Paisley figured she'd already crossed a line with what she said - surely Clive would blow up this time.

Then they could finally have a clean break. She could go live her life without the shadow of being "Mrs. Harrington" ruining everything she wanted to try.

As expected, Clive strode in with a dark face and pushed the door open. His first words: "Who exactly do you want to kick out?"

Yup, he was pissed.

Paisley told herself to calm down - if she got kicked out for this, all the better. Goal achieved, right? No point stressing over mere formalities.

Tiffany, standing off to the side, clearly knew how to read the room. Seeing Clive's grim expression, she quickly stepped forward and said, "Clive, don't get mad. Miss Hughes didn't mean it like that... She's probably just upset."

Paisley looked at Tiffany, all soft-spoken and delicate - classic first love material. Playing the long game, no doubt.

Clive furrowed his brows, silent for a beat, then asked in return, "Oh? Upset? What for?"

What for?

Tiffany was clearly caught off guard. It took her a second before she replied, "Maybe... she's jealous?"

As soon as Tiffany got that out, Paisley clearly saw Clive actually smile.

Wait, he smiled?

Then he threw out, "Come with me to my office."

Seriously? That's not how this was supposed to go. The guy was just all doom and thunder - looked like he was about to erupt. She was ready to get rained on.

Now... one "she's jealous" and suddenly it's all sunshine again?

What kind of logic was that?

"Patrick ordered takeout from Velvet & Ash. You're really not coming?" Clive had only dropped by to grab her for lunch - and found her and Tiffany mid showdown instead.

And honestly? The fact that Paisley might be jealous kind of made his day.

"You're the best, babe. Thanks, hubbie." Paisley glanced at Tiffany, then brazenly walked past her and planted a kiss right on Clive's cheek.

Hang in there, Paisley. Don't blow your cover.

Because seriously, if Clive had a thing for Tiffany and actually cared about her, there's no way he'd just let her take this kind of hit, right?

But next thing Paisley knew, Clive took her hand - and didn't let go. Fingers interlocked - they left the conference room together.

Once inside the office, Paisley switched right into her dramatic mode. Munching down on the Velvet & Ash food, she threw out, "Clive, don't think that bribing me with fancy lunch earns you a pass. That sneaky little fox of yours? I'm not letting her off that easy, got it? I'm not exactly a pushover. If you won't sign those divorce papers, fine. We'll just keep dragging this out. Let's see who gives in first - your sweet little fox or stubborn old me."

Clive didn't say a word, just kept eating.

To Paisley, that silence meant only one thing - he felt guilty.

So he's still pushing this act, huh? For Granddad Harrington's sake?

"You divorce me, and I can keep up appearances around your grandpa. I'll even keep pretending for a while," she added, figuring she'd cleared every single hurdle.

But Clive's face just got darker.

"Why are you making this so hard for yourself? Eat your food. You're Mrs. Harrington now. You always will be. You really wanna keep fighting me?" His tone was low, but there was a threat buried underneath.

That made Paisley's head ache.

She wasn't in Clive's league, not really. If she kept testing him, who knew? Maybe he'd lock her up again just like before. And that... wasn't just a scare tactic.

But what - he wouldn't even give his first love a real title?

Paisley held a manager title at Clive's company, and her office was - unsurprisingly - inside his. She honestly didn't care how important the title was or how much power it actually gave her.

In her eyes, it was just Clive being Clive - trying to keep tabs on her.

So naturally, from the get-go, she wasn't thrilled. The desk? Didn't like it. Swapped it for one she personally picked. The chair? Too bland. She replaced it with a ridiculous pink one that totally clashed with Clive's minimalist vibe.

And it didn't stop there. She ditched the green plants in favor of lilies, demanded cappuccino over whatever sad excuse of coffee they had before. After all those swaps, she honestly ran out of things to nitpick. So now? She just lay there sulking like a grumpy cat.

It sucked enough not having anything to do, but being stuck right under Clive's nose made it ten times worse.

Revenge mode: activated. During work hours, Paisley blasted her video games like it was a LAN party. Of course, she made Clive upgrade the computer setup just for this moment.

The noise? Infuriating. Right when Tiffany walked in to hand Clive a document to sign, Paisley pounced with a fresh dose of drama.

"Babe, they're bullying me! Can you finish up and come help your poor wife?"

Even Paisley mentally face-palmed herself at the pure drama. She knew she was being a drama queen and honestly, if Clive still kept cool after all this, props to him.

But Clive just sighed and told Tiffany, "Leave it here. You can go."

Tiffany glanced at Paisley and, probably used to the circus by now, quietly made her exit.

Once she was out, Paisley slid back to her seat, game ready - until the internet cable got yanked.

"Mrs. Harrington, I brought you in to work, not to mess around and pick fights with my assistant," Clive said, frowning hard.

Oh? Hit a nerve?

Paisley's lips tugged up into a smirk. "What, upset now? If you care so much about your precious ex-crush, maybe we should just get a divorce. That way, I won't be around to bully her anymore."

That was it. Clive finally realized - this whole thing? She'd been baiting him.

Divorce? As if.

She stepped through the Harrington doors - no way he was gonna just let her walk out.

He reached out, lifting her chin, eyes narrowing as he looked right into her. It was intense - like pee-your-pants intense.

"There's no divorce in my world. Only death. You sure you want to push it?"

Paisley's eyes widened slightly. Dang, that was close. And sure, he looked good up close - fine. But threatening your wife? Seriously? Waste of a handsome face.

Game officially ruined.

Plus, Clive was basically leaning his whole body over hers - way too much closeness. That look on his face? In their past life, it always led to sex. Fast, hard, against-the-wall kind of sex.

And now, with him leaning over her like that, it was giving major déjà vu. They were still legally married... and dangerously close to relapsing.

Next thing, she shoved him away and stormed off to the bathroom.

Only when she got in there did it hit her - what was she running from? Why was she still chickening out like before?

So what if Clive didn't want a divorce? That just meant she could use the Mrs. Harrington title however she pleased.

After all, he's the one refusing to let go. Not her.

"Did you hear? Assistant Evans has been crying again. Apparently, that new so-called Talent Director is actually Mr. Harrington's wife." The gossip in the office was in full swing.

"Word is, his wife is just a clueless housewife who came to the company to keep an eye on Clive and stop him from cheating," another one chimed in.

"Tiffany has been with Mr. Harrington for years. They look so good together too - such a shame. I heard his wife's been causing all kinds of trouble and even made Tiffany cry more than once."

*****

No one knew where those rumors started, but Paisley walked out of the restroom just in time to catch the tail end of it. Those people didn't recognize her. Not surprising, considering she hadn't really looked at anyone when she came in and had gone straight into Clive's office.

So yeah, her identity was still under wraps.

"Sorry to interrupt, but is it true? That Assistant Evans and Mr. Harrington are a thing?" Paisley jumped in, but the timing wasn't in her favor.

Maybe her question came out sounding too blunt, because the others seemed to immediately side with Tiffany.

"Who are you? Why are you talking like that? Assistant Evans and Mr. Harrington are practically a perfect match! His so-called wife? Just a clueless newbie. Bet they'll get divorced sooner or later."

Yikes. Hardcore Evans fan alert. Clearly, Tiffany had put in the work making friends around here.

"Clive's married, and you're still calling them a perfect match? Ever heard of the word mistress?" Paisley wasn't here to play nice. If she had to deal with this mess, Clive wasn't getting off easy either.

Of course, the group didn't take that lightly. One of them, clearly trying to score points with Tiffany, snapped.

"How dare you talk about her like that? I'm gonna beat the crap out of you!" She went for a slap, but Paisley was faster and sent one right back.

It was chaos. People started recording, some were just watching the show, and the funny part? None of them actually knew who Paisley was.

"You hit me? Do you even know who I am?" the woman yelled, shocked. "I'm part of the assistant team! You're new, right? I'll make sure you get fired!"

Wow, she really thought she ran the place.

"I hit you, end of story. No need to schedule it. And fire me? You wish," Paisley shot back. She wasn't the type to back down - especially not to someone who gossiped for sport. With folks like this under Tiffany, no wonder she ruled the internal PR game.

Clive must really have a blind spot to think Tiffany was some fairy-tale ideal. Paisley honestly felt like she had to worry for his future if this was the kind of woman he treasured so much.

Word about the fight obviously spread fast.

"Clive and Assistant Evans are coming! Move out of the way!" someone shouted.

As for why Clive showed up himself?

He knew his wife too well.

If she ever stayed put in his office behaving herself, it'd be a miracle. So the moment he caught wind of drama, he came straight over.

Talk about bad timing - Paisley had been putting up a strong front until her foot slipped, and the woman shoved her down. Clive walked in just in time to see her fall, a complete mess.