Chapter 2
As long as he stayed away from Isla from now on, he would still be the distinguished Mr. Gray–husband to the Stone family heiress.]
Elliot didn’t reply to my message, so I assumed he saw it.[]
That night, Elliot didn’t come home, but he sent me a message about working overtime, with a photo of a crowded conference room as proof.
I’m not a petty person.
If Isla was really gone, I would trust him completely.[]
The next evening, I deliberately finished work early and drove to Gray Group to pick up Elliot for dinner.]
I leaned against the car door, waiting patiently.
There was no reply from Elliot on my phone; I assumed he was busy.
Time passed minute by minute.]]
The reservation time was approaching, but Elliot was still nowhere to be seen.[]
A called him, and after a few rings, he hung up.[]
The trust in my heart began to waver, making me irritated.]]
In five years of marriage, I had never set foot in his company.
He had insisted on operating independently, not wanting me to interfere with his career.[]
But tonight, I wanted to see what kind of “work” was worth Elliot forgetting our anniversary.
I walked straight to the largest office at the back. The office door was ajar and empty inside.
But my attention was quickly drawn to a brand new door nearby.[]
That door was right next to Elliot’s office, with a nameplate that read – Vice President Isla.
Just then, a young girl carrying files emerged from the nearby break room. Seeing me, she politely asked:[]
“Miss, who are you looking for?”
“Elliot.“.
“Elliot? He just left with Isla. Elliot said he wanted to treat Isla to a lavish dinner – to celebrate her promotion.“[]
“Shut up!” An older female employee suddenly stood up from her cubicle and shouted: “Stop talking!”
She stared at the young girl with deadly eyes, silently begging her to shut up.
The new employee was startled, looking at me in confusion, completely unaware of what she had done wrong.
Oh, so this was “overtime.“[]
A lavish dinner?
A promotion party held like the Academy Awards?]
I laughed coldly and turned to leave.
Chapter 2
I drove straight to the restaurant.]
The deposit was non–refundable – I might as well eat it myself.]]
I sat alone at the reserved table.[]
In front of me were two perfectly grilled Wagyu steaks, aromatic and tempting, but I had no appetite.
Just then my phone buzzed with notifications.]
Five hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, and eight hundred thousand had been charged to my card at different times.[]
I didn’t want to guess where Elliot had spent the money.[]
The roses air–shipped from France on the table, and the gift box containing new car keys beside them – now everything felt like a joke.[]
Despite this, my heart became exceptionally calm. I stared at the steak in front of me and picked up my knife and fork.]
Just as I cut a small piece of beef, familiar laughter came from the restaurant entrance.[]
flooked up.
Elliot was walking in with a relaxed smile on his face.
His hand was naturally holding Isla’s beside him.[]
e.]
He immediately spotted me.
The smile froze on his face instantly, and the next second, Elliot abruptly let go of Isla’s hand.[]
A flash of obvious panic crossed his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it and put on a forced composure.[]
Elliot left Isla behind and quickly walked to my table, frowning and pretending to be surprised.[]
“Lydia? What are you doing here? Meeting some man for dinner?“[]
His gaze fell on the untouched steak across from me.[]
Wow, classic gaslighting operation.[]
I calmly put down my knife and fork
“Think carefully, Elliot. What day is today?”
Elliot was stunned, then seemed to suddenly remember something. He showed a slightly apologetic smile:
“Ah… fifth anniversary? Right?“]
“Wow; time flies. There’s been too much going on at the company lately – I completely forgot. Why didn’t you remind me in advance?“[]
Elliot showed a guilty smile, trying to cover it up with a joking tone.[]
I ignored Elliot and looked past him to Isla, who was standing awkwardly in the distance.]
She wore a perfectly tailored designer suit – if I remembered correctly, that brand’s suits started at $40,000.[]
“Why are you with her?“]
Elliot glanced at Isla following my gaze, his expression somewhat guilty:[]
“Oh, you mean Isla? I told you – I already fired her.“[]
7
Chapter 2
“But she’s been with me for a long time, and honestly, she didn’t get much severance pay. She looked pitiful, so I thought I’d take her out for one last meal, as a… formal goodbye.“]]
I looked at the brand new suit on Isla, then thought of the $1.5 million Elliot had charged from my account earlier.
It seemed their “farewell dinner” wasn’t cheap.
I laughed softly.
“Is that so?”
My gaze returned to Elliot’s face, and I said calmly:[]
“Since you’ve already fired her, she’s no longer a company employee. Then have her take off that suit bought with my money immediately.“[]
I paused, looking into Elliot’s eyes:[]
“Or you return that $1.5 million to me.”
(0)
(0)
