Alice wanted to check Macie's injuries, but the latter stopped her, saying that it was nothing serious.Instead, Alice hugged her again, but gently this time. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were hurt. I just got too excited after not seeing you for two years.""I should've told you earlier. I didn't want you to worry. I missed you too," Macie said.Reunited after so long, they walked through the shopping district hand in hand. Macie needed new clothes, and Alice helped her pick out several professional outfits for work."Get a few casual dresses too—something fresh and elegant, like your style," Alice suggested, handing her a few more pieces.Macie looked at the different styles of clothing. Over the past two years, she had barely dressed up, always wearing plain T-shirts and long pants as a housekeeper.When she first married Edward, she used to wear beautiful clothes, wanting to show him her best self. But all she received in return was a cold remark. "You look like a streetwalk
"I'm not forcing you. Just tell me when you're ready," Alice said before sighing."Okay," Macie replied, her smile faint.After purchasing all the clothes that fit, they moved on to picking out high heels before finally stepping into a hair salon."Cut my hair shorter—just to my collarbone," Macie instructed as she sat in front of the mirror.The stylist nodded and began trimming while Macie stared at her reflection. She really did look lifeless, drained of any energy or vitality. But she had left Edward. So, wasn't she supposed to start living well? She had escaped the cage and was never going to go back.A small smile tugged at her lips. She would take her time and heal—piece by piece."Don't just chop it off in one go. Give her layers, curl the ends outward, and add some volume at the crown," Alice directed the stylist.Two hours later, Alice admired Macie's new look. "Not bad at all. It's like a brand-new you. Just apply some makeup for work, and you're all set."Macie ra
It would be a disaster for Nathan if Macie answered his call and blocked Edward's number.Nathan stole another glance at Edward, feeling the suffocating tension in the air.Edward's demeanor was dark and brooding, causing Nathan to sense that his life might be in danger."Sorry, the number you dialed is unavailable. Please try again later." The mechanical voice echoed again. Edward froze while Nathan was grateful for the situation."Try calling again," Edward ordered.Nathan redialed several times, but the response was always the same.Edward let out a soft chuckle. "So, she treats everyone the same, huh?"Just like that, the anger he had been brewing faded away, his mood inexplicably lighter, though he wasn't quite sure why."Forget it. You can go. She's blocked you, too," Edward said.Nathan blinked in confusion, then glanced down at his phone. He finally understood that Edward was mad that Macie had blocked him."Mr. Fowler, this might not necessarily mean that you were
Nathan fell silent. He wondered if he had just wasted his breath as it seemed like Edward still didn't believe him.Inside the elevator, Edward's expression remained dark.He didn't think it mattered that Macie had explained to Nathan back then. After all, she hadn't said it directly to him. Instead, she had told Nathan not to tell him.Edward felt that Macie could have just called him and cleared the situation up herself if she genuinely thought that he had wronged her.He had already given her multiple chances to step down from her stubbornness. Would it kill her to take the initiative even once?Frustrated, Edward drove to the restaurant where he had made a reservation.Sharon had arrived early and was flipping through the menu.Although they had argued in the morning, Edward had agreed to have lunch with her without much hesitation.Sharon took it as a sign that they had no significant issues. She believed that if she kept pushing, she would reignite the love he once had fo
As Macie listened to Julian speak, she felt genuinely happy for him. His long-time dream had finally come true."Speaking of which, I have to thank Macie. She was the one who secured a ten-million-dollar angel investment back then," Julian said, looking at her."May, that's amazing! Why didn't you ever mention it?" Alice exclaimed in surprise."It's because she left to go abroad right after securing the investor. I was deeply touched and even wanted to make her a shareholder, but she disappeared so suddenly." Julian sighed.Macie's mind drifted back to two years ago when she heard this. At that time, she had planned to start a business with Julian. But then fate had dangled another opportunity in front of her—one she had foolishly taken. She had abandoned her career for love, only to become a caged housekeeper."Angel investment? May, how did you end up as a shareholder? Do you get dividends, too?" Alice asked, catching onto the crucial detail."Later, the angel investment turned
At the restaurant's entrance, Edward confirmed his reservation, and the waiter led him to his table. As he walked, he absentmindedly turned his head, scanning the room. His steps briefly faltered.His gaze locked onto a woman at a nearby booth. But just as he focused his sight, she lifted a menu, obscuring her face. For a split second, he could have sworn that he saw Macie.As he followed the waiter, he kept looking in that direction. Just as he was about to glimpse her profile, a large pillar blocked his view. When he looked again, he could only see the back of her head.He saw that the woman had short hair. With that, he concluded that it wasn't Macie and she had long hair.Moreover, he assumed that she was still in the hospital. So, there was no way that she could be there.Edward finally withdrew his gaze, expressionless. He figured that he must have been seeing things.Or perhaps he was just too fixated on her. She had blocked him, and he had spent the entire morning sulking
A smirk tugged at Sharon's lips as she plotted in her mind.The main course arrived, but Edward barely ate. Instead, he finished nearly an entire bottle of red wine. When a second bottle was opened, the alcohol began taking effect."No more, Sharon. I still have work this afternoon," Edward said, moving his glass away to stop her from refilling it."You seem stressed. I'm guessing that work has been overwhelming. A little wine and a nap in your office will help you feel refreshed," Sharon gently coaxed.Edward listened, though his bad mood wasn't because of work. It was because of Macie.She still hadn't reached out to him and wasn't answering his calls. It frustrated and enraged him, leaving him restless.In the end, he placed the glass back on the table and nudged it toward Sharon. She poured him another drink.Meanwhile, Macie and her friends had finished with their meals. Julian paid the bill as they got up to leave."I need to use the restroom. May, come with me?" Alice as
Edward's brows furrowed even deeper at Alice's words. He sternly clarified, "Ms. Hart, please watch your words. Don't make baseless accusations."Alice found his reaction amusing. "Oh? Then why are you two holding hands? I even saw the trending news this morning."Edward glanced down, realizing that Sharon had linked arms with him. He immediately shook her off.Sharon nearly ground her teeth in frustration, though she kept a smile on her face. Nevertheless, she shot a glare at Alice, the troublemaker who was stirring things up."Trending news is nothing but rumors, Ms. Hart. You shouldn't believe everything you read online," Edward said, his tone growing colder.Alice let out a scoff. She thought that Edward was clearly more than just slightly drunk. Otherwise, how else could he say something so self-righteous when the evidence was right in front of him?"Your little sweetheart is wearing the nine-million-dollar necklace, isn't she? Next time, if you want to deny something, at le
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