Chapter 14
A policewoman officer was knocking on the car window, her face full of concern as she looked at Aurora.
Aurora clutched her stomach, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
“Ma’am, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” The officer’s voice was urgent as she spoke anxiously to the people nearby.
Aurora knew-it was the baby.
She had already shown signs of a threatened miscarriage.
Just moments ago, to dodge the car in the parking lot, she had been hopping, running fast, and then getting hit by that
black car inside her own vehicle…
Was she about to lose the baby?
But she wasn’t ready yet.
Suddenly, a wave of panic and sadness washed over her.
She was terrified at the thought of losing the child.
“Ma’am, are you okay? Please open the door!”
The officer’s voice came again, more urgent this time.
Aurora’s vision darkened in waves.
She forced herself to open the door despite the pain-and then she fainted.
On the other side, the Steele Group building was brightly lit.
Ethan was working on a proposal.
He had scheduled many meetings today.
Many issues required his final decisions.
From the afternoon until now, he had been busy handling matters.
His face grew increasingly tense.
In the large conference room, no one dared to make a sound.
He glanced at the report in his hand and lightly tapped his left fingers.
“Who is the manager responsible for this project?” His voice was calm but carried an intimidating weight that made
everyone uneasy.
“I… Mr. Steele, it’s me.” A middle-aged man wiped sweat from his brow and stood up.
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Ethan gave him a quick glance, parted his thin lips, and said simply, “Explain.”
The man wiped his sweat again.
“W-well… it’s just that…” He rambled on without giving a clear explanation.
He dodged questions, blaming one thing, then another. In short, he had messed up.
“Enough.”
Before the man could say more, Ethan interrupted.
The man began to tremble, his eyes full of fear.
He begged immediately, “Mr. Steele, please give me another chance. I promise I can do better!”
Ethan furrowed his brow.
Beside him was his secretary Zane. He understood him instantly.
Zane spoke up, “You boasted when you submitted the project proposal. So who do you blame for this result now?”
“But I…” The man wanted to explain.
Zane cut him off sharply, “Stop making excuses. This project has Steele Group’s full backing and huge resources. You
can’t get it done? Don’t you know the real reason?”
The man tried to protest again, but Ethan threw a file in front of him.
“Such a small project, yet so thoroughly corrupted!” Ethan said coldly.
The man’s face immediately drained of color.
He stammered, but Zane waved him off.
The conference room door opened, and internal inspectors from Steele Group came in to drag the man away.
“Mr. Steele, I was wrong! Please forgive me…”
As the man’s desperate cries faded, the room grew even quieter.
Ethan shot a cold glance around-his warning had clearly made an impression.
“Dismissed.”
With this word, Ethan strode out of the conference room.
Zane followed him all the way to the executive office.
Seeing Ethan sit down in the boss chair, rubbing his brow to rest, Zane immediately instructed his subordinates to bring a cup of coffee.
Ethan closed his eyes, exhausted.
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No clean hands in the business game.
He understood this saying well.
In such a huge company as Steele Group, internal problems were inevitable.
But what confused him was why he had felt unusually drained these past few days.
Footsteps approached, and Ethan sensed someone placing a cup on his desk.
“Sir, have some coffee. It’s late, and you need to rest while working.”
Somehow, Ethan thought he heard a familiar voice.
But when he opened his eyes, it was just Zane bowing slightly.
Looking down, Ethan saw the cup of coffee on the desk.
“Don’t you want any coffee, Mr. Steele?” Zane asked, noticing his mood.
Ethan furrowed his brow, unsure of his own complicated feelings.
“Usually, your wife makes coffee for you,” Zane apologized. “I couldn’t find the coffee beans she uses, but I saw how tired
you looked, so…”
Right. Aurora was usually by his side.
Ethan closed his eyes again, feeling the headache worsen.
“Should I call your wife to ask?” Zane offered cautiously.
“No need.” Ethan replied.
Zane nodded, and silence fell over the office once more.
It was deathly quiet.
Ethan had never felt his office so still.
A restless irritation churned in his chest.
“What’s going on this month?” Ethan broke the silence.
“Are you referring to the workload, Mr. Steele?” Zane answered obediently.
“Yes.”
“Well,” Zane said quietly, “many minor issues-like today’s corruption problem-were usually handled by Madam before they ever reached you. Only the more important matters came to you. So…”
Ethan opened his eyes and glanced at Zane.
Zane understood his unspoken thought and awkwardly said, “I’m sorry, Sir. It’s my fault. I didn’t manage things well.”
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Ethan didn’t blame him much but just shook his head.
“Where is the contract with Johnson Group?” he asked.
Zane lowered his head further.
“Sorry, Mr. Steele, it hasn’t been finalized yet.”
Ethan sighed and waved Zane out.
Zane breathed a sigh of relief and hurried out.
Watching the closed office door, Ethan knew the truth.
Their divorce had come suddenly, and many affairs once handled by Aurora hadn’t been fully transferred yet.
The office was silent except for the faint ticking of a clock.
The bitter aroma of coffee lingered in the air.
The rising steam from the cup made Ethan frown even more.
He picked up his phone and checked the message he had sent Aurora earlier, asking her to return to the old family home
for the weekend.
She still hadn’t replied.
He recalled her firm refusal when he had called her before.
Still upset?
Just then, the office door was knocked.
Ethan looked up and saw Lilian’s smiling face at the doorway.
“Ethan.” Lilian stepped in with a bright smile. “I came to keep you company.”
Ethan put his phone away and nodded slightly.
Lilian glanced at his phone without a word.
After a moment’s hesitation, she sat down awkwardly.
“What’s wrong?” Ethan noticed her unusual mood and asked.
“Ethan, has Aurora contacted you today?” Lilian asked hesitantly.
Ethan looked at her and motioned for her to continue.
“This afternoon, I posted a short video officially announcing my participation in VocalNight.”
Lilian watched his expression carefully before continuing, “I only wanted to follow the path she once took, but I didn’t
expect netizens to say some harsh things…”
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She hesitated, struggling to say, “Has she confronted you angrily?”
Ethan furrowed his brow. Afternoon?
He’d been in meetings all day and hadn’t paid attention to the internet.
He glanced at the clock.
It was already 9:15 p.m.
“There’s something else…”
Lilian paused before saying, “At 8:45, when I left the studio, something felt off. Just now, when I was parking downstairs, I
realized I had been tailed by paparazzi since I left.”
She looked apologetic as she took out her phone and handed it to Ethan.
He saw photos tracking Lilian from Vivian’s flower studio until entering Steele Group.
The caption read: #Lilian caught freely entering Steele Group building late at night, suspected of publicly showing
relationship with Ethan#
Below, there were many comments mocking Aurora as if she were about to be dumped.
“Ethan, I’m sorry. I wasn’t careful,” Lilian said, her eyes red. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
Ethan waved it off, indicating it wasn’t a big deal.
He planned to make their relationship public once the court proceedings finished.
It was just Aurora…
Suddenly, Ethan’s phone vibrated wildly.
The clock jumped forward.
It was 9:20 p.m.
Ethan picked up the phone and saw Aurora’s name flashing on the screen.
