Chapter 12 A Call in the Dead of Night
Candice waited for her to finish speaking.
Then, with a clear, frosty gaze, she looked down at Mia and said flatly, “What exactly makes you so ‘high and mighty‘?
Is it your pig–brain boyfriend who can’t even play a decent game of Gobang? Or the fact that you’re proudly clinging to
leftovers I threw away? Or maybe it’s that you’re thrilled about taking over a job I didn’t even want?”
“You keep going on about ‘our circle‘… but who said I was ever part of your circle?”
“All you ever do is mess around like some rutting animal. If that’s what your elite circle smells like, count me out. You
and Kyle can enjoy your little pigsty together, just make sure you lock the door from the inside.”
Her voice was calm, almost gentle–but every word landed like venom.
Mia Jones couldn’t take it. She was so furious her whole face twisted, young features warped into something grotesque.
She started losing it halfway through Candice’s speech, screaming like a madwoman, “Shut up! Shut your filthy mouth!
I’m going to rip it off! I’ll kill you!”
Finally, she leapt out of the chair and lunged at Candice, hand raised to slap her.
Candice didn’t even flinch.
Just as Mia reached her, Candice slammed a thick stack of documents into her face. Hard.
Mia staggered back, completely off balance. Her nose started bleeding.
“Handover complete. Good luck running Aureate Group into the ground.”
With that, Candice turned and walked away.
“Candice, I won’t forgive you! I won’t! AHHHHH!”
Mia clutched her bleeding nose and shrieked so loudly, it felt like the entire building might collapse.
No one in the project department dared get close.
Candice walked out of the office, her heels echoing crisply in the hallway. It wasn’t until she’d gone a good distance that her coworkers cautiously approached–offering support, concern, and sympathy.
Elizabeth, the team lead of Group 3, braved the tension and went into the office to retrieve Candice’s belongings. She even fished things out of the trash, carefully wiping each one clean before packing them into a box. “Miss Hale, I’ll help
you carry this downstairs.”
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Chapter 12 A Call in the Dead of Night
Candice looked at her, warmth blooming in her chest. Her eyes stung slightly.
This might be the darkest moment of her life, but even in the dark, there were still flickers of light.
“Thanks,” she replied with a soft smile.
Her teammates escorted her all the way to the elevator. Elizabeth carried the box down with her.
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Before leaving, Candice pulled her aside and said, “Tell everyone to just do their jobs. Don’t provoke that spoiled brat. Best–case scenario, she gets bored and quits. But if a project goes south under her watch, go straight to Kyle. Don’t let her dump the blame on any of you. We’re talking about contracts worth tens of billions–you guys can’t take the fall for
that. Kyle knows where the real problem lies. He’ll deal with it.”
Elizabeth nodded. “I’ll make sure everyone knows.”
Candice gave her a hug. “Let’s stay in touch.”
As she drove away from Aureate Group, rain started falling.
One drop after another, like the sky itself was sharing her sorrow.
Ten days left.
Just ten more days.
–
As soon as Candice left, Mia stormed upstairs to file a complaint.
Her brother, Mike, happened to be there too. When he saw her face–nose red and swollen–he was stunned. “What the
hell happened to you?”
Mia collapsed into sobs between the two men. “I was being nice! I made her coffee, even gave her the chair. She walked in and started yelling at me, calling me a whore, saying I was a filthy animal, saying horrible things about my Kyle…”
“I asked her some work questions, didn’t even talk back. And then she went nuts, started beating me up, threw all the documents in my face, pushed me to the floor and just hit me!”
Kyle’s expression turned cold and unreadable. He said nothing.
Mike was furious. “What the hell? Has she lost her mind? She thinks she can just do whatever she wants? Kyle, what are you going to do about this?”
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Kyle: “I’ll apologize to Mia on her behalf. She hasn’t been in a good place emotionally lately.”
That was it?
Mia had been expecting him to blow up, to call Candice in and berate her–but he didn’t.
She was even more furious now. “Who wants your apology? I want her to kneel and apologize to me! I want to hit her
back–blow for blow!”
Kyle’s gaze turned icy. “That’s not happening.”
Mike frowned. “Why the hell not? She assaulted my sister out of nowhere! You’re telling me she doesn’t have to take responsibility? If you’re just going to cover for her, then the Jones family has no problem taking this to court.”
Kyle flexed his hand, then fell silent for a moment.
Finally, he spoke. “If it comes to that, I’ll have no choice but to express my regret. Not only will the collaboration fall
through, but we’ll be in litigation.”
The Jones siblings were stunned.
Mike gaped. “You… you care that much about her?”
Kyle leaned back in his chair, answering without hesitation. “She’s my woman. No one touches her.”
Mia trembled with rage.
She had been so sure Kyle no longer had feelings for Candice. He barely came home. He looked happy with her. He’d said he didn’t love Candice anymore.
Then why was he still protecting her?
Realizing she meant less to him than Candice did made Mia want to scream.
But more than that, she was terrified Kyle would cut her off entirely.
She quickly switched gears, dropping the arrogance. “Forget it. Miss Hale was just upset that I’m close to Kyle. I didn’t really want her to kneel or anything. I was just mad–don’t be upset, okay?”
Mike: “…”
This was the Jones family’s fourth daughter, and she was groveling over some woman with no background to speak of?
Utter disgrace.
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Mia, however, still managed to squeeze in a bit of pitiful charm. “But Kyle, I suffered such a horrible insult. You have to
make it up to me.”
Only then did Kyle’s expression soften. His voice gentled. “Of course.”
Mia left the office, still seething inside.
When Candice got home, her phone rang.
It was Bianca.
“Babe, tomorrow afternoon, Mr. Emerson from Jovian Group is meeting Charlie Clemens for a round of golf. I told him
I’d bring someone along. I’ve set it up–your moment to shine.”
“You’re the best. Love you! Mwah mwah mwah~~”
“Ugh, I just got goosebumps. Wednesday it is. Don’t flake on me.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
The good news lifted Candice’s mood. She even had an extra serving at dinner and ended up stuffing herself.
Late that night, she went to the gym to walk it off.
After about twenty minutes, her phone rang. It was Kyle.
He hadn’t come home again.
She was used to that.
But what was he calling her for–especially at this hour?
She hesitated before answering.
As soon as the call connected, what came through wasn’t his voice, but the sound of a man and woman panting- breathless, urgent, unmistakable.
Candice had already been feeling a bit queasy. The sounds on the phone made her stomach turn violently.
She bent over and vomited–hard.
Her phone slipped from her fingers and hit the floor with a crack.
Chapter 12 A Coll in the Dead of Night
The screen shattered.
She kept retching, even after her stomach was empty. Bile burned her throat. She couldn’t stop dry heaving.
She didn’t even know how she got back to her room.
She’d thought she would cry all night, be torn up inside, maybe even want to tear her heart out of her chest.
But the poison didn’t kick in.
She lay there, wide–eyed, listening to the slow, heavy thud of her own heartbeat.
Everything was quiet. Too quiet.
Time ticked by, second by second.
At some point, she closed her eyes–and the darkness swallowed her whole.
When she woke, dawn had already broken.
She got up, washed her face, tidied the gym, ate breakfast, and went out to buy a new phone.
That afternoon, as planned, she headed for the Long Bay Golf Club.
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