"Good morning, Ms. Ford."

Kiara whirled around to look at Stephanie. She wore a shirt with a V-neck. As she spoke, she'd tug her shirt downward to reveal the hickeys scattered across her chest.

Bile kept rising in Stephanie's throat, prompting her to turn on her heel and walk away.

Coincidentally, Tyler walked out of the kitchen with a plate of fried eggs. When he noticed Stephanie, he spoke up right away.

"Steph, let's head over to the company together later."

"I'm not going to the company." Stephanie didn't bother glancing back at Tyler. "I'm going to the hospital."

"The hospital? Are you feeling unwell?" Tyler placed the eggs on the dining table. "I'll go with you."

He was about to approach Stephanie when Kiara grabbed his arm.

"Have you forgotten about your promise, Ty? You told me you'd accompany me today…" She sounded pitiful and aggrieved.

As Kiara expected, Tyler stopped in his tracks hesitantly.

Stephanie seemed to have predicted the same thing as well. She left the house on her own, no longer caring about Tyler's phony acts.

As Tyler watched Stephanie leave, he felt slightly uneasy for some reason. But he was aware of how much she loved him. At most, she'd get mad at him for not accompanying her to the hospital. What was there to worry about?

Once Stephanie reached the hospital, she went through a thorough checkup.

"The state of your gastritis has worsened. I'll prescribe you some medicine. Remember to take it on time," the doctor said as he looked at the report.

Stephanie heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she wasn't pregnant at all.

"Ms. Ford, did you overwork yourself again? Did you stay up past midnight and skip meals often?" The doctor wore a stoic look. "You might be young now, but if you don't take your gastritis seriously, you'll most likely suffer from major health problems in the future."

Stephanie could only smile bitterly in return. It was true that she had devoted all of her efforts to the project to the point that she neglected her own health.

But now, the project was in its final stage. There was no need for her to work herself to the bone anymore.

"Thank you, doctor. I'll be more careful with my health."

"And not just during this period, you know. You'll have to take care of yourself from now on."

"Got it," Stephanie replied softly. "I won't wreck my health ever again."

Once she grabbed her medication and left the hospital, she set off to the company. As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she heard a gentle and kind voice addressing the other employees.

"We'll be colleagues from now on. Here's a little something from me. Don't be shy, everyone!"

"Wow! These are pastries from May's Delights! I remember that bakery being on the pricier side!"

"Ms. Grover, you're so generous!"

"I'm glad to see everyone liking these pastries!"

The colleagues in the Executive Office crowded around Kiara, who was distributing the pastries to them one by one.

"Ms. Ford, you're here!" A colleague greeted Stephanie when she saw her. "Come, come! This is Ms. Kiara Grover, our new colleague!"

Kiara looked at Stephanie, a smile tracing her ruby lips. There was a faint hint of provocation and delight in her smile.

Stephanie frowned slightly, but she chose to ignore Kiara. Instead, she walked toward her own workspace. Her assistant, Brenda Miller, scooted over instantly while wearing a resentful and upset look.

"Why must this happen to you, Ms. Ford?"

"What's wrong?" Stephanie turned on her computer as she wanted to refine one of the schedules in the project.

"You've put in so much effort into the project during this period. Why is it that others get to savor your fruit of labor?"

That was when Stephanie paused in her typing.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Mr. Grover just announced that the project you're in charge of will be transferred to Ms. Grover, effective today." Brenda sounded very miffed.

Stephanie could feel blood rushing to her head instantly.

No wonder Kiara shot her that look. It turned out that she got to rob Stephanie's fruit of labor that she had been cultivating for the past half a year or so without even lifting a finger.

Stephanie rose to her feet instantly. Then, she strode right into Tyler's office.

"Are you planning to let Kiara head that project?"

Having expected that Stephanie would confront him, Tyler remained calm and composed.

"You've been working far too hard for so long," he said gently. "In fact, you even visited the hospital today. I'm very worried about your health, Steph. That's why I decided to transfer the project over to Kiki."

But Stephanie just sneered in return. "The project is already in its final stage. The hard times are already over. Who will you list as the person in charge when the project ends? Who will be the one receiving the profit generated by this project?"

She almost ruined her health by working hard on this project. Yet, Tyler intended to let Kiara take the credit with just a simple command.

"Steph!" Tyler's expression darkened slightly. "I want Kiki to participate in the collaboration with the Fords. If she's listed as the contributor of this project, it'll greatly benefit me. Can you settle down already?"

As Stephanie looked at the way Tyler spoke with such conviction, her rage suddenly cooled off.

Didn't she already see through his true colors? What was there to feel disappointed about? Since he wanted to give the project to Kiara that badly, he could go ahead and do that.

But who said anything about Kiara being able to stomach what she was fed?

As he sensed Stephanie's sudden calmness, Tyler's expression softened considerably as well. He rose from his seat before approaching her, his hand soon grasping her icy one.

"Steph, as Kiara's brother and sister-in-law, it's normal for us to help our younger sister out. Don't you think so?"

Stephanie drew her hand out of Tyler's grasp, her expression still glacial.

"Whatever you say."

Tyler frowned slightly in return. Clearly, he was displeased by Stephanie's attitude. Then again, since she was no longer hung up on losing the project, he didn't chastise her anymore.

"Kiki has just taken charge of this project, so there's a lot that she has yet to learn. Please help her out for the time being, okay?"

Not long ago, Tyler had righteously told Stephanie that he was worried about her overworking herself and her health overall. Yet now, he wanted her to help Kiara out.

The hint of mockery in Stephanie's eyes was far too strong for Tyler to ignore, resulting in him coughing awkwardly.

"Anyway, what did the doctor say to you at the hospital? Your health shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Tyler's belated concern for her health didn't rouse any feelings within Stephanie at all. She just thought that he seemed even more ridiculous now.

"It was nothing," she replied perfunctorily. "I'm taking my leave, then."

Tyler watched Stephanie leave, feeling his uneasiness wash over him once again. But it quickly dissipated the moment he saw Kiara entering the office.

"Did Ms. Ford get mad at you, Ty?" she asked tentatively while walking toward Tyler.

"Nope." Tyler flashed her a comforting smile. "You don't have to worry about anything. Steph has always been thoughtful."

"Oh. That's great, then."

Despite what she said, Kiara still felt immensely displeased on the inside.

She had already snatched Stephanie's project from her, and yet the latter didn't kick up a fuss in front of Tyler.

What she wanted was to see Stephanie getting into a huge fight with Tyler and piss him off. That way, the tension between them would intensify.

But Stephanie's reaction… Hmph! That woman sure was a good actress!

Kiara was quick to come up with a plan on the spot.

"Ty, since today is my first day at work, why don't we host a team dinner tonight? Let's invite everyone who works in the Executive Office. That way, it's easier for me to befriend them."

"Alright," Tyler agreed to the idea without hesitation. "I'll get someone to book a private room for us right away."

Soon, everyone in the Executive Office found out about the team dinner that would be hosted that night.

"Why is a team dinner being hosted all of a sudden?"

"Isn't that obvious? Mr. Grover wants to welcome Ms. Grover to the company!"

"Who on earth is Ms. Grover, anyway? She shares the same surname as Mr. Grover… Does this mean she's family to him?"

"That can't be, right? The way they look at each other is so steamy that even I can feel the heat from here. Maybe their sharing a surname is just a coincidence."

"That makes her Mr. Grover's girlfriend, right? I used to think that Mr. Grover and Ms. Ford were an actual couple…"

"That can't be it, right? If they were truly dating, they'd have announced it a long time ago."

Everyone kept chatting in a gossip chat group on their phones.

Meanwhile, Stephanie scanned around the office with a stony expression.

Kiara was only here for less than a day, and yet the colleagues in the Executive Office were able to pick up on the suggestive relationship she shared with Tyler.

Those two really loved each other a lot, eh?

Stephanie remembered the time when she intended to announce her relationship with Tyler to the rest of the company. But Tyler had told her, "Steph, the company is a workplace at the end of the day. Let's not drag our private affairs into this space."

Initially, Stephanie thought that Tyler wanted to keep his private life locked away from his subordinates, so she agreed to keep their relationship a secret.

Now that she thought about it, Tyler just wanted to save the position of his wife for Kiara.

Stephanie didn't want to attend the team dinner at first, but she couldn't stop her colleagues from dragging her there. Left without a choice, she could only head toward the hotel with her colleagues.

Everyone knew that this dinner was hosted in favor of welcoming Kiara to the company. That was why people began toasting to Kiara the moment the dinner started.

But Tyler was quick to block those glasses. "Kiki can't drink because of her poor health. I'll drink on her behalf."

Then, he picked up the glass in front of him before downing everything on the spot. He even ordered a glass of juice for Kiara after that.

Everyone began cheering on Tyler in the private room. Since they were no longer in the company, the employees, who were usually afraid of Tyler, grew bolder around him.

"Mr. Grover cares about Ms. Grover a lot!"

"Mr. Grover really is a wonderful man!"

Their words got Kiara blushing like mad. "N-Nonsense! Mr. Grover just took pity on me for having poor health…"

"Oh my! Ms. Grover, there's no need to downplay it! Mr. Grover clearly cares about you!"

"Does this mean you'll receive all of our toasts on Ms. Grover's behalf, Mr. Grover?"

Tyler smiled faintly while glancing at Kiara, who sat next to him. "I'll drink everything no matter how many times you keep toasting to her."

"Wow!"

Everyone gasped in surprise. They never would've thought that Tyler, who was known to be cold and aloof, would show such a tender side when he was in love.

Meanwhile, Stephanie just sat in a corner all by herself, her gaze pinned on the glass of wine before her.

Once upon a time, she had attended business gatherings with Tyler. She remembered downing glasses of hard liquor in those gatherings. And yet, Tyler never blocked any of those drinks meant for her.

Then again, she was also pretty stupid back then. Whenever Tyler showed concern for her and had someone prepare a hangover meal after she'd finished drinking, she thought he cared a lot about her.

Now, Stephanie got to see for herself what Tyler was actually like when he truly cared about someone. He didn't have the heart to let Kiara drink at all, even when she was presented with beer, which had a low alcohol rating.

"Ms. Ford," Kiara suddenly called out to Stephanie, her voice dripping with fakeness.

Stephanie raised her head to see Kiara standing before her with a glass of beer in hand.

"I heard that you've been guiding everyone over the past few years. Everyone respects you greatly, Ms. Ford. Since it's my first day here, I should toast to you."

Then, she handed the beer glass over to Stephanie.

Stephanie remained calm. "Sorry, my stomach has been feeling off lately, so I can't drink alcohol at all."

"Ms. Ford…" Kiara looked upset. "Did I somehow piss you off? I just wanted to toast to you, that's all…"

Stephanie was rendered speechless by Kiara's act. All she did was speak the truth.

But Kiara soon turned to look at Tyler in an aggrieved manner, making the latter frown instantly.

"Ms. Ford," he said coldly. "Kiki is your new colleague. You should drink the alcohol she offered to you."

Stephanie turned to look at Tyler, noting the immense displeasure in his eyes. He was silently chastising her for bruising Kiara's ego in front of everyone.

It wasn't as if he didn't know about Stephanie's weak stomach at all. When she suffered from stomach pain some time ago, he even got someone to deliver some medication to her.

But now, he demanded that she drink the alcohol offered by Kiara.

Tyler didn't give a damn about Stephanie's condition at all. To him, her health wasn't as important as Kiara's pride and ego.

Seeing as Tyler would never let her off the hook as long as she refused to accept Kiara's drink, Stephanie could only smile self-deprecatingly. Then, she accepted the glass from Kiara before draining it right away.

"Is this enough for you, Mr. Grover?"

Stephanie pointed the mouth of the glass at Tyler to show him that the glass was already empty.

Upon making eye contact with her, Tyler opened his mouth. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Kiara, on the other hand, just flashed Stephanie a taunting and smug smile. "Thank you for accepting my toast, Ms. Ford. Please take good care of me at work from now on."

Stephanie just ignored Kiara, which the latter was fine with. She strutted back to Tyler smugly before taking her seat next to him.

"Do you see it now, Stephanie? Ty cares about me the most!" she thought.

Kiara continued feeling very pleased with herself, unaware that Stephanie wasn't bothered enough to get hung up on this incident.

Now that Stephanie had drunk some alcohol, she could feel her stomach starting to hurt. She knew that she had a weak stomach, to begin with, so she didn't plan on consuming alcohol at all. The glass of alcohol that her colleague had poured for her was meant to be a decorative piece. What she didn't expect was that Kiara would toast to her with that particular glass of alcohol.

While the alcohol rating of the drink was relatively low, it was still lethal to Stephanie because of how fragile her stomach was.

Stephanie endured the pain the best she could while reaching into her bag to look for her medicine. Unfortunately, she couldn't find it at all. That was when she realized she had left the medicine back at the company.

The pain wracking through her stomach was starting to intensify. Seeing as everyone else's attention was on Tyler and Kiara, Stephanie pursed her lips before rising to her feet and leaving the private room. For now, she intended to visit a nearby pharmacy to buy the required medication.

When Tyler noticed her leaving, he subconsciously got up and tried to follow her. But Kiara quickly stopped him from doing so.

"Where are you going, Ty?" she whined coquettishly in a low tone. "You're the only one I'm close to in this room, so you must stay with me."

Her honeyed voice softened Tyler's heart immediately. In the end, he sat back down.

He was certain that Stephanie was unhappy with him because of what had happened earlier. It was fine—he'd just have to coax Stephanie later once they got home.

…

Stephanie stumbled down the corridor, feeling her stomach getting wrecked by the intense pain. It hurt so much that she thought she was about to keel over and die on the spot.

Dark spots swam before her eyes, and when she rounded a corner, she bumped into another person.

"I'm so sorry… I…"

Before Stephanie could finish speaking, her stomach twisted in pain once again. This time, she clutched her stomach and curled into a ball instantly. It hurt so much that she could barely stand up straight.

"Are you okay?"

The speaker had a cool and husky voice that was pleasant to Stephanie's ears. But right now, she wasn't in the mood to admire his voice.

She forced herself to raise her head so that she could apologize to the stranger again. "I'm terribly sorry…"

Since she was in extreme discomfort, she didn't notice the hint of surprise crossing the man's eyes the moment he saw her face.

"Are you alright?"

The man sensed that Stephanie was suffering from extreme discomfort and that she couldn't even stand on her own, so he steadied her on her feet out of courtesy.

"I…"

Having noticed the way she kept clutching her stomach, the man asked, "Is your stomach hurting?"

Stephanie nodded weakly. By then, cold sweat had completely covered her forehead.

"Do you normally take any stomach medication?"

Stephanie instinctively gave the brand of the stomach medication she often took. The man didn't say anything else after that. Instead, he helped her into a vacant private room and sat her down there.

"Wait for me right here."

His footsteps gradually faded away.

Stephanie's muddled mind was still buzzing in pain and confusion. Who on earth was that man? Where did he go?

But at the same time, her sixth sense told her that the man didn't harbor any ill intentions toward her. Moreover, she had a feeling that he looked quite familiar.

A short while later, the man returned to the private room. He stuffed a glass of water and two pills into Stephanie's hands.

"You should feel a lot better once you've taken the meds."

His voice was still cold, but it was laced with a hint of concern.

Stephanie looked at the pills, noting that they did come from the brand she usually took. So, she took the pills with the water.

The water was cool. When it flowed down her esophagus, she felt it soothe the scorching acid burning in her stomach.

The pills' effects kicked in very quickly. Shortly after taking them, Stephanie could feel her stomach pain starting to ease.

She looked up at the man and thanked him. "Thank you so much. I'm so sorry for the trouble I've caused you."

The man standing before her was tall, well-built, and had striking features. Anyone who saw him could clearly tell that he was a natural leader who came from an elite family.

"No need to thank me, Ms. Ford," he replied coolly.

"You know me?" Stephanie looked surprised.

It was at that moment she recalled who the man truly was. He was Adrian Hawkes, the second son of the Hawkes of Jetterpolis.

Rumors claimed that he was a business prodigy who came along once in a lifetime. He was exposed to his company's business before he even turned 16. At the age of 20, he was named as the next heir of the Hawke family by his own grandfather.

And now, he had already inherited Hawke Group and had become the fearsome CEO.

Six years ago, Stephanie had seen Adrian at a banquet. She often kept a low profile, not to mention that it was the only banquet she had ever attended.

Besides, she only got to see Adrian from far away. That was why she didn't remember him right away.

To think that Adrian was the one who actually lent her a helping hand…

"Mr. Hawke."

Stephanie felt a little embarrassed, but she could still maintain her composure. Her expression remained neutral as she asked, "What are you doing in Hydroton?"

Adrian didn't seem to mind the fact that Stephanie finally remembered his identity.

"I'm here for business negotiations."

A pause later, he asked, "Since you're feeling unwell, what are you doing here on your own?"

The words "on your own" had somehow stung Stephanie's heart, for she could feel her eyes starting to burn all of a sudden.

In the past, she had completely disregarded her family's protests and opted to stay in Hydroton with Tyler after she graduated from her university. She wanted to prove to her family that she could still lead a happy life without them.

Who would've thought that she'd be left alone in the end?

A while later, Stephanie finally snapped out of her trance. "I attended a team dinner with my colleagues tonight. My stomach began hurting all of a sudden. At first, I intended to buy some medicine on my own, but I didn't think I'd keel over from the awful pain. Thank you for helping me out, Mr. Hawke."

Adrian handed the box of stomach medication to Stephanie. He said coldly, "Although the medication's effects kick in very quickly, it won't help cure your stomach once and for all. Since your stomach is already weak, you should take good care of it."

For a moment, Stephanie wondered if Adrian was showing concern toward her. But she knew that they weren't close in the slightest. Besides, Adrian was nothing but cold and aloof when he spoke to her.

Maybe he was just being courteous.

"I know." Stephanie accepted the medication before pulling out her phone. "I'd like to transfer the money for the medication to your account, Mr. Hawke."

"It's fine."

"You paid for the medication meant for me. By right, I should give you the money."

The money might be nothing to Adrian, but Stephanie was the type who didn't like owing other people anything. She had to pay for the medication no matter what.

Adrian fell silent for a moment. He then dug out his phone and tapped on the screen.

Stephanie was about to ask Adrian to produce his bank account's QR code when she received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number. It was a user who was already in her contact list—it was just that they had never chatted with each other on WhatsApp before.

That user had just sent her a blank text.

Realization dawned on Stephanie right away, but it also left her feeling quite flabbergasted.

"Is this… your WhatsApp account?" she asked tentatively.

"Yup." Adrian remained stone-faced.

Stephanie was confused, to say the least. Since when did she save Adrian's number on her contact list? She didn't even remember doing that.

But then again, now was definitely not the time to dwell on such matters. Instead of asking questions, Stephanie was quick to transfer the money to Adrian after having him flash his QR code to his bank account.

"Well then, I'm going to head back to my colleagues." Stephanie flashed Adrian a polite smile.

But Adrian's voice became colder for some reason. "Ms. Ford, is the team dinner more important than your own health?"