It was a post on X. The engagement was rather low, with only a little over thirty likes. The person who posted it had used the Azure Drive Group hashtag, clearly indicating they were an employee of the company.
The caption read: "A Match Made in Heaven."
The main text read: "President Yates is finally bitten by the love bug! He’s so gentle! I bet ten bucks there’s definitely a spark between these two!!!"
Simon Hawthorne stared at the two people in the photo with borderline apathy. The man was lightly holding her wrist, creating a visually striking sexual tension. Anyone looking at the image would assume the two shared an intriguing relationship. Perhaps they were in the talking stage, or perhaps they had caught feelings for each other.
Linden didn’t dare to breathe too loudly as he observed Simon’s cold, stern profile. The boss had been staring at the photo in silence for a while, his thoughts an absolute mystery.
Linden shot a fierce glare at Shane Shaw. This deadpan freak never had an ounce of emotional intelligence! What was this? Was he trying to show Mr. Hawthorne that his wife was surrounded by eager suitors? He was just habitually stalking a rival company’s socials. Who would have thought he’d stumble upon a photo like this!
A long moment passed.
An executive, having just finished presenting his proposal, glanced at Simon with trepidation. "Mr. Hawthorne? What do you think?"
Only then did Simon slowly lift his head. Behind his lenses, his eyes were as cold as ice. "You spent two weeks just to produce this garbage? The details are completely shoddy. If you take this out there, you’ll have everyone laughing at Hawthorne, thinking we’re feeding a bunch of useless freeloaders."
The atmosphere plummeted to freezing point. Everyone in the conference room felt a sense of impending doom, wondering if the proposal was really that bad for Mr. Hawthorne to lose his temper so explosively.
Simon stood up with a frosty expression. "If I don’t see the best version in three days, don’t bother coming to see me again." With that, he strode out of the conference room.
Shane was completely oblivious to the tension. Linden groaned inwardly and hurried to follow his boss.
Simon didn’t return to his office. Instead, he headed straight down to the underground parking garage. As Linden went to get the car, he asked, "Mr. Hawthorne, are we going to Azure Drive?"
Simon looked up at him, his gaze icy. "What are we going to Azure Drive for?"
Linden was at a loss for words. Huh? Weren’t they going to march over there and drag the missus back? He had thought Mr. Hawthorne was looking so aggressive because he was definitely going to do something about it.
Simon looked down at his pinky ring, slowly rubbing it. "Back to The Imperial Residence."
Linden was utterly baffled but could only comply. Mr. Hawthorne was highly likely in a fit of rage right now, and Linden wasn’t suicidal enough to touch a sore spot.
Back at The Imperial Residence. They took the elevator up. The moment Simon stepped through the door, a small figure charged over, circling his feet.
Simon looked down. The dog, boasting a beautiful coat of fur, tilted its head up to look at him. Its big, dark eyes stared unblinking as it barked twice, "WOOF WOOF!"
Simon’s expression remained unchanged as he walked straight inside. "Stay away from me."
Heartbreaker seemed to understand, wilting for a second before starting to bark again.
Simon walked over to the dog bowl and refilled its food. Then he turned on the automatic water dispenser and sat aside, watching Heartbreaker wag its tail as it went to drink.
He furrowed his brows. He really did hate cats and dogs. He hated the shedding, the smell, the effort required to take care of them, and their untimely ruckus. They barked endlessly and had absolutely zero redeeming qualities.
But she liked them.
Only then did Simon carefully study Heartbreaker. The dog looked a little stupid. He still didn’t like it, yet he kept it by his side anyway. The dog didn’t easily get close to him either. Just like its mother, its heart and eyes were completely devoted to the other person. Every time it came to greet him, it was merely looking to see if Zoe had come back.
After a long while, Simon lit a cigarette and exhaled a plume of pale smoke. Without caring whether Heartbreaker could understand him, he said thoughtfully, "Does your mother need to be taught a lesson?"
Heartbreaker lifted its head as if to answer, "WOOF WOOF!"
Simon scoffed coldly, his words seemingly carrying a double meaning. "She doesn’t want you anymore. What are you barking for?"
By the time she got off work, Zoe had completely pushed the matter of the photo to the back of her mind. She had taken over a new project and threw herself entirely into it, leaving her no time to dwell on anything else.
It was nearly seven o’clock when she left the office. For convenience, she drove to her usual restaurant, which was famous for its noodles in an herbal broth. She ate a bowl to fill her stomach before leisurely driving back to her apartment complex.
Checking the time as she went upstairs, she saw it was already nearing half-past eight. Upon entering her apartment, she immediately noticed someone sitting on the sofa.
Zoe was slightly taken aback. "When did you get here?" Ever since she found out Simon had made a copy of her key, she had grown used to his sudden appearances.
Simon leaned against the sofa, a laptop resting on his legs. He glanced at her. "You just started the job. Is it really that busy?"
Zoe changed into her slippers, walked over, and sat down. "I’m not like you, Mr. Hawthorne. I wasn’t born with such a good life. If I don’t work myself to the bone, it’s hard to gain a foothold."
"Must you be so sarcastic? Can’t you speak to me normally?" Although Simon said this, his expression didn’t change at all. Yet, for some reason, Zoe felt a raging undercurrent hiding beneath his calm demeanor. It made her inexplicably flustered.
"So what are you doing here? Didn’t Peyton get hurt? Shouldn’t you be taking care of her?" He was so anxious about Peyton. She thought he would be guarding her bedside every second of the day.
Hearing her mention Peyton again, Simon finally furrowed his brows deeply.
A moment later, he set his laptop aside, stood up, and walked over to her. Bending down as if condescending from on high, he caged her in his arms. The posture screamed of intense possessiveness, as if no one else was allowed to intrude, and she wouldn’t be allowed to escape easily either.
Zoe’s heart skipped a beat as she looked up at him.
Simon’s expression was faint, but the dangerous aura of an impending storm made Zoe instinctively tense up. However, he merely said, "I’ve realized that I truly don’t know you well enough.
"You used to say, more than once, that you liked me a lot. That you loved me." He slowly pinched her chin, forcing her to look up and be swallowed by the storm hidden beneath the calm surface of his eyes. "Why haven’t you said it lately? Zoe, I want you to look at me and say it properly just this once."
An unsettling dread gripped Zoe’s heart. She tried to lean back, but his hand moved to grip the back of her neck, pressing her forward again. He would not allow her to refuse. He was dominant and overbearing.
She knitted her brows. "What exactly is wrong with you? You never cared about this kind of thing before. Did you get into a fight with Peyton?"
In her mind, that was the only logical possibility.
Hearing her bring up Peyton time and time again, with such a dismissive and nonchalant expression every time, stripped the last trace of warmth from his freezing gaze. "You only need to answer the question I asked you. Nothing else matters. Zoe, think carefully before you speak."
Zoe tried to swat away the hand gripping her chin. "Let go of me!"
But her refusal to give a straight answer—her deliberate evasion—ignited a fire within the emotions Simon had been forcefully suppressing. Losing control, he pushed her down onto the sofa. He captured her lips in a punishing, biting kiss. Hearing her gasp in pain, he grabbed both of her wrists with one hand and pinned them above her head. "I’m giving you one last chance. Say it.
"Say you love me."