Claire returned to the office and sat at her desk, staring at the computer screen, her fingers cold to the touch.

Her whole body trembled with anger, but the weight of her workload pressed down on her, forcing her to rush through the report.

The day after the data submission, the annual key account she was responsible for, Aurora Group, flagged irregularities and accused her of falsifying the data.

The penalty for breach of contract was thirty million dollars. If she failed to clarify the situation today, the company would pull out immediately, and her career would be over.

"Ms. Sterling, are you certain these user growth figures are real?" The client representative asked coldly, "We checked the backend. The numbers don't match at all."

"I'll check it again," Claire said, biting her lip.

But she knew very well the data had only been uploaded yesterday, and she had personally verified it three times.

Unless someone had tampered with it.

Suddenly, she remembered Sophie "kindly" offering to back up her files yesterday.

It had to be her.

But if she said it now, no one would believe her.

The only person Claire could think of now was Ethan.

If Ethan was willing to believe her and pull up the original backup data, it would clear her name.

Claire walked into Ethan's office, her heart pounding. "Mr. Quinn, could you pull up the data backup? I think someone tampered with my data..."

Ethan lifted his head from the documents and looked at Claire without a trace of emotion, yet it still sent a chill down her spine.

"Your mistake, why should I be the one to pay for it?"

Claire froze for a second. "It's not a mistake. Someone altered my data..."

Ethan cut her off. "Where's your proof?"

Claire's face turned ashen. He didn't believe her.

Ethan noticed the change in her expression and spoke slowly, almost like a reminder. "I'm the CEO. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to interfere in disputes between employees. But you could always go to your ex-boyfriend. I hear he's loaded. He could cover the penalty for you, as long as you're willing to ask."

Her ex-boyfriend.

That was Ethan.

Claire understood now. All of this was just to humiliate her.

Claire shoved the door open and walked out. She would rather quit than lower herself to beg Ethan.

At that moment, the assistant walked in. "Mr. Quinn, Aurora is preparing to withdraw their investment. Ms. Sterling's project probably won't survive."

Ethan recalled the way Claire had walked out without looking back. His fist tightened, then slowly loosened.

He remembered what she had said last night when she slapped him. "I must've been blind to fall for someone like you five years ago."

He actually let out a quiet laugh. It didn't matter. She loved him.

That was enough.

The assistant hesitated. "This is Ms. Sterling's hard work. If it's destroyed..."

Ethan turned away, his tone casual. "I already told her how to solve it. She can ask her ex for money. He has plenty. As long as Claire is willing to ask, her ex would give everything to help her."

The assistant froze. "Isn't that... a bit much?"

Ethan's lips curled slightly. "But if she's willing to bow her head just once, I'll forgive her for leaving without a word five years ago."

But Claire never came.

3 p.m., meeting room. The client representative stood up, his tone final. "Ms. Sterling, unfortunately, we've decided to terminate the partnership."

Claire's face went deathly ashen as her nails dug into her palm.

At that moment, the meeting room door was pushed open.

Ethan walked in slowly, followed by the legal and finance teams.

"The original data is here. This wasn't Claire's mistake." His voice was calm, yet carried undeniable authority. "Quinn Group will fully fund this project and assume all risks."

The room erupted in shock.

The client representative stammered, "Mr. Quinn? Why would you..."

His gaze swept over Claire's ashen face, and for a brief moment, his tone softened. "I trust her ability."

Claire stared at him in a daze. He was about to get engaged to Sophie, so why was he helping her?

She wanted to go thank him, but the moment she stood up, Ethan was already surrounded by investors asking about the next steps.

She would have to thank him another time.

As Claire walked out of the meeting room, a man stopped her.

"Ms. Sterling!" Adrian Cole, the investor, smiled as he draped an arm over her shoulder. "The project's safe! Dinner tonight to celebrate?"

She hesitated. Adrian had helped her a lot. It was only right to treat him to something.

"Let me buy you a coffee instead."

At the café, Adrian kept trying, subtly but persistently, to close the distance between them, only to be politely avoided by Claire.

"Mr. Cole, you're a bit too close."

A teasing smile spread across Adrian's face. "I heard you're still hung up on your ex, Ms. Sterling. Mind telling me who he is?"

That was blatantly inappropriate.

Claire frowned, about to respond, when her phone buzzed. It was a message from Sophie.

In the photo, she and Adrian appeared to be laughing in a close embrace at the café. The angle was deliberately misleading, making them look like a couple.

Another message popped up. "I heard he's your fiancé, Claire. You two look perfect together. Once Ethan sees this, he probably won't bother you anymore, right?"

She looked up sharply and saw Ethan standing by his car across the street, his gaze locked onto her, his expression dark.

The next second, he turned, got into the car, and sped off.

Ethan had waited for Claire the entire day. After everything he had done for her, she should have come back to thank him in person. He had planned to finally talk about what happened five years ago.

As long as Claire admitted her mistake, he was willing to let the past go.

But instead, he found her laughing with Adrian at a café, as if she had already lined up someone new.

Claire rushed out of the café and chased to the roadside, only to see the taillights vanish around the corner.

He had clearly misunderstood.

Inside the car, Ethan slammed his fist against the steering wheel, the horn blaring loudly.

"So she really found someone else." His voice was hoarse, almost mocking himself. "Five years without a word, and the moment she's back, she's already cozying up to an investor..."

But a voice deep inside him argued back. She had been upset over him just yesterday. How could she move on so quickly?

He took out his phone, intending to call her.

His finger hovered over the call button, but in the end, he didn't press it.

For the next three days, Ethan seemed to deliberately avoid Claire. He even brought a different secretary to business meetings.

Watching Sophie grow more smug by the day, Claire became certain that Ethan was really going to get engaged.

She had told herself countless times not to cry over him again, but her body betrayed her. A sharp, throbbing pain tightened in her chest, making it impossible not to think about him.

At that moment, Adrian's invitation interrupted her thoughts.

"Ms. Sterling, I'd like to discuss the new budget allocation in person. Maple Grove Villa in the suburbs, three in the afternoon."

She hesitated, but knowing this was a critical stage of the project, she agreed.

At three in the afternoon, the moment Claire stepped into the living room, the door was locked behind her.

The smile vanished from Adrian's face. "Ms. Sterling, my apologies."

Claire immediately sensed something was wrong and turned to run, but two men in black stepped forward and forced her into a chair.

Adrian dialed Ethan's number. "Mr. Quinn, if you want your woman to live, hand over the core access key to Quinn Group. Otherwise, she'll be nothing but ashes tonight."

Claire struggled. "Are you insane? He won't—"

Adrian lifted her chin with a faint smile. "He will."

Ethan was about to get engaged to Sophie. He wouldn't risk everything to save her. And she wasn't worth that much. Quinn Group was his life's work.

But just over ten minutes later, the roar of an engine echoed outside, and the front gate was smashed open.

Ethan charged in alone, his suit disheveled, his eyes bloodshot, looking like he was ready to kill.

"Let her go," he said, his voice low. "I'll give you the key."

Claire's breath hitched. "Are you crazy? Leave! It's a trap!"

Adrian laughed. "Do it."

Gunfire exploded.

Ethan lunged forward, shielding Claire beneath him.

Calmly, he drew the gun from behind his waist and returned fire, his other hand covering Claire's ears.

Claire clung to his chest, tears streaming down her face. It felt like the first day they met all over again, when Ethan had protected her with the same reckless abandon.

A bullet grazed Ethan's left shoulder, instantly staining his shirt red.

"Run!" he growled, shoving her toward the side door. "Fire exit!"

"I'm not leaving! We go together!"

"Go!" He shoved her out the door.

The moment she turned back, the gas line inside the villa exploded.

Flames surged into the sky.

She fell to the ground, watching helplessly as the blast wave threw him down at the doorway.

"Ethan!"

Sobbing and screaming, Claire crawled back and dragged him out through the thick smoke.

His shirt was soaked in blood, and his breathing was faint.

The Quinn Group bodyguards and the ambulance arrived, forcing the attackers back.

On the way to the hospital, she clutched his hand tightly, tears falling onto his face. "You can't die... I forgive everything you've done... as long as you still love me..."

In that moment, betrayal, engagement, pride, none of it mattered anymore.

She only wanted him to live.

Once they reached the hospital, Ethan was taken straight to the ICU. His condition was critical, and the massive blood loss had nearly killed him.

Without hesitation, Claire donated blood three times. Even after showing signs of anemia herself, she still insisted on giving more blood for Ethan.

After Ethan was out of immediate danger, Claire stayed outside his room day and night.

At last, the attending physician gave a nod. "You may go in for ten minutes only. He's not awake yet, so keep quiet."

Claire took a deep breath and gently pushed the door open.

He lay in the hospital bed with his eyes closed, his face ashen, his left shoulder wrapped in thick bandages.

Claire's eyes stung as she stepped forward, wanting to touch his face.

"Ethan!" Sophie rushed into the hospital room. The moment she saw Claire, her face hardened. "What are you doing here? You're not welcome."

Claire frowned at Sophie, but remembering that Ethan needed rest and quiet, she stepped out of the room.

Sophie said bluntly, "Don't come back again. Ethan and I are getting engaged next week. I don't want any trouble before the wedding."

Claire felt as if she had been struck by lightning. Ever since Ethan saved her, she had wanted to ask whether he was really going to marry Sophie.

But now she no longer had to ask. On Sophie's hand was a dazzling diamond ring, a pear-shaped stone set in a platinum twisted band.

It was the very ring she had pointed at in a jewelry store window five years ago when she told Ethan, "When we get married one day, I want this one."

Back then, he had smiled and ruffled her hair. "Okay. I'll save up and buy it for you."

Now that ring was on Sophie's finger.

Sophie blocked her path and refused to let her near Ethan's room. "He needs peace and quiet. And we're getting engaged next week."

Staring at the ring, Claire's voice trembled. "How... how do you have that?"

"Because he gave it to me, of course." Sophie lifted her hand and deliberately showed it off. "He said this was the design he picked out five years ago, and he'd been waiting all this time to give it to me."

Claire went rigid.

All at once, she found it laughable.

So he had remembered every word she ever said, only the person beside him had changed to Sophie.

"Congratulations." She said it softly, then turned and walked away without looking back.

A little over ten minutes later, Ethan finally woke up.

As the nurse changed his dressing, she said with a sigh, "It's a miracle you survived, especially after losing that much blood. You owe a lot to Ms. Sterling. She donated blood three times in a row and nearly fainted in the donation room."

Ethan grabbed the nurse's wrist at once. "Claire? She donated blood for me?"

"Yes. She stayed outside for three whole days and only relaxed after the doctor said you were out of danger."

His eyes burned, and he nearly laughed with relief.

She still loved him.

She had been there all along.

He struggled to get out of bed. "Where is she? I need to see her!"

Just then, Sophie rushed in and threw herself beside the bed. "Ethan! You're finally awake! I was so worried about you!"

Ethan shoved her away. "Where's Claire?"

"She..." Sophie bit her lip, jealousy flashing through her eyes. "She left. I heard she met some rich man overseas and is already engaged."

Ethan's gaze turned icy. "Shut up."

"It's true!" Sophie threw her arms around him, tears streaming down her face. "Stop thinking about her! I'm the only one who truly loves you! Let's get married, okay?"

Ethan shoved her off with one sharp motion, his voice cold. "Even if Claire never comes back for the rest of her life, I would never marry you."

Sophie's face turned deathly ashen as her nails dug into her palm.

Regret hit her hard. If she had known this would happen, she should have had Claire killed outside the hospital earlier.

Claire returned to the company and calmly walked into Human Resources. "I accept the three-year Doplaytho assignment. I can leave right away."

That very night, Claire boarded a flight to Belleford.

She decided she would never be tangled up with Ethan again. Loving him had hurt too much, but hating him hurt even more. So she chose to leave him behind forever. From then on, the world was wide, the sky open, and they would never meet again.