The next morning, in the hotel restaurant.

Alice sat across from Edward, rubbing her aching temples. Hangovers were the worst-her head throbbed as if it might split open.

Fragments of the previous night resurfaced-the revolting moment when Lenny's hand had groped her. The clearer the memory grew, the sicker she felt. She grabbed the glass of warm water beside her and drank it down, trying to settle her stomach.

Thank goodness Edward had been there. If he hadn't stepped in last night. she didn't even want to think about it.

"Thank you for last night, Mr. Hawthorne."

Edward took a sip of his coffee, his tone low and even. "You work for GrandVerse. You represent the company-it was my responsibility to look out for you."

The corners of Alice's eyes reddened. So this was what it felt like to have someone stand up for you.

If only there had been someone like that for her back then.

She took a steadying breath. "I'll work on building my alcohol tolerance. I don't want a repeat of what happened."

"This wasn't your fault. You can't stop predators by drinking less. But next time, take a page from William's book-train your tolerance, and if things get out of hand, pretend to be drunk. Don't let people take advantage of you."

Alice blinked. "...That's actually solid advice."

Edward took another sip, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Who's Emily?"

He'd meant to ask last night, but she'd been too far gone to make sense of.

"Emily?" She paused, giving him a confused look. "Oh, that's the nickname my mother gave me. Why? Did I say something strange last night?"

She must have mumbled in her sleep-she'd been dreaming about her parents.

Edward's gaze darkened, something unreadable flickering in his expression.

The same name? What were the odds.

"Nothing. Just curious."

Seeing his reaction, Alice didn't press further. She offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry again about the deal falling through. all because of me."

Edward's expression remained cool, his voice even colder. "I already told you-it wasn't your fault. GrandVerse doesn't need to do business with people like him. The thought of that man still makes me sick."

Alice blinked, taken aback by his sudden sharpness. He really wasn't an easy man to read.

Still, deep down, she felt genuinely grateful. It was as if she were seeing him in a new light-this heir to the GrandVerse empire wasn't just brilliant and handsome; he had a strong moral compass, too. That was rare.

He was the kind of boss who truly had your back. Not stingy, always offering guidance-Alice felt fortunate to have someone like him in her corner.

--

With the deal canceled, their group returned home that afternoon.

Before boarding the plane, Alice spotted a trending headline-Lenny had been arrested for tax evasion, sexual assault of a minor, and coercing female staff. The post was exploding online.

There was even a photo-his face blurred, but the bandaged hand slung around his neck was unmistakable.

Her stomach turned. She clenched her fists. "Disgusting. People like him, abusing their power-who knows how many victims suffered in silence. He deserves everything that's coming to him."

Then a thought struck her, and she frowned. "Wait. but he seemed fine yesterday. How did all this come out overnight?"

William yawned beside her, clearly unimpressed. "Obviously, someone made it happen. You were nearly assaulted. Did you think Mr. Hawthorne would let that slide? He had me up all night digging up everything we could find on that creep."

"I spent the whole night running around gathering evidence for the police. That guy had pissed off so many people, it wasn't even hard to find proof. But man, it was exhausting. If I'd known, I'd have gotten drunk, too. At least then I'd have had an excuse to skip the all-nighter."

No wonder she hadn't seen William that morning. He'd been on a mission.

Alice felt a wave of surprise mixed with gratitude-her respect for Edward reached another level.

"Mr. Hawthorne, you're honestly too good to be true!"

Bosses were usually hard to please anyway. So what if he had a temper? That kinda came with the territory.

--

By the time they landed in the capital, it was already dark. The driver picked up Edward, while Alice and William took separate cabs home.

Once home, Alice removed her makeup, sank into a hot bath, and collapsed in the tub, completely drained. But just as she began to relax, the image of Lenny's disgusting face resurfaced-especially those sleazy eyes. It triggered an old, buried memory she'd tried hard to forget.

Her face turned ghostly pale. Grabbing the bath sponge, she scrubbed her skin as if it were covered in filth, only stopping when it stung and turned red.

She took a sharp breath. "It's over now. Alice, you're not allowed to look back."

She thought she'd moved on. I mean, just the other night, she and Edward had been close-not that she could see anything in the dark-but she could still remember his breath, his touch. She hadn't felt repulsed then, so she assumed she'd healed.

But it turned out that even now, just seeing those predatory eyes again still messed with her head.

--

After her bath, Alice curled up on the couch and checked her phone. Still no new messages.

Annoyance finally set in. Her husband vanishing on their wedding night was bad enough. Not showing his face for two years was even worse. But now? She'd literally admitted to cheating, and he couldn't even be bothered to send a text?

Was she married to a ghost?

She tapped the contact labeled "Alexander Blake"-a number his grandfather had saved for her long ago.

The phone rang for a while before someone finally picked up. But it wasn't him. A young woman's cheerful voice came through.

"Hello? Who's this?"

Alice frowned. "Who are you? Why are you answering his phone?"

"Oh, I'm Katherine. My brother's in the shower. Can I help you with something?"

Alice blinked. "You're his sister?"

Wait, he had a sister? His grandfather had never mentioned that.

Katherine chimed in again, "Yeah, yeah. He just got in the bathroom. You can call back in a bit. Or, if it's urgent, tell me and I'll pass it along."

Alice didn't care whether this girl was really his sister or some random fling. She was done pretending.

"Could you let him know to call me back? I need to talk about filing for divorce."

"Sure, no problem." Then dead silence. A moment later, Katherine shrieked, "Wait, WHAT?! Divorce?!"

Alice winced and pulled the phone away from her ear. Once the noise settled, she spoke calmly, "Just let him know, please. It's important."

Then she hung up.

--

On the other end, Katherine's scream had already drawn her mother's attention.

"What is it now? Why are you shouting?" her mom called out.

Still stunned, Katherine stared at the phone. "Mom, you won't believe this-seriously, brace yourself. Your son is MARRIED!"

Her mom scoffed, setting dishes on the table. "What nonsense are you talking about? If your brother got married, don't you think I'd know?"

"I'm not kidding! Not only is he married, he's already at the divorce stage!" Katherine spun the phone around. "Look! His wife just called, saying she wants to meet up and file!"

Now both of them stood speechless, staring at each other.

Suddenly, the mom snatched the phone and stormed toward the bathroom, pounding on the door.

"William, get your butt out here right now!"

Katherine followed close behind, shouting too. "William! Open up!"

Inside, William hadn't even fully fastened his robe yet. He threw it over his shoulders and cracked the door open, confused. "What's going on?"

Before he could get another word out, his mom slapped the back of his head.

"You've got some nerve, boy! You actually got married behind my back?!"

William clutched his head, completely baffled. "Married? I don't even have a girlfriend!"

"Still denying it?" his mom snapped, giving him a couple of sharp smacks. "That girl literally called! She said she's your wife!"

"You idiot! Even if you got married in secret, fine-but now you've messed up so badly she wants a divorce? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Katherine chimed in dramatically, "Totally! You must have been ignoring her. She probably couldn't take your cold shoulder anymore!"

William hugged his head tighter, practically growling. "Okay, okay! Mom, stop hitting me. Just let me check my phone before you jump to conclusions."

That finally got his mother to calm down a bit.

He massaged his sore head, wincing, and scrolled through his messages-immediately, his face darkened with anger.

"Mom, I swear I'm single! I don't even know this woman! She sent me some weird texts a few days ago, and I thought she had the wrong number. Now it looks like she's trying to scam me!"

Both his mom and sister eyed him skeptically. "Seriously?"

He looked dead serious. "I swear-if I secretly got married and messed around with this woman, may I never have another peaceful day!"

His mom slapped him again. "Ugh, shut your mouth! Don't say things like that! May the gods not take you seriously. You'd better live a long, long life, got it?"

After clearing up the misunderstanding, William angrily blocked Alice's number.

If he weren't above stooping to her level, he would've already tracked her down and given her a piece of his mind.

--

Meanwhile, Alice was sprawled on her couch, bored out of her mind while waiting for a call. She turned on a random drama and mindlessly munched on cucumber-flavored chips.

She waited and waited until she was almost asleep. Then finally-her phone rang! She jolted upright and grabbed it-only to see it wasn't the call she'd been hoping for.

It was Edward.

He never called her this late. This was a first.

Alice sobered up immediately and answered quickly. "Mr. Hawthorne?"

But the voice she heard wasn't his. "Hello? Is this Ms. Sterling? Your husband collapsed while playing squash at our club. He was clutching his stomach in pain and passed out. The paramedics just arrived; he's on his way to the hospital. You need to get there now."

Her face froze. "I'm his secretary, not his wife. But thank you for letting me know. Our company will follow up. Can you tell me which hospital? I'll head there right away."

The guy on the line sounded flustered. "Oh, my bad-he had you listed as his emergency contact, so I assumed. anyway, he's being taken to Nova Hospital. Better hurry."

As soon as the call ended, Alice threw on fresh clothes and dashed out the door.

Luckily, The Lodge Apartments were just six kilometers from Nova Hospital-it only took about ten or fifteen minutes by cab.

When she burst into the hospital room, a doctor was already hooking Edward up to an IV.

"Mr. Hawthorne, are you okay?" Alice rushed to the bed, and her heart sank.

The usually commanding, no-nonsense man looked pale as a ghost. His eyes were shut tight, long lashes trembling as though he were fighting through waves of pain.

He cracked his eyes open slightly when he saw her, but he couldn't even speak-just shut them again, clearly suffering.

The doctor beside the bed, Charles Bennett, turned around when he heard her. His brows lifted slightly when he saw her pretty, gentle face.

"And you are.?"

Slightly out of breath from rushing, Alice replied, "I'm his secretary."

"Secretary?" Charles Bennett leaned his hands on the hospital bed rail, eyeing the weakened Edward with a teasing grin. "Dragging your secretary here after work hours? Impressive. Where's that wife of yours? Shouldn't she be the one taking care of you?"

Alice froze for a second. Wait, is this guy a friend of Mr. Hawthorne's?

But come to think of it, he kinda had a point. Shouldn't the lady of the house be handling this?

Edward's eyes snapped open, sharp as ice, shooting daggers straight at Charles.

"Alright, alright." Charles raised his hands in mock surrender. "Forget I said anything."

Alice didn't bother figuring out their relationship. Her top priority was knowing how her boss was doing.

"Doctor, how is Mr. Hawthorne's condition?"

Charles grinned. "Oh, he'll live."

Alice blinked, sneaking a glance at Edward. "That's-not very reassuring."

Charles chuckled at her awkward but clearly unamused expression.

"Don't stress. This is how he always is," he said. "Knows he's got a serious stomach issue and still skips meals. To make it worse, he drinks on an empty stomach. Honestly, it's like he's asking for it."

Alice was genuinely surprised. Edward had such a serious condition?

And he still drank. yeah, that was pretty much self-sabotage.

On the bed, Edward cracked open his eyes and rasped, "Charles, do you have a death wish?"

Charles casually adjusted the IV drip. "If someone like you is still kicking, how could I be tired of living?"

Alice pressed her lips together and cleared her throat, trying to break up their bickering.

"Um, thank you for your help, Dr. Bennett. Is there anything special I should keep an eye on?"

Charles replied without skipping a beat. "Nope."

Alice stared-he always answered like this?

"With him?" Charles scoffed. "I could nag him a hundred times, and it'd go in one ear and out the other. Might as well save my breath. If it gets worse, we'll just remove part of the stomach. Quick fix."

Alice broke into a cold sweat and swallowed hard. This doctor really had zero filter.

Edward's already stone-cold face turned even darker, as if a storm were brewing. His gaze sliced toward Charles. "Do your job and get out."

Yeah. if he weren't so weak, Alice was pretty sure Mr. Hawthorne would've tossed the doctor out the window by now.

Charles dropped his hands into his coat pockets and shook his head with a sigh. "Okay, okay, take it easy. You're this close to internal bleeding. Chill with that temper."

"I've got a minor surgery to get to," he said, turning to Alice. "His stomach's fragile right now. No solids. Go grab something gentle like oatmeal for him later."

Alice nodded, mentally taking notes. "Got it. Thanks, Doctor. I'll handle it."

"Mm-hm. If anything comes up, talk to the nurses. If they can't solve it, they'll let me know."

"Okay."

Just as he reached the door, Charles stopped and turned back, flashing a slow, mischievous smile at Alice. "By the way, I didn't get your name."

Alice stuck to business. "Alice."

"Sterling." Charles narrowed his eyes slightly, saying the name slowly, almost as if tasting it, then glanced over at Edward, who'd closed his eyes again. His smile deepened.

"Pretty name."

"Oh, before I forget-play some music while he sleeps, yeah? There's a speaker by the bed. Helps him doze off."

Then he was gone.

Music?

Alice glanced over at the small white speaker on the bedside table. It was clearly placed there on purpose.

Hospitals were supposed to be quiet-who puts a speaker by a patient's bed?

Still a bit puzzled, she looked down at Edward and asked, "Mr. Hawthorne, I'll head out to grab your oatmeal later. But. do you want me to arrange for someone to stay and watch over you?"

Edward cracked his eyes open briefly and glanced at her, a faint frown forming between his brows. "No need."

Alice instantly felt the wall of distance he was putting up. She blinked, confused, and instinctively touched her nose.

Was he upset with her? But he seemed fine during the business trip, didn't he?

She moved toward the bedside table, reaching for the speaker as Charles Bennett had suggested.

"Don't bother," he said flatly, his voice emotionless.

Alice paused mid-motion, glanced over at the man lying there with his eyes closed, and quietly replied, "Alright. I'll step out for a moment."

He didn't respond. She tiptoed out and gently closed the door behind her.

There was a small café near the hospital, so she went and picked up a light meal-some plain oatmeal and a cup of warm ginger tea.

When she returned to the hallway, she overheard two young nurses whispering behind her.

"The patient in VIP Room 303. wow, he looks like he just walked out of a magazine."

303? That's Mr. Hawthorne's room.

Alice unconsciously slowed her pace.

"For real. If I had a chance with a guy like that-God, that face, those shoulders? Unbelievable."

Alice nearly choked. Her mind flashed back to that night with Edward. She didn't remember the details, but the aftermath was burned into her memory.

It definitely wasn't enjoyable. Just painful.

No, no-don't go there. That night was a mistake, plain and simple.

She clutched the paper bag a little tighter and quickened her steps toward Room 303.

"Mr. Hawthorne, I brought you something light to eat," she said as she opened the door.

She walked in just in time to see Edward leaning over to shut off the small speaker. The sudden silence felt oddly familiar-like she'd heard that music before. But it stopped too quickly to catch any distinct melody.

Edward pressed a hand against the bed and tried to sit up. Alice rushed forward, set the bag down, and helped support him. She fluffed the pillow behind his back so he could sit comfortably.

Color was slowly returning to his face, the sharp lines of his jaw becoming more defined again.

She kept a respectful distance and opened the bag, placing the warm oatmeal and tea next to him. Her voice remained calm. "Mr. Hawthorne, please try to eat a little."

The oatmeal was still steaming. Edward's eyes darkened slightly as he picked up the spoon. "You didn't ask about my dietary restrictions. Did you already know my preferences?"

Alice couldn't read his tone, so she simply met his gaze and replied, "Yes. After you returned, Mr. Brooks gave me a report on your diet. I memorized it."

After all, as his secretary, arranging meals or handling dinner events sometimes fell under her duties. William usually took care of it, but she had to be prepared in case he was unavailable.

Edward didn't answer. He looked down and began eating.

Alice stood to the side, clearly hesitating.

"Spit it out," he said suddenly, his words cold.

She looked at his pale yet striking face. "Mr. Hawthorne. since you're hospitalized, should we inform your wife?"

Wasn't it standard to notify family in situations like this?

The spoon in his hand clattered into the bowl, loud and abrupt. He lifted his head, and the chill in his eyes cut right through her.

That look made Alice's heart skip. Why was he suddenly angry again?

Did he and his wife. still have unresolved issues? It had been two days already.

His low, detached voice rang out. "Get out."

Alice glanced at Edward. His handsome face was tense, lips pressed into a faint frown-clearly in a foul mood.

He'd been unusually temperamental these past few days. Not wanting to upset him further, she quietly packed up the meal containers.

"Alright, Mr. Hawthorne. I'll head out now. Just one thing-about the person who brought you in, should we send a token of thanks? Perhaps compensate them?"

Edward's public appearances often required returning favors properly. It kept the media from twisting the narrative and even reinforced his image as a grateful, responsible leader.

He shot her a sidelong glance, his tone icy.

"Handle it. Include the meal bill, too. I'll reimburse you later."

"Understood, Mr. Hawthorne."

Alice left, and nearly ninety minutes passed before Charles Bennett walked in just as the IV was about to finish.

He removed the needle with practiced ease and performed a quick check-up, clicking his tongue.

"Man, you're like a cockroach. Hard to kill and quick to bounce back."

Edward kept his eyes closed, muttering barely audibly, "Leave."

Charles scanned the room, clearly looking for someone.

"Where's your pretty little secretary?"

Edward opened his eyes slowly, giving him a frosty look.

"Don't you have patients to see?"

"Hilarious. I rushed over here right after surgery," Charles scoffed.

Edward turned away, clearly not in the mood.

But Charles wasn't backing down easily. He jammed his hands into his pockets, grinning mischievously.

"Edward, don't tell me you've got a thing for Miss Alice?"

"I mean, come on-she's exactly my type. Pure, sweet, that first-love vibe. She's stunning. If I were you, I'd fall, too."

Edward let out a cold snort.

"Which eye of yours saw that I liked her?"

Alice obviously had feelings for someone else. He wasn't the type to chase after taken women.

Still. he couldn't deny her legs were killer-long, straight, could definitely lock around his waist.

"You don't like her? Seriously? She's got the face, the legs. she's a stunner. Way more attractive than most girls out there," Charles said, shaking his head. "Did getting married fry whatever sense of beauty you had? Or does your wife have you on a tight leash?"

Something dark flashed in Edward's eyes. Just hearing Emily's name made his skin crawl now.

"You talk too much."

"This is called conversation, my guy. You're the boring one. No wonder nobody likes you," Charles snorted. "Whatever. If you're not into her, I might just make a move."

Edward gave him a cold stare.

"She's not someone you can mess with."

Charles was a known player-saw a pretty face and fell head over heels, usually didn't last a week. Edward didn't bother warning him beyond that.

Alice wasn't easy to push around. She didn't take his money, didn't try to climb the ladder-she just wanted her own life, simple and clean. Soft on the outside, but not someone you could easily sway.

Even if Charles did fall for her, she wouldn't reciprocate. And once he tasted rejection, he'd back off.

After finishing the IV, Charles reminded Edward to come in soon for a full check-up. Edward brushed it off with vague promises, then packed up and left the hospital for his villa.

The first thing he did was dial William. His voice was low and edged with frustration.

"Any reply from Emily?"

William hesitated. "No, sir. She didn't answer texts or calls."

Edward's face darkened.

"Get a lawyer. Draw up divorce papers."

"Uh." William paused. "Should we try to reach her one more time? Maybe it's all a misunderstanding?"

Edward gave a mocking laugh.

"At this point, what could possibly be misunderstood?"

"."

He dropped the final line like a hammer.

"Contact Emily now. Set up a meeting tomorrow. I want her to sign the divorce papers-"