A week later, Celine had fully recovered.

Thea returned to the office to wrap up her leave paperwork.

That evening, as she was leaving work, she bumped into Xavier in the elevator. Their colleagues, sensing the tension, tactfully left the two of them alone.

The elevator descended. Thea watched the numbers on the panel decrease to the first floor.

Xavier stood beside her, hands in his pockets, and asked, "Was the guy I saw with you at the hospital your boyfriend?"

The elevator doors opened.

Thea slung her bag over her shoulder and said, "That's none of your business, Mr. Ford."

With that, she exited the elevator.

Xavier followed her, remarking, "But your relationship choices affect my daughter. I don’t want her calling someone else 'Dad.'"

Thea stopped abruptly and turned to face him. "Did you think about our daughter when you cheated? When you pushed me to divorce because of Addilyn, did you think I wouldn’t find someone else?"

Xavier was left speechless and unable to respond.

Passersby glanced curiously at the scene.

Just then, Kian appeared, almost as if it were planned.

He walked up to Thea, casually draped an arm around her shoulders, and said with a teasing tone, "I've been waiting ages—I'm starving."

He tapped his wristwatch and addressed Xavier, "The workday’s over. Are we free to go?"

Xavier clenched his jaw in frustration.

With a smirk, Kian tightened his hold on Thea, and together, they confidently walked away right in front of Xavier.

Kian Reynolds had come specifically to deliver Dulce Lopez's medical report. It was purely by chance that he stumbled upon Thea Gonzales and Xavier Ford in the middle of a heated argument. Offering his help was just a spontaneous gesture of goodwill. Yet, he cheekily insisted that Thea owed him dinner in return.

As they got stuck in traffic and boredom set in, Kian casually asked her, "So, what's your plan for the future? Going to live by yourself?"

Thea just shrugged and replied, "No real plan. Just going with the flow."

"And what about you?" she countered. "You're not exactly getting any younger. No serious dating prospects?"

With a teasing grin, Kian nodded toward Thea, "Aren't we on a date right now?"

Thea rolled her eyes dramatically, "Yeah, right. I can't handle someone as high-maintenance as you. But there are some nice young women at my company. Maybe I'll set you up with one of them sometime."

He gave a slight smile, "Sounds good."

During the dinner rush, every restaurant seemed to have at least an hour-long wait.

Just as it was almost their turn, Thea Gonzales got a call from her department director, Amanda Harrison. "Thea, there's an issue with the financial report you turned in this afternoon. It's needed for the company meeting first thing tomorrow. You'll have to come back and work on it tonight."

When Thea arrived at the office, she quickly figured out it was all orchestrated by Xavier Ford. The entire building was dark, except for the light spilling from his office, lighting up the otherwise empty space.

Amanda instructed her, "Thea, take your laptop to Mr. Ford's office and make the corrections there. Once you're done, show it to him directly."