Chapter 5

Her heart raced, and Edward's greeting brought everything back to normal.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked softly.

A nervous Zayyana replied stammeringly, "Emmm.... Edward, as a thank you, how about we have lunch together?" Zayyana expressed her intentions hesitantly. "But if you can't, for fear of your wife getting angry, you can take her too," she continued.

Edward smiled slightly, "Alright, we're leaving now. And there's no need to invite anyone; I'm already divorced from my wife."

Hearing Edward's answer, Zayyana felt guilty. She had forgotten that the affair had damaged Edward and his wife's relationship and Edward's wife's relationship with one of the managers in his company. Her face flushed with shame.

"I'm sorry, Edward; I didn't mean to offend you," Zayyana said, feeling guilty for opening an old wound.

Edward shook his head, indicating that he was not bothered. His smile remained gentle: "It's okay. It's just the past, and it's all in the past. Maybe a new person will make things better."

Zayyana was relieved to hear that. She did not want to make Edward feel uncomfortable with her questions. "Alright, how about we go now?" 

Edward replied with a nod. Then, the two left the office together.

Outside the CEO's office, the staff talked about Edward's divorce and his resignation from the company. They suspected this was due to Edward's wife's affair with their manager, Steve. Edward was considered to have no good fortune due to his poverty. However, their views on Edward changed when they saw Edward's closeness to Zayyana, a woman who was more beautiful than Elizabeth and had a high position, more than anything else.

"It looks like we guessed wrong. Edward did not suffer the terrible fate we spoke of. He lost his silver, but now he's gained his diamonds," said one of the staff members, and his colleagues agreed with him. They looked at Edward and Zayyana walking together with interest.

At the exit, the two met Elizabeth, Edward's ex-wife. She looked at Edward with distaste, especially seeing him so close to another woman.

"Edward?" Elizabeth called out to him in a cold tone.

Edward turned his head, "Yes, what's wrong?"

"What are you doing with her?" asked Elizabeth in a jealous tone while glancing sarcastically at Zayyana.

Hearing Elizabeth's tone, Zayyana felt uncomfortable. However, Edward remained calm in the face of Zayyana.

"Is there something wrong? I don't think so. I'll go with anyone; I don't think it's any of your business."

After saying that, Edward and Zayyana left. However, Elizabeth did not give up so easily.  

"Edward, wait. Is this how you treat me?" Elizabeth asked, looking at Edward in disbelief and trying to stop them.

When Edward heard this, he felt strange. Edward did not understand Elizabeth's words at all. He stopped his steps and turned to face Elizabeth.

"Like this? Like this, how? What do you mean, Miss Elizabeth?" Edward asked calmly yet firmly.

Elizabeth remained silent, not knowing what to say. She had forgotten that she was divorced from Edward, which embarrassed her greatly.

"Why are you silent? Tell me quickly; I don't have much time," Edward urged calmly yet firmly. 

"Did I do something wrong? Did I have an affair? I don't think so. It should be you who should know yourself for the wrong you have done to me. And let's not forget the fact that we're divorced. We no longer have any relationship, and I hope you remember that." 

Edward's question surprised Elizabeth again; she realized she was no longer Edward's wife. Edward's words left her speechless, unable to answer. Her face was flushed with shame and anger.

Edward looked sharply at his ex-wife, "If you want to meet the man you love, I think he's in his study. So go see him and try not to make a scene."

Edward's sarcastic words completely silenced Elizabeth, leaving her speechless. Elizabeth's jealousy intensified as she saw Edward and Zayyana preparing to go together. Her heart burned with the blinding fire of jealousy, but she could do nothing but stare at their departure with piercing eyes.

Steve, who saw this from a distance, was not pleased. He walked towards Elizabeth with a sour face. 

"You sneaky bastard, Edward is such a hypocrite to insult you for having an affair, but he's also doing the same thing behind our backs," Steve growled while pointing at Edward and Zayyana, who were already walking away.

But Elizabeth quickly defused Steve's anger with a fake smile. "Never mind, just ignore them. I don't care about that. As long as I still have you by my side, I have nothing to worry about." 

Even so, his disappointment showed on his gloomy face. His heart could not yet accept that Edward had changed his mind.

Steve scanned Elizabeth's face with a cold gaze, "Why do you look so upset? Is it because of Edward?"

Elizabeth shook her head softly, "Seeing him close to Miss Zayyana makes me uncomfortable. Is he trying to get promoted by getting close to Miss Zayyana?"

Steve smiled sarcastically, "I think so. It looks like he wants to take revenge on us. So we need to be careful, and I need to get her out of the company as quickly as possible. We need to make her suffer even more from being fired from the company."

Elizabeth's eyes flashed with anger. "Yes, you're right. You have to do that. We'll see if he can still smile after this."

"I guess you guys didn't know; Edward just resigned," said a blonde woman who happened to overhear their conversation.

Elizabeth and Steve were shocked to hear the news. They looked at each other, confused and upset. Their plan to get Edward out of the company seemed too late.

"What, resigned?" Elizabeth asked incredulously. She hadn't expected Edward to go that far.

Steve also looked surprised, "Are you sure?" He asked the blonde woman in a probing tone.

The woman nodded firmly, "Of course, if you don't believe me, you can ask the HR department." The blonde woman walked away, leaving Elizabeth and Steve still transfixed.

Elizabeth and Steve looked at each other, still digesting the information they had just heard. Elizabeth's face conveyed deep disappointment, while Steve looked annoyed and frustrated.

"So he decided to resign before we fired him? What a coward!" swore Steve angrily. His fists tightened in anger.

Elizabeth sighed long, "It looks like he's planning to take revenge on us in another way. I didn't expect him to go this far."

"So what should we do now?" Steve asked sarcastically. "He doesn't work here any more; how can we make him suffer?"

Elizabeth paused for a moment, trying to think of a new plan. A sly grin slowly spread across her lips.

"We can still hurt him in other ways," she said menacingly. "As long as he's still in contact with Zayyana, he won't be able to get away from us easily..."