she wouldn't live either. Just the thought of being imprisoned by Stefan for three years was worse than death.And so, she locked herself in her room and refused to come out. Every day, the housekeepers delivered her meals. She had no appetite but still ate well.Millie also no longer cared whether Stefan had drugged her food or not. If she turned into a mindless lunatic, maybe that would be better than this painful clarity.…Days passed one after another.One