By the time I came to, I was already sitting in my car.
My hands trembled on the steering wheel, completely out of my control.
Tears streamed down my face, uninvited.
I laughed and cried like a lunatic, mocking myself.
Because the very first thing that crossed my mind when Diego mentioned divorce was to run.
That night, he didn’t come home.
As dawn stretched across the sky in muted shades of gray, I suddenly felt the need to ask him face-to-face.
Was he truly planning to leave me?
At the very least, I had to make sure Madeline wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire.
I hadn’t slept in two nights.
Still dazed, I applied my makeup and went straight to Diego’s office building.
The private elevator carried me to the top floor.
He was in a meeting.
I waited in his office, and the moment I stepped in, I saw Courtney.
She walked over with a cup of tea, polite and composed.
As she bent slightly, a familiar scent wafted into the air: cedarwood and smoke.
Madeline was right.
It was Diego’s scent.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?” I asked quietly.
Her hand froze.
The hot tea spilled over her fingers, reddening them instantly.
Her eyes flickered, dodging mine, fragile, shaken.
Panicking, she dropped to her knees to wipe the tea-stained floor, but still, she said nothing.
I stared coldly at the top of her lowered head.
Suddenly, a large hand reached out, grasping hers and lifting her off the floor.
His voice carried a sharp edge.
“Kelly, did you really come all this way just to throw your weight around?”
“She’s my employee, not your servant.”
“President, she didn’t mean it.”
I let out a laugh.
Perhaps Diego had forgotten before I married him. I was never some submissive little lamb.
“Sister-in-law? Funny, I don’t recall the president of Powell Corporation ever calling you his sister.”
“I…” Courtney’s eyes instantly filled with tears.
“I just wanted to get closer to you. You might not know how hard it is for us secretaries—”
“And what exactly were you using to get close? Having the boss drive you home with his whole family in tow?”
“Your meticulousness clearly went straight to hell.”
Diego immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her with a look so cold it cut like ice.
“Apologize.”
The corridor, once buzzing with murmurs from the exiting meeting, turned dead silent.
I steadied my breath.
“Diego, I have no reason to apologize.”
“Did you not hear me? I said apologize.”