Nathan observed Edward closely. He said, "You don't seem drunk at all. You still recognized me."Edward had clearly meant to call Macie but had dialed Nathan instead."He's definitely drunk," Sharon insisted. "Otherwise, would he sit on the roadside with no regard for his image?"Nathan glanced at her and immediately saw through her intentions. If she took Edward home, he would be done for.Stepping in firmly, Nathan stated, "Mr. Fowler is perfectly sober. He has two international meetings this afternoon. He can't afford to take the day off."Sharon opened her mouth and was about to suggest postponing the meetings, but Nathan cut her off."These are multi-billion-dollar deals. Are you willing to take responsibility for any delays? Can you handle that?"Sharon fell silent.Multi-billion-dollar deals? If Edward sobered up later and realized she had dragged him home instead, she would be finished.Left with no choice, she watched in frustration as Nathan took Edward away. She sto
Caught in his own contradictions, Edward wrestled internally, torn between frustration and self-inflicted torment.In the end, anger won out. His face darkened as he wiped the coffee spill from his lips."Macie sure has grown some nerve. Four days in a row with this attitude. Has she forgotten who she is?" Edward scoffed under his breath. "With that temper, any other family would've kicked her out long ago. She has no family background and still doesn't know how to hold on to her place as Mrs. Fowler."If she won't even open her mouth to talk properly, what's the point of having one? This was all her fault, yet she acts like the whole world owes her something."Nathan, standing nearby, silently observed Edward, who had now fully transformed into a bitter, complaining husband. His lips twitched as he stared at the ceiling, barely restraining his disbelief.Every word Edward spoke was full of resentment and disdain. Yet, this was the same man who had spent his entire drunken afterno
Edward stared blankly at the door, his mind racing. He couldn't understand the meaning behind Nathan's advice to stop lying to himself. He wondered when he had ever not been truthful.And regret? What was there to regret? He made decisions, and he stuck to them.Edward grabbed the file on his desk, trying to force his focus onto the words in front of him. Unfortunately, he couldn't concentrate. So, he tossed it aside and placed his phone directly in the center of the table to avoid missing any calls.But the next few hours only brought calls from his team, not from the one he had hoped for.…Meanwhile, Macie was hanging out with Alice that afternoon. They swatched lipsticks and spritzed perfumes on their wrists. They'd already picked out a new handbag and some jewelry and were now sitting in their favorite restaurant.When her phone buzzed on the table, Macie glanced at it, then flipped it over."Who is it? Why aren't you picking up?" Alice asked."Just a telemarketer," Macie
Edward pursed his lips, debating with himself for several minutes. Finally, he decided to head home. He didn't know why Macie wasn't answering his calls. He wondered if it was because she didn't have her phone or if she had blocked his number. Edward had bought her a new phone. If it wasn't at home, it meant that she was using it. If she were using it, then it seemed that she had indeed deliberately blocked him. That would give him something to confront her about, at least.But if she wasn't using her new phone, how had she been managing at the hospital all these days? Edward pondered if Macie had been using her computer instead.He returned to their apartment feeling slightly hopeful. He took the elevator up, stepped inside, and headed straight for the guest bedroom. The door wasn't locked. He pushed it open and froze. The bed was stripped bare. There were no sheets or pillows, just a bare mattress staring back at him. Edward's heart skipped a beat and then began to race.
Edward wondered why he wasn't aware that Macie had left the hospital.Upon seeing Edward's shocked reaction, the nurse eyed him suspiciously and asked, "How are you related to Macie?" "I… I'm her husband," Edward muttered.The nurse frowned, studying him with apparent skepticism. "If you're her husband, why didn't you know that she was discharged?"Edward didn't answer. His mind was blank, his thoughts scattered. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he snapped to reality and bolted down the stairs.If Macie had been discharged yesterday morning, why hadn't she come home? Where had she taken her bedding and pillows? Did she know someone else in this city? Had she gone to rent a place? But she hadn't worked in two years. Where would she get the money? Was it from Yosef?Edward thought that none of it made any sense unless Macie moved in with that so-called "senior" of hers!The thought sent a jolt of panic through Edward, quickly morphing into jealousy and rage. His foot slamm
Edward wondered when he had signed the divorce agreement. Macie never gave him any documents! If he had seen it, there was no way he would have signed it. His mind raced, trying to figure out where things had gone wrong. He sensed something amiss as he rubbed the piece of paper between his fingers. The signature didn't have the texture of ink. It was… Edward held it up to the light, squinting. A photocopy?He rubbed it again, confirming that it was indeed a copy. His initial panic subsided, quickly replaced by a fresh wave of anger. "Macie! You lunatic! You faked a photocopy to mess with me!" Edward snarled through gritted teeth. He had thought that it was a real divorce agreement with his actual signature. It turned out to be just a prank! All that panic and confusion for nothing. Wait, no. Edward wasn't panicking. He was just angry and confused about when he supposedly signed it! Edward stood up and glared at the shredded pieces on the floor. In a fit of rage, he stomp
Macie couldn't help but feel a wave of exhaustion wash over her. The fact that she had been married to someone like Edward for two years was almost laughable. If people knew, they'd probably mock her for it.Alice returned with the beers. Upon noticing the look on her friend's face, she asked, "May, what's wrong?" "Nothing. I'm just annoyed by some idiot telemarketer," Macie replied with a forced smile.She couldn't believe that she'd even bothered to read through Edward's messages. It was like poking a wound just to see if it still hurt."I told you to let me yell at him. You're too nice just to block him outright," Alice said as she sat down."I did block him, and I deleted him too. But reading those messages still pissed me off," Macie admitted.They clinked their beer bottles, and Macie tossed her phone aside, determined not to pick it up again.While Macie calmly ignored the chaos, Edward was on the verge of losing his mind. He was infuriated by Macie's lack of response."
"I'm sorry, Sharon. I got a little carried away just now," Edward muttered.Sharon glanced at the red marks on her arm and pretended not to know what had happened. "What's going on?"Edward slumped back onto the couch, his head hanging low in defeat. "Macie. She's gone.""Macie's at the hospital, isn't she? Are you still drunk from lunch?" Sharon asked, feigning confusion."She's not at the hospital. The nurse said she checked out yesterday morning," Edward replied."What? Really? Neither of us knew about that," Sharon replied in surprise."Her room is empty. All she left was the phone I bought her and…" Edward's voice trailed off."And what?" Sharon pressed.Edward clenched his fists, his jaw tightening. "A pile of useless paper. A photocopy. Did she really think that would scare me? She's such an idiot!"Sharon frowned. A photocopy? What was that supposed to be? Shouldn't it have been the divorce papers?She stood up and walked into Macie's room, her heart racing when she s
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