The discussion was filled with malicious speculation, but no one spoke up. Instead, most of them just gossiped out of curiosity.When someone mentioned that Julian had arrived, everyone fell silent.After handing Macie the elevator access card, they had expected him to leave with the other executives. Instead, he pulled out another card from his pocket, stunning everyone.Why did Julian still have an elevator card? Could it be that he didn't give Macie the card? Or was it his backup card?There were many speculations.When Macie reached the lobby and exited the elevator, she planned to take the main entrance. But then she saw two familiar faces near there.Her expression immediately changed, and she quickly pressed the elevator button while using her bag to shield her side profile.It was that obsessive maniac again. It seemed that Edward had tracked her down here. She wondered if he had somehow traced her location through the police investigation.The elevator door opened, and
Clutching the strap of her bag, Macie belatedly realized a few things.Edward had already found out where she worked. She wondered if that meant that he also knew which company hired her.If that were the case, there was no way she could keep it from Julian and the others. With Edward's crazy personality, he would definitely cause a scene.Even though they were divorced and she had made it clear to him last night, he still wouldn't let go. Was he seriously planning to make her suffer for the rest of her life? Or did he expect her to accept her place while serving him and Sharon?As these thoughts raced through her mind, Macie clenched her teeth. Her face was flushed with anger.Was Edward really trying to push her to her breaking point? Was he deliberately making her life miserable here in Williamford?…Edward and Nathan stood on the first floor of the office building for over half an hour. Nathan's eyes were practically bulging out of his head from staring too hard. He fel
The realization that Macie had long planned to divorce and leave him hit Edward hard. His eyes reddened, and a wave of bitterness swept through him.He hadn't noticed a thing. Macie had seemed distant back then, but he'd brushed it off as jealousy over Sharon. It never even occurred to him that she had already given up on their marriage.She'd even brought up divorce back then and said it so calmly and coldly. Why hadn't he paid more attention?Edward thought that he might've saved his marriage if he had seen it coming. Now, all he felt was regret. The signs were clear as day, but he hadn't noticed or paid attention. He was too caught up in thinking he had feelings for Sharon.As the seconds ticked by, he still stood at the entrance of the office building. The night wind had turned cold. His whole body was stiff, and he could barely feel his legs."Mr. Fowler, here's the list of companies registered in this building. There are 23 in total, along with a few independent studios," Na
Edward thought that he could just wait around and get lucky, but he didn't realize Macie had more tricks up her sleeve than he expected.At that hour, there were barely any people around. It wasn't until after 7:00 am that the street slowly began to fill up.At that moment, a woman dressed in a black suit walked out at the subway entrance across the street. Her shoulder-length hair framed her face, and she wore sunglasses and a mask. Her purse was slung over her arm, and her posture was confident. She wore black high heels, and as she walked, she exuded an undeniable presence.It was Macie. She was almost completely disguised and did not show signs of panic or fear, even though she suspected that Edward had sent someone to watch this area.After returning home last night, she contacted Yosef and told him to rein in his grandson and stop letting him interfere with her life. Although he had agreed to her demand, she remained cautious. After all, she knew how shameless and unscr
Inside the car by the curb, Edward stared at the entrance of the commercial building. His left hand gripped the steering wheel tightly. Through clenched teeth, he asked, "Who reported it?""The person didn't leave a name, so I'm not sure," the security guard replied.Edward took a deep breath, then asked again, "Was it a man or a woman?""A woman," the guard answered."Is she young or old?" Edward pressed on."A young one," the guard said.Edward's eyes widened, and a thought immediately crossed his mind—it was Macie.He wondered when she had figured it out and when she had slipped inside the building under his nose. After all, he had been watching everyone who passed by."Can you give me her phone number?" Edward asked the security guard.The guard hesitated at the request and said, "Sorry, sir. But I can't share that information. It was just a mix-up today and didn't cause any real problems. We didn't mean to inconvenience you."He paused, then added, "I'm sure you understa
Julian took out his phone to check his messages. Macie had asked for the company's security number earlier but never said why. He still hadn't heard back from her. She had arrived early that morning, more than an hour ahead of schedule, just to avoid running into him. Sighing quietly, he shook his head.…Macie couldn't focus entirely on her tasks as she worked that morning. She kept thinking of ways to avoid Edward and make her way upstairs. She wasn't ready to talk to Julian yet. She'd only just joined the company, and the last thing she wanted was to let her personal life become office gossip.Macie was already feeling irritated, and things got worse when her team didn't cooperate, causing the project to stall. So she called a quick meeting to set things straight. "I know some of you aren't happy with me being the team leader, thinking that I don't deserve it because I've only just joined the company. But I'm only the interim team lead, and right now, I only want to finish th
Edward was shaken. Macie's cold words echoed in his ears, and he mumbled back in disbelief, "No… That's not what I meant…"Macie snapped, "You've got some nerve saying that. Then again, I guess you've always been full of yourself. You only believe your own version of the story. Even if you killed me, you'd probably say that it was suicide.""I wouldn't have! I never wanted to hurt you!" he yelled. "If you're talking about the time I pushed you, fracturing your bones, I'm sorry. I'll do whatever it takes for you to forgive me. Moving forward, I won't ask you to cook or clean. You can just stay home and—""You actually think I want to go back to that hellhole?" she cut him off coldly.That hit him hard. Panic started to bubble up in Edward's chest. It seemed that she really had no intention of coming back."Are you still mad at me? Look. I swear that it won't happen again! I've already cleared out your room. Sharon's gone," he explained. "What happened that day… I didn't mean to hur
"Have you fallen for someone else? That must be it, right?" Edward couldn't think of any other reason. This was the only explanation that seemed remotely possible."Who is he? Is it that senior of yours? When did you two start hooking up?" His voice rose in a jealous rage, accusations spilling out in a storm. But as soon as the words left his mouth, the memory of his own entanglement with Sharon and how deeply it had hurt Macie slammed into him. In that instant, even he realized that he had no right to be mad at Macie. "Break things off with him right now. I won't hold it against you," he said, attempting to hold it together. "We're even now, so let's not point fingers. Where are you? I'll come get you."On the other end of the line, Macie was so stunned by his audacity that she let out a breathless, exasperated chuckle. "Are you deaf or just stupid? I told you—I'm done. Don't you love Sharon? We're divorced now, so you two can get married. "I wish you both a lifetime of happin
Yosef barked over the phone, "Edward and Macie's divorce isn't even final yet, and you were already rushing to arrange a marriage alliance with the Hart family. Did you seriously think that Edward would thank you for that? Don't give me that 'I did it for his own good' bullshit! You were clearly looking for your own gain!"After being chided by his own father, Bennett's face darkened. Clutching his phone tightly, he shot back, unwilling to back down, "Do you think your precious grandson will forever be grateful to you? You're doing the exact same thing you did to me—forcing him to marry someone he doesn't even like! The only difference is that, at least, my ex-wife came from a reputable family!"Yet, you made him marry an orphan with no notable background and no family to speak of. Careful, or one day he might realize the truth and hate you so much that he won't even show up at your funeral!""Y-You ungrateful little bastard!" Yosef was shaking. He was about to curse at Bennet when
Back when the Hart family tried to propose a marriage alliance to the Fowlers, they found out that Edward was already married. Now, the Fowlers had brought up the idea of an alliance again, claiming that he was already divorced.Diana had always wondered why the marriage hadn't been made public two years ago. The Fowlers were the kind of family that cared about social standing. Would the bride's family really agree to a hidden marriage? But after learning who Edward's ex-wife was, things started to make more sense. She figured that the elders of the Fowler family must have disapproved of the match altogether, so they skipped all the formalities. In the end, their marriage only lasted two years."Either way, Edward's not a good man," Sean added. "Alice said he was violent and that he put his ex-wife in the hospital with fractured bones. Also, do you remember his cheating scandal a while back? He nearly got her killed in a gas leak while trying to pressure her into a divorce."Every
Alice's words stunned Macie. The latter simply looked at Alice. She wondered who had the guts to trash-talk Alice and if it was another heiress from the same social circle."Do you need my help?" Macie asked.Alice shook her head. "It's better if you don't get involved. If you show up…" She paused. "You might get dragged into this, too. Don't worry. I can handle it."If Macie joined her in exchanging insults and Edward showed up mid-argument, he would drop his temper in a heartbeat and start groveling like a puppy. Alice felt gross when she thought about that. It'd be like watching a pig roll around with her prize-winning cabbage.So, she kept going toe-to-toe with that mad dog Edward. She called him out publicly and stirred things up in the socialite group chat. Her goal was to tarnish his reputation and warn the other women before anyone else was fooled by his polished mask and rotten core.That night, Edward's reputation was in ruins. Within their circle of elite families, he
Alice's instincts moved faster than her brain. She grabbed the phone from Macie's hand and smiled wryly. "Don't call back. It might be—"Macie interjected, "It's Nathan, Edward's assistant."Alice froze. Her face shifted through a range of emotions. She turned her head and said guiltily, "You've divorced Edward, right? Don't answer it or call back. It's probably because you blocked him, and now he's using Nathan's phone to contact you."Macie pressed her lips together and didn't respond. She had guessed as much and wasn't planning on returning the call.Alice quickly blocked the number, deleted the call log, and returned the phone to Macie."I already blocked that number. Don't answer calls from anyone related to Edward," she said.Macie nodded and continued to watch the movie. Alice was about to set the phone down when the messages started flooding in. The pinging sound felt like a ticking clock.Those messages were from Edward, and the content of his texts were insults dir
The officer looked at Edward and said, "Mr. Fowler, please mind your tone and choice of words. The other party has already agreed not to press charges."Edward slammed his fist onto the table furiously. "I didn't do anything wrong. Why the hell should Alice forgive me? This is completely messed up.""Ha, stubborn as a mule. How about—" Before Alice could finish, Nathan quickly stepped in and ended the call.He turned to the officer and smiled awkwardly. "Officer, we've provided all the necessary information. The other party has already verbally forgiven us. Can we go now?"The officer glanced at Edward and noticed that the release form hadn't been signed yet. Edward sat there, fuming. He wanted to tear the damn paper in half."Mr. Fowler, please sign it," Nathan urged as he approached him.Edward was seething. He'd never swallowed this kind of humiliation before. But if he didn't sign the document, he couldn't leave. And dragging in his connections would only tip off Yosef—some
"Mr. Fowler broke in illegally tonight, tricked the security, and even threatened me," Alice said.By now, the standoff had been resolved. The police had taken Edward into custody, but he was still cursing at her.She watched as he was led away. She scoffed, then turned to the security guard. "Remember his face. If he ever comes near the building again, call the police."The guard nodded. They were grateful that Alice had noticed in time. If the suspect had attacked Macie, a resident under their care, they would've been legally liable for it.The security team leader stepped forward and spoke to Alice. He tried to persuade her not to report the property management's failure to the authorities.She agreed and didn't give them a hard time. But her agreement was on one condition—that the security guard do not inform Macie about that night's events. Alice would tell Macie later.The security team leader understood. He assured her that the reminder sent to the property group would not
Alice went to the kitchen and told Macie that her brother had shown up. Then, she hurried downstairs. Macie didn't think anything of it.Outside the residential complex, Alice met the guards and police. She helped them to confirm Edward's identity. She also showed them her phone. Then, she explained that Edward had tricked his way inside and that she hadn't realized what he was doing at the time.Edward was ultimately arrested. He shot a vicious glare at Alice, who turned against him. He thought that the Hart brother and sister were a pair of damn troublemakers.Alice stared right back without a hint of fear. Edward was in a mess—his hair was disheveled, and his shirt was wrinkled. There wasn't a trace of that polished CEO image left."Well, well, well," Alice said sneeringly. "Mr. Fowler, breaking into someone's home and lying your way in? I can't wait to see what that does to your reputation."When they heard her address Edward as "Mr. Fowler", the police and security guards
"Sean wants to check in with the security guards to make sure everything's safe," Alice said.Macie quickly slipped off her gloves, grabbed her phone, and searched for the number. Alice took one quick look, memorized the number, then bolted back to her room and securely locked the door.The guard picked up the phone almost immediately. Alice hurriedly said, "There's a man outside the entrance trying to get in. His name is Edward Fowler. You need to stop him now!"He's dangerous and violent. If he gets to Macie Smith, the resident here, he could hurt her. And if that happens, your whole team will be held accountable."Inside the security booth, the guard on the phone glanced outside and shouted, "Is someone named Edward Fowler trying to get in? Stop him! He's a threat to a resident!"The guard at the entrance checked the visitor's log. As expected, it was the same suspicious man from earlier. It turned out that their instinct was right. The guard immediately alerted his compa
Alice texted Edward, "Where are you?"Edward shared his location.When she saw the name of the residential complex where he was, a chill shot down her spine.It turned out that this stalker was outside the entrance. She wondered if he had followed them there earlier. At that thought, she determined that it was because she'd let her guard down.Alice stole another glance across from her, only to lock eyes with Macie."What's wrong?" Macie asked when she noticed the sudden change in her friend's expression."It's nothing," Alice responded, smiling. "It's just my brother being annoying again."Macie nodded. Casually, Alice asked, "Is the security in this residential complex good? Strangers can't just walk in, right?"Macie thought that Alice's brother was overprotective, so she answered, "It's pretty tight. Security's on duty 24/7. No outsiders can get through unless a resident personally led them in."Alice was relieved to hear that. She figured that Edward was probably stuck at