Kacie sensed the gaze upon her and quickly withdrew her hand.

Zayne's hand suddenly became empty, and a fleeting disappointment crossed his eyes. He strode over to Joyce while suppressing his desire for Kacie.

"Didn't I tell you to attend Kacie's celebration? Why did you come back so late?" Zayne reached out to grab Joyce's arm unhappily, but her cold demeanor startled him.

He was worried as he extended his hand to check if Joyce had a fever, but she turned her head away to avoid him.

"I can come to my home at any time I want. You all carry on. Don't mind me." With that, Joyce turned decisively into her room.

The unexpected change dampened the festive atmosphere. All the guests found excuses to leave.

Zayne gazed at the empty living room, and a flame of anger rose within him.

Yet, he still went to the kitchen, heated up a bowl of congee, and placed it by her door with a gentle knock before returning to his room.

The next day, when Joyce walked out of her room, Zayne had already left for work.

She glanced at the cold congee on the floor, tossed it with the bowl into the trash can, and grabbed her handbag to go to her work.

Upon arriving at the door, she found all her belongings piled at the door.

Inside, Kacie was placing her own photos on the bookshelf.

"This is my office. Why are you here? Who allowed you to put my things here?"

Joyce's sudden outburst startled Kacie. The latter awkwardly set down the photo in her hand. "I'm sorry, Ms. Holt. I'm now in charge of the project and needed a quiet office, so Mr. Miller brought me here. When I arrived, the room was already cleared, so I didn't know it was your office."

Kacie hurriedly began packing up her things and was about to give the office to Joyce.

In her haste, she accidentally knocked a photo frame off the desk.

She bent down to pick it up, and a shard of glass cut her finger. Bright red blood instantly welled up.

Joyce felt sympathy and reached into her handbag for a Band-Aid to help. But she was suddenly pulled away.

She stumbled and bumped her waist against the desk corner. She gasped in pain.

Looking up, she saw Zayne, who looked concerned. He was holding Kacie's hand and was about to take her to the medical room.

"Mr. Miller, I'm fine." Kacie furrowed her eyebrows and pulled her hand back.

But Zayne firmly grasped it again. He accepted a first aid kit from a colleague and wanted to treat the wound for Kacie, only to be avoided once more by her.

"Mr. Miller, please behave yourself. You are married."

Zayne was about to explain, but he met Joyce's eyes filled with pain.

A hint of guilt flickered in his eyes, and he awkwardly cleared his throat. "I decided to give your office to Ms. Hopkins. Don't blame her. Joyce, you shouldn't be hard on her or hurt her."

Joyce didn't bother to explain.

She lowered her gaze and hid the pain within her eyes. "Then what about me? Where should I go?"

Zayne picked up a file from the side and handed it to Joyce. "The investigation into the last incident is complete. You're fully responsible. So you go to work on parts in the old hangar. It is a punishment for you."

Joyce glanced at the report, a cold smile tugging at her lips. In front of Zayne, she threw all the items related to her and Zayne from the box into the trash can.

Under Zayne's astonished gaze, she straightened her back and headed towards the elevator.

As she walked, she heard her colleagues' chatter incessantly.

"Joyce is such brilliance, but she was wasted on menial tasks."

"What do you know? I heard Gerald didn't punish her that harshly. But Zayne talked to him and told him that he was worried Joyce's work might delay Kacie's research. I think it's more about Joyce getting in the way of their romance."

"I think so too. Joyce desperately chased Zayne, but his love was cheap like that."

Their words stung Joyce like needles.

She took a few deep breaths. Although she felt pain once more, she resolutely stepped into the elevator.

The old hangar had been deserted for a long time, covered in dust everywhere.

She spent an entire day and barely cleaned it up.

By evening, she returned home, as her shoulders were sore. As soon as she opened the door, the aroma of food greeted her.

Zayne sat at the table and was transferring food from takeout boxes onto plates.

When he noticed her return, he walked over quickly and guided her to sit at the table. "Try these. I remember they're your favorites."

Zayne placed some food into Joyce's bowl. But she didn't move. He sighed softly, stood up, and sat beside her. He then held her hand. "I know you're upset, but I'm doing this for your own good. Didn't you say the lab felt like a cage, and you preferred research in a practical environment? The abandoned hangar is quiet, with no one to disturb you. You can focus on your work there."

Joyce looked down at their tightly clasped hands, and she was consumed by pain.

His words were just an excuse she had made to visit the base back then.

She had remembered every measure of those parts. Besides, Gerald had arranged for several assistants for her, so it was not necessary for her to go to the old hangar at all.

She told him she preferred research in a practical environment because she wanted to find an opportunity to talk to him back then.

Joyce took away her hand with a cold smile. Then she looked up and met Zayne's eyes. "Zayne, you make me feel ridiculous."

...

Since that day, she simply moved into the abandoned hangar and cleaned old parts every day while listening to her colleagues discuss the progress of the Eagle Project.

When she heard that Kacie decided to personally test-fly to prove herself, she inwardly sneered.

With Kacie's clumsy skills, who knows what might happen?

As Joyce expected, during the test flight three days later, the aircraft barely took off when the body kept shaking. The alarms echoed throughout the test site.

Zayne watched the plane anxiously. Upon learning about the program malfunction, he frowned and immediately rushed to the old hangar. "Fix the program right now! Kacie can't wait long. She must be safe."

He practically shoved the laptop into Joyce's hands. When she didn't move, he raised his eyebrows slightly and pulled out his phone. Then he thrust it in front of her. "Joyce, you don't mind yourself, but you can't ignore your foster mother, Ellen Holt, in the countryside, can you? I've already sent someone to bring her here in your name. What if something happens along the way…"

Joyce watched Ellen sitting unconsciously in the car's back seat on the phone screen. She suddenly stood up and grabbed Zayne by the collar. Her eyes were red with pain and hatred. "Zayne, how could you be so heartless? Where is Ellen?"

Zayne raised his eyebrows slightly and didn't respond to her question. But his gaze turned to the nearby laptop.

Joyce understood what he meant. Ellen was Joyce's only family, and she had no other choice.

She bit her lip lightly and picked up the laptop with trembling hands. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, and sweat beaded on her forehead.

Half an hour later, the aircraft program returned to normal.

Zayne's eyes were filled with joy. He paid no attention to Joyce behind him as he rushed toward the test site.

She watched his anxious retreating figure and then turned her gaze to the phone beside her. There was a message from Gerald. "The divorce process is complete. The military sent some people to escort you. They are at the base entrance."

Joyce lowered her gaze slightly and gave a relieved smile.

As she got into the car, she glanced back at Zayne, who was tightly embracing Kacie. His face was covered with joy. He seemed to regain something lost.

A chill flickered in her eyes. "I'd rather destroy what's mine than leave it to you vultures!"

As the car started, she pressed the button to destroy the core files of the Eagle Project without hesitation.

At that moment, Zayne didn't notice that a car had driven out of the base.

He carried Kacie anxiously into the hospital and insisted that the doctor conduct a thorough examination of her.

Seeing him so worried for her, Kacie looked pleased.

She even smiled at him, which had barely happened before. "Zayne, thank you for saving me again."

Zayne's eyes lit up, and a blush spread from his cheeks to his ears.

Just then, Kacie looked worried again. "But I've made such a big mistake this time. I'm afraid I might get demoted..."

Zayne's first reaction was to have Joyce take the blame for Kacie. After all, Joyce was capable, and the base wouldn't really punish her.

However, when he recalled Joyce's determined eyes, his heart seemed to be stung, and hesitation struck him for the first time.

"Zayne?" Kacie's voice interrupted his thoughts.

He snapped back to reality. Looking at the troubled expression on his lover's face, he made the decision. "Kacie, don't worry. I am here for you, and you'll be fine."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, the door to the hospital room was pushed open.

The Regulatory Department's people appeared with stern faces. "Kacie, please come with us."

Kacie panicked instantly and instinctively hid behind Zayne for protection.

Zayne was stunned. He had never expected the Regulatory Department to arrive so quickly. He frowned and shielded Kacie behind him. "The incident hasn't been concluded yet. Where are you taking her?"

But no one answered him, and those people bypassed Zayne and forcibly took Kacie away.

They left behind a single sentence. "Zayne, you'd better worry about yourself."

Zayne was shaken. Watching the Regulatory Department's people leave, he had a strong sense of unease.

Suddenly, he realized something and hurried to the base's main building.

But he was stopped by security. They told him that Gerald was in a meeting.

Thinking of Kacie being taken by the Regulatory Department, Zayne disregarded protocol and pushed past the security. Then he rushed inside.

The meeting room door swung open with a bang, and all eyes turned to Zayne.

Zayne scanned the room, and his gaze lingered on Joyce's empty seat. He felt confused, but he quickly forgot about it.

"Gerald, why was Kacie taken away by the Regulatory Department?"

Gerald's face turned instantly dark. Yet, he restrained his anger and said, "Zayne, leave."

Zayne took a deep breath and said decisively, "Gerald, regarding this incident, there's something I must report. When the incident occurred, I heard Kacie say over the radio that there was a problem with the program. I realized immediately that someone had tampered with it."

Zayne glanced at Joyce's chair and blinked his eyes briefly, suppressing the guilt within him.

"The first one I thought of was Joyce, so I went to the old hangar. When I arrived, I saw her operating the computer and altering the program. I stopped her in time and found a way to make her correct the program. So Kacie landed safely. All of this was Joyce's doing."

Zayne wore a righteous expression and seemed to be determined to do the right thing.

Gerald's eyes burned with anger, and he slammed the table fiercely. "Zayne, are you accusing Joyce of everything?"

Gerald's stern rebuke plunged the meeting room into silence.

Everyone turned their gaze to Zayne.

Everyone was well aware that the previous incident was due to Kacie's operational error.

But Zayne's covert actions saved her. But it led to the punishment of Joyce, a brilliant engineer. So she had to work in the old hangar.

"We've already investigated the matter thoroughly. It was Kacie's violation of procedure that caused the problem during the test flight. And you guaranteed that Kacie was capable of leading this project. Now look at the result. The Eagle Project was scrapped. Do you know the losses this will cause the base?"

Gerald grew increasingly agitated. He rubbed his temples and said, "Kacie must bear her mistakes. From now on, she will cease all work and undergo investigation by the Regulatory Department. You take a few days off. We'll talk when you're thinking clearly again."