The next morning.

Sabrina shot out of bed at the crack of dawn.

After a long, hot shower and a meticulous skincare routine, she stood in front of the mirror and started on her makeup. Her skin was flawless-smooth, radiant, and soft enough to bounce light.

Skincare was her profession, after all. Even in her mid-twenties, she could easily pass for a college student if she threw her hair into pigtails.

She slipped into a chic outfit and headed downstairs to catch a cab straight to Maxon Group.

She knew Cedric's habits like the back of her hand. He'd be the first person in the office. Always was.

On top of Gracewell Skincare, Cedric's main gig was running Maxon Group - an elite new-energy conglomerate headquartered in the heart of the city's financial district. Its towering glass building dominated the skyline, just like the man at its helm.

Sure enough, a sleek black Rolls-Royce pulled up to the front entrance just as she arrived.

Cedric stepped out. The early morning sun cast a golden glow over his tall, commanding figure-6'2" of controlled power in a sharply tailored suit. His shoulders were broad, his waist narrow, and his face... cold as ever. Not a hint of emotion, just that same unreadable, aristocratic mask.

Still handsome as ever. No - scratch that - even hotter now with that sharp, mature vibe.

Sabrina stood up from the steps, ready to greet him with her most radiant smile.

But before she could take a step-her vision blurred.

Oh no. Low blood sugar.

She'd gotten up too early, skipped breakfast, and overexerted herself. A wave of dizziness washed over her, making her knees buckle.

It had always been like this. Back in the day, Cedric would scold her with that stern face of his-and then magically produce a chocolate bar or a protein biscuit from his coat pocket. He wouldn't leave until she'd eaten every bite.

Now?

He caught sight of her sitting there, weak and pale on the building's front steps-and turned away like she was invisible.

She may as well have been a speck of dust.

'This woman, no apology, no explanation - still clinging on. What, was she aiming to patch things up?'

'Did she really think he'd take her back?'

The mere thought made Cedric's expression darken. His lips pressed into a thin, hard line.

A nearby security guard, having noticed the brief flicker of annoyance in the CEO's eyes, immediately stepped forward, eager to please.

"You! Get up! This isn't a rest stop!" the guard barked, waving his hand like he was shooing off a stray cat.

Sabrina was too dizzy to argue. She just needed a minute to recover.

But the guard mistook her silence for defiance. His face twisted in irritation, and he reached down, grabbing her arm with a rough hand. "Didn't you hear me? I said get up!"

The sudden jolt made her stumble. Her head spun again. Between the dizziness and the manhandling, she felt humiliated and helpless.

She thought of last night-thrown out of Cedric's hotel suite like garbage.

Her chest tightened. Her eyes burned.

Was this how far she'd fallen?

Was Cedric always this cruel?

He wasn't innocent either. Back then, he'd "flirted" with the cheerleader before their relationship had even officially broken up. And now he acted like everything that went wrong was her fault?

The guard reached out again, this time ready to push her back.

But before his hand made contact, another hand shot out-strong, elegant, and adorned with a Patek Philippe watch.

It caught her arm gently but firmly.

Sabrina looked up-and locked eyes with Cedric.

She knew it.

"Cedric..." she whispered, her voice trembling, eyes filled with something dangerously close to hope.

Cedric clenched his jaw.

Damn it. Why did he react?

Why did his body still move on instinct the moment she was in danger?

He let go of her arm as if burned, then leaned in close, his voice low and ice-cold-meant only for her ears.

"Don't dirty the floors of my company," he said. "Leave."

Her smile vanished.

So did the color from her cheeks.

She blinked, stunned, as he turned and walked away without a backward glance.

The pain that bloomed in her chest was sharp and sudden.

"Sabrina!"

Monica Simpson came running up, panting and flushed. "What the hell are you doing here?! Do you know how crazy you've made your mom? She's been trying to call you nonstop! She was about to book a flight!"

"Monica... I'm twenty-six. Can't I live my own life for once? My mom-"

"Is overbearing and controlling, I know." Monica sighed. "But you disappearing like this? You scared the hell out of everyone."

Monica hesitated, something flickering in her eyes. Then she simply said, "You're not planning to go back anytime soon, are you?"

Sabrina shook her head.

"Then just... be careful, okay?" Monica murmured, then turned and left.

*****

Before Sabrina could breathe, another voice rang out.

"Well, well. Look who finally decided to crawl back."

That shrill, judgmental tone made her lift her head. Sure enough, it was her half-sister Margaret Lionhart. Sabrina instinctively went on alert.

"How do you even have the guts to come back here?!" Margaret's brows arched sharply in disdain.

If Sabrina and her shameless mom hadn't "contributed" to Cedric's grandma's death, Cedric wouldn't have grown to loathe the entire Lionhart family. With the Stricklands' influence in the city, their fallout had dragged the Lionhart's business down year after year.

And now here she was, the reason behind it all, strutting back in public? Did she think the Stricklands wouldn't crush her?

"What's there to be ashamed of?"

"Sabrina, you seriously have no heart!" Margaret charged after her, voice rising like nails on a chalkboard, making Sabrina's ears twitch in annoyance.

Sabrina grabbed Margaret's arm hard. She winced, eyebrows tightening. "Margaret, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

"What's wrong with me? You should be asking what's wrong with you! You wrecked someone's life and don't even feel one bit guilty?" Margaret's chest heaved from the anger.

She wasn't throwing around accusations just because their family business tanked. To Margaret, Cedric's grandma had been a genuinely good person.

The Stricklands lived next door when they were kids, and Margaret remembered Cedric's grandma as sharp, warm, and super talented. Not only did she build Gracewell into the only domestic brand that could rival global giants, she also used to make the cutest little desserts.

As a kid, Margaret basically grew up on those sweet treats.

But that kind, gentle old lady supposedly died because of a request from Sabrina-because Sabrina decided to use her heart to save her own mom.

That kind of twisted betrayal was something Margaret had never wanted to believe, especially not from the happy-go-lucky, sunshiney Sabrina she remembered. But the truth was right there-there was even video proof.

Now Sabrina just stood there, even more confused. Hurt someone? Her? No way. She didn't even squish cockroaches when she saw them!

Could there be something she'd forgotten?

A headache started to pulse behind her eyes. Her stomach churned from hunger and stress.

Without a word, she turned and stumbled into a nearby café. She ordered two slices of cheesecake, hoping the sugar would calm her nerves.

She had just sat down when a shadow fell over her table.

A plain-looking man in a suit sat down across from her and slid a business card toward her.

"Ms. Lionhart. I'm from Pama. We need to talk."

His voice was calm, but there was no mistaking the authority in it.

Sabrina's eyes narrowed. "You... tracked me down?"

She had never revealed her identity to the public.

The man ignored her question. "This isn't a request. It's an order."

Sabrina had vanished.

For twenty-four hours, there was no sign of her. No calls. No messages. Nothing.

Monica was out of her mind with worry. She had tried every contact she had, with no luck.

The last place anyone had seen Sabrina was at the Maxon Group.

It was the only lead she had. So she drove straight there.

She stormed into the lobby and ignored the receptionist's protests, making a beeline for the executive floor. Without knocking, she shoved open the door to the CEO's office.

Cedric looked up from a tense meeting with his legal team, his expression hardening.

"Mr. Strickland," Monica said, breathless. "Where's Sabrina? What did you do to her?!"

Cedric blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Don't pretend you don't know. You said something awful to her, didn't you? And now she's gone!"

"I haven't seen her since that morning," he said calmly, though a flicker of unease passed through his eyes.

Monica softened slightly. "Please. She's not someone who can handle this kind of stress. If you know anything, if you even suspect something-tell me."

Cedric stared at her, reading the genuine panic on her face.

"I don't know where she is," he said at last. "But I'll find out."

Monica handed him her card. "If you hear anything, call me immediately."

With that, she turned and left.

Cedric looked down at the card. Monica Simpson. Neurology.

His brows furrowed. Why was Sabrina close with a neurologist?

That question quickly faded as a gnawing sense of dread settled in his chest.

He couldn't focus. Couldn't sit still.

He saw her pale face in his mind again and again-heard her voice, trembling with hope.

He stood up abruptly and grabbed his coat.

Downstairs, he stormed into the café near the building and demanded to see the security footage.

"Sir, I'm afraid we can't release footage without-"

"Then consider your café's lease terminated."

The manager paled. "Right this way, Mr. Strickland!"

The footage showed it all.

Sabrina, sitting alone. A man approached her. They talked. And then she left with him.

Cedric's blood ran cold.

He pulled out his phone. "Trace the license plate. Find out who that man is, where they went. I want answers ASAP."

He couldn't sit still. He paced the office like a caged beast, heart pounding.

He told himself this was just basic human decency.

That he'd do this for anyone.

But deep down, he knew that was a lie.

An hour later, a lead came in.

A warehouse. Abandoned. Outskirts of the city.

He didn't wait.

He drove like hell.

*****

At the same time-

Sabrina felt like she was on the verge of collapse.

She stumbled along a deserted stretch of road, arms clutched around her stomach that throbbed with pain. Sweat, cold and sticky, soaked through her clothes and chilled her skin with every gust of wind.

It'd been a whole day since she last ate. Her legs barely moved under her, and her head spun. But she couldn't afford to give up-not after clawing her way out of that awful warehouse. She had to keep walking, no matter what.

She never imagined the famous Pama Conglomerate would have someone this scummy under their name.

Fueled by anger, she didn't see the rock on the ground. Her foot caught, and bam-she went crashing to the hard concrete, scraping her arms and hands. The pain made her eyes well up.

She was exhausted. Lying there sounded kinda great...

Screech!

The sudden squeal of brakes tore through the silence.

"Sabrina!"

The screech of tires. A voice-low, panicked, familiar.

She flinched, curling into herself. "No... please... don't take me back..."

But the arms that scooped her up were warm.

Strong.

Safe.

Cedric.

He carried her like she weighed nothing, his heart racing at how cold and light she felt. Her skin was clammy. Her lips pale.

He rushed her into the car and cranked the heater.

As warmth returned to her body, her eyes fluttered open.

And when she saw him-really saw him-she broke.

The tears came fast and hard. Loud, ugly sobs tore from her chest.

That guy had dragged her to some abandoned warehouse and threatened her, saying if she didn't agree to work with the Pama Conglomerate and hand over Twinkle, he'd chop off her fingers - make sure she could never do research again.

Back then she'd crossed her legs, too terrified inside to breathe properly, but still forced herself to look calm and cocky. "Heh, I work with my brain, not my hands," she'd sneered. "Cut off my fingers all you want, I've still got thousands of formulas in my head ready to bury you."

He was so mad he turned pale on the spot.

Luckily, he chickened out in the end. Didn't lay a hand on her. Just locked her in the warehouse, came by once - probably to see if she'd offed herself - then bailed again.

Cedric had always been hopeless whenever she cried. The moment he saw those tears flooding her cheeks, his brain short-circuited. He reacted on instinct, fumbling for tissues, then awkwardly reaching forward to wipe her face...

But as soon as his hand got close, Sabrina - looking an absolute mess from crying - lunged into his arms without warning, clinging tightly around his waist like she never planned on letting go. So tight he could barely breathe.

Oddly enough, his first thought wasn't to push her off. In fact, he didn't mind if she held on even tighter.

Her wailing got louder, clearly a cover-up for her clinginess. And when he'd gone for tissues like a clueless deer, she almost choked on her rage.

Seriously, Cedric? Did he not realize a crying person doesn't want napkins - they need a damn hug!

He lowered the tissue in his hand, hesitated a moment, then patted her back gently, a bit stiff but trying.

Sabrina had thought he might shove her away. But no - he was actually comforting her?

See, she knew him so well. Classic cold-outside-warm-inside.

She even rubbed her cheek against his chest a little on purpose.

Man, was he built. Felt like pressed iron under that shirt. She was dying to find out if he had visible abs underneath...

"I've got a meeting soon, you better not get snot on my suit," he muttered.

She sniffled. "Don't worry. My snot isn't worthy."

He handed her a tissue without looking. "Buckle up. We're going to the hospital. After that, the police. You're reporting everything."

She slowly fastened her seatbelt. "You sound like a cop."

"I just don't want you getting into trouble again."

She didn't respond. After a few seconds, she asked quietly, "Did you really think I was trying to ruin your suit back there?"

He glanced at her. "Weren't you?"

"No," she whispered. "I just... wanted to hug you."

He didn't answer.

The car was silent.

Then she looked at him again, voice soft, as if pressing on a bruise.

"Why did you come for me?"

He didn't reply.

She smiled bitterly. "I thought you stopped caring whether I lived or died."

Sabrina's comment smashed the fragile peace like a rock through glass. The inside of the car went awkwardly quiet again.

Cedric's grip on the steering wheel tightened. His lips pressed into a flat line. He stayed silent.

That question-he'd been asking himself the same thing. Why did he freak out the moment he heard she'd gone missing?

Was it just instinct? Or was it... more?

He didn't want to dig into that.

Sabrina sneaked a few glances at the man beside her. He didn't say a word, sure, but at least he wasn't mad. That was something.

Whew. She was clearly jumping the gun. She'd barely been back two days and already wanted him to talk about getting back together? Chill, Sabrina. As the saying goes-rush things, and you'll end up burning your Cedric... or something like that.

Anyway, she needed to take it easy.

The rest of the drive was dead silent.

Cedric kept his eyes on the road. Sabrina, on the other hand, was laser-focused on inspecting the seat she was in-trying to sniff out if any traces of another woman had ever been here.

Being a developer meant her senses were sharp. Whether with her nose or her eyes-nothing escaped her.

If another woman had spent a lot of time in the passenger seat, there'd be something-perfume, a stray hair, anything.

Sabrina looked like a little curious pup, glancing left and right, all the while silently praying she wouldn't find evidence.

Eventually Cedric couldn't take it anymore. Her head kept turning like it was on a swivel.

"What are you looking for?"

"I was just..." She paused, realizing she got caught. Then she burst into a laugh to cover for herself. "Stretching my neck. Been on my phone too much lately-bad for posture."

Cedric didn't buy it for a second.

They cruised along the straight road heading toward the city hospital.

By the time she stepped out of the car, Sabrina hadn't found a single suspicious clue. That should've made her feel relieved, but on second thought, Cedric's whole cleanliness thing complicated things.

Like back in the day-when they were together, she'd try to leave cute little reminders of herself around him. Hoping to stake her claim a bit. But those sweet little decorations? Cedric would always take them down in, like, ten minutes flat.

Even worse, when she stayed over at his place and did what she thought was a low-key "this-is-my-man" roll all over his bed, he'd still catch her every time. He'd pick up every single strand of hair she left behind like a crime scene investigator. Said he didn't want his mom seeing anything and nagging him.

Back then, Sabrina already had a hunch-if Cedric ever cheated, he'd be the kind you'd never catch.

So now the question was-had no other girl ever sat here, or was the evidence just wiped so clean she could never tell?

Cedric locked the car and turned around, only to find Sabrina still standing there, her eyes practically glued to the front passenger window, wearing an expression that said, "Why is there no clue?!"

Coupled with her strange behavior in the ride, it wasn't hard to guess what was up.

"Yo, Cedric!"

A male voice suddenly cut through their thoughts.

Both Sabrina and Cedric turned at the same time.

It was a young doctor in a White.

"Look who's actually here for once. And who's this?" The guy eyed Sabrina curiously, then paused.

"Hmm... 'Woman' doesn't exactly fit," he seemed to mumble to himself.

The girl in front of him had shoulder-length hair, wild and unstyled. Her skin was ridiculously fair-like the kind only baby dolls had. A round face, cheeks soft and full like apples. She wore a basic long-sleeve top tucked into a knee-length skirt, with simple flats on her feet.

No matter how old she might be, calling her a woman just didn't feel right.

Sabrina held her breath, eyes twinkling with excitement.

Whoa, now that's a spicy question!

She was dying to see how Cedric would react.

But Cedric just looked cool as ever, like the question didn't even scratch the surface. He knew his buddy too well to get caught off guard.

White Coat didn't even wait for a reply, just launched into his own guesses: "She's your sister, right? Lemme think, is she the older one or the younger one?"

Anyone familiar with Cedric knew he had two sisters.

Sabrina's heart that was just bubbling with anticipation took a nosedive. Seriously? Sister? Are you kidding me?

"All right, she's a little banged up. Can you take care of it?" Cedric cut the nonsense and quickly explained what had happened so White could jump into doctor mode.

The moment White heard she'd been kidnapped, his usual joking attitude vanished. He immediately swung into action and started arranging scans-CTs and a head check, the works.

Sabrina panicked a little at the sound of that. "No need! I just hadn't eaten all day and then tripped on my way out. The guy didn't even touch me. Really, it's not that serious."

She thought Cedric had just brought her here to get a nurse to slap a bandage on her forehead and be done with it. That scrape wasn't that big of a deal. Who knew he'd be this... thorough.

Just as White was about to explain how even minor knocks could be serious, Cedric beat him to it with a firm, "No."

Sabrina shut up instantly. No more arguments.

White gave the two of them an odd look, his eyes clearly putting the dots together. Then a smug little smile tugged at his lips. "Ah, so not the sister then."

Because everyone knew Cedric's sisters acted like sworn enemies-they'd never just listen quietly the moment he said no. They loved pushing his buttons.

But this girl? The second Cedric said no, she zipped her lips and nodded. Yeah, not a sibling.

White suddenly felt a chill and turned around-Cedric was staring at him with that unreadable look. It wasn't even sharp, but it made his skin crawl nonetheless.

He immediately cut the chatter and said to Sabrina, "Come on, let's get these checks done."

Sabrina was too busy basking in Cedric's subtle 'concern' to hear that little whispered jab. When White said it was time, she just nodded and followed.

After all, she was back for one reason: to win him back. So naturally, she had to go with the flow.

After a whole round of tests, Sabrina came out clutching her stomach that felt like it was being twisted in knots. She practically had to lean on the wall to stay standing. One more minute without food and she'd literally pass out.

As soon as she stepped out-bam-she walked smack into a human wall.

It was solid. And warm.

She clutched her forehead and looked up-it was Cedric.

Sabrina quickly straightened up. Just because he was being nice didn't mean she could go overboard with the touching.

"Sit," Cedric said calmly, already making his way to a bench in the hallway like he was used to her crashing into people.

Sabrina obediently followed and sat down. Then she caught a whiff of something delicious in the air, and her stomach immediately responded like it had a mind of its own.

She followed the smell and saw that Cedric's pinkie was hooked around a plastic bag. Yep, that was definitely where the scent was coming from.

Cedric was speechless at the way Sabrina was eyeing the food like a starving stray, and couldn't help blaming himself a little-he'd been so focused on her injury that he forgot to feed her before bringing her in for a check-up.

"Eat something first, then we'll grab a proper meal later," he said, holding up the bottom of the plastic bowl as he handed her a greasy breakfast burrito, then opened the lid on the oatmeal.

Sabrina took it eagerly, didn't even bother with courtesy. She chomped down two big bites right away, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk. Mouth full, she mumbled, "Why'd you buy this for me? You used to be all strict about it, never let me eat this stuff."

Cedric had always turned his nose up at street food.

At first, she'd chalked it up to rich-kid pickiness. Later, after he lectured her about food safety, she realized yeah, maybe those few-dollar snacks weren't exactly gourmet quality. Still, she kept eating them-because they're just too good.

Cedric's hand paused mid-stir in the oatmeal when she suddenly brought up the past. But seeing how happily she was eating, snapping bites off like they were the best thing she'd had in weeks, he figured she didn't mean anything by it.

"There wasn't anything else out there," he lied, eyes dropping to the oatmeal.

He knew full well there were tons of options-eggs, milk, dumplings, sandwiches... But she hated those. He could already imagine the way she'd wrinkle her nose. Thinking of how she was injured, he didn't even hesitate. He just stopped at the burrito cart and got her one.

"Oh," Sabrina responded, quickly polishing it off. Then without skipping a beat, she reached out and took the oatmeal from his hand, not even bothering with the spoon-just chugged it straight from the bowl.

Damn low blood sugar. It was like watching someone plug into a charger-only faster. She clearly wasn't looking to 'slow charge' either.

Cedric sighed quietly and gently held a napkin to her lips so she wouldn't mess up her clothes. "Slow down."

But she'd already drained it, cheeks full again like a frog. She gave her chest a pat to help swallow the last bit, then finally grinned. "So freaking good!"

Her eyes sparkled again. Her lips, reddened from the heat, looked like she was wearing lipstick, and the steam had turned her cheeks a rosy pink. She looked bright, full of life-like spring had just walked in.

Cedric got caught staring.

"Huh? What are you staring at? I'll throw this out!" she said, leaning toward him for a second. Not actually expecting an answer, she spotted the trash bag with the burrito wrapper in his hand and took it from him, darting off to the bin.

Cedric blinked and snapped out of it.

Watching her rush off, he thought, for someone in her twenties, she still had the energy of a teenager-like a walking firecracker.

Yeah... 'springtime' wasn't a bad way to put it.

What she'd eaten wasn't nearly enough to fill her up-just enough to fix that dizzy spell. She hadn't eaten or drunk anything for a whole day and night, after all.

So, after scarfing down that quick bite at the hospital, she tagged along behind him again, ready to go find real food.

They retraced their steps back to the entrance.

Outside, the hospital entrance was buzzing like a little street market. Every stall had steam rising off it, and a mash-up of food smells filled the air.

Sabrina's eyes widened. Wait a sec-there were tons of breakfast options here. burrito was tucked away in the corner. So why'd he say there wasn't anything else? Maybe he didn't even get it here.

Thank goodness, though. If he'd gotten any of those eggs or milk, she would've hated it.