Between the hangover and the lingering effects of the drug, Bella Jefferson slept right through until noon the next day.
Even so, her head still felt too heavy to lift.
She had been working on last night’s project for over half a year, yet the other party had constantly stalled on the collaboration.
She had thought that after drinking so much to appease them, they would at least consider it.
Instead, all she got was a dismissive, “Meridian Group isn’t qualified enough.”
They had even orchestrated that entire farce just to let her catch Mason Sinclair cheating red-handed.
Bella truly couldn’t understand how Meridian Group had offended them, nor could she fathom their motives for setting up such a scene.
Having slept with her makeup on, her face felt horribly uncomfortable.
She went into the bathroom to wash up.
When she looked up, she saw her reflection in the mirror—bloodshot eyes and a deathly pale face.
She looked like a ghoul that had just crawled out of hell.
In that moment, she finally realized just how pathetic she looked.
To think she had tortured herself to the point of looking barely human, all for a scumbag!
But she hadn’t even done anything wrong.
Why was she the one hurting?
It had been five years!
It was time to wake up and face reality.
After scrubbing her face clean, Bella applied fresh makeup to cover her ghastly complexion before heading to the living room for some water.
She had drank so much last night that her throat was still parched and hoarse.
She chugged two large glasses of warm water in one breath.
That was exactly when Mason returned, holding a massive bouquet of red roses—ninety-nine of them, to be exact.
Wearing his usual gentle smile, he changed his shoes and walked toward her.
“You worked hard last night, honey.
These flowers are for you.”
The petals were a bit wilted; it was obvious the bouquet had been sitting around for a while.
Bella sneered inwardly.
If she hadn’t just seen the post Scarlett Sullivan had made last night—flaunting a million-dollar diamond necklace from her boyfriend and praising the generous store clerk who threw in a free bouquet of flowers—she might have actually thought Mason had grown a conscience.
When she didn’t take them, Mason simply shoved the bouquet into her arms, looking concerned.
“Why do you look so pale?
Did you not sleep well last night?
Did you skip breakfast this morning?”
He fired off several questions in one breath, playing the part of the perfect, considerate husband flawlessly.
He reached out to feel her forehead, but Bella dodged instinctively and threw the bouquet onto the floor.
“Did you forget?
I’m allergic to fresh flowers.”
Mason froze.
In all their years of marriage, he had never known she was allergic to flowers.
He immediately apologized.
“I’m sorry, honey.
It completely slipped my mind.
I’ll get rid of them right away.”
He bent down, scooped up the bouquet, and tossed it straight into the trash can.
Turning back to her, he said, “I’ll go make you some nutritious oatmeal.
It’ll help soothe your stomach after all that drinking.”
Bella didn’t say a word, but her unblinking stare sent a sudden chill down Mason’s spine, even though her face was completely expressionless.
He furrowed his brows slightly, finding her reaction odd.
Over the years, Bella had never been overly passionate toward him, but she had never looked at him with such intense, chilling eyes before.
What was wrong with her today?
Chalking it up to her being exhausted and in a bad mood from last night, he brushed it off.
He took off his suit jacket, went into the kitchen, expertly tied on an apron, and began washing oats to make oatmeal.
In the past, seeing him do this would have moved Bella.
Sometimes, it even made her feel a little guilty toward Mason.
After all, he wasn’t the man she had loved at the very beginning.
It was only after their marriage that his gentle warmth had slowly thawed her heart, making her fall in love with him over time.
But now, looking at the man in front of her, she found his hypocrisy absolutely terrifying.
Stripped of its sugar-coating, his gentle facade hid nothing but pure arsenic!
Bella took a deep breath, suppressing all the dark, negative emotions swirling in her chest.
He was an absolute scumbag!
He wasn’t worth her tears or her sorrow.
From today onward, she was just Bella Jefferson.
She was no longer Mason Sinclair’s wife.
Soon, the rich, savory aroma of oatmeal wafted from the kitchen.
Once it was ready, Mason ladled out a bowl, brought it to the table, and called out with a smile for her to wash her hands and eat.
Bella went to her room, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and sat down opposite him.
Mason’s cooking was quite good.
Playing the role of the devoted husband for so many years had naturally honed his culinary skills.
The oatmeal was thick and appetizing, but she didn’t pick up her spoon.
Instead, she stared at him with unwavering resolve and said, “Mason, I want to quit.”
Mason’s face froze in absolute disbelief.
“Is this because the project fell through last night?”
He had loosened his tie slightly, presumably to make cooking easier.
From Bella’s angle, she could clearly see a hickey on his neck.
Even though she had already decided to let him go, the sight still stung her eyes.
But it was only for a fleeting second.
Bella feigned ignorance and immediately looked away.
Seeing her reddened eyes, Mason quickly offered comfort.
“It’s fine.
If we didn’t get it this time, we’ll just look for another opportunity.
There’s no need to beat yourself up over it.”
He knew how notoriously difficult this client was.
Over the years, he had made countless phone calls to them, but they had never given him a chance.
Unwilling to give up, he had eventually passed the project onto Bella.
He hadn’t expected that even after half a year of back-and-forth negotiations, Bella would still fail to secure the deal.
Bella forced herself to act as normally as possible.
Feigning casualness, she said, “I plan to improve myself and learn a bit about research.
So, could you return my grandfather’s medical journal to me?”
A flash of panic crossed Mason’s face, but he quickly covered it up with a placating smile.
“If you want to learn the technical side, I can get someone to mentor you.”
He pulled her bowl of oatmeal closer, stirred it with a spoon, tested the temperature against the back of his hand, and then scooped up a spoonful to feed her himself.
“How about this?
You just stick it out a little longer.
I’ll have a word with Scarlett, and we can transfer you to the R&D department.
The professionals there can teach you the ropes.
How does that sound?”
Bella turned her head away, refusing the spoonful of oatmeal, unable to hide her displeasure.
Mason frowned almost imperceptibly but continued to coax her patiently.
“Honey, learning all that technical stuff is exhausting.
If you really want to quit, you can just take some time off and rest at home.
You can come back to work whenever you’re ready.
There’s no need to push yourself so hard.”
It seemed Mason had no intention of returning the medical journal.
Bella tried her best to keep her tone calm.
“There’s no need to trouble Director Sullivan.
I can just study on my own when I have time.
My grandfather’s medical journal is easy to understand, so it’s perfect for me.”
Mason set the spoon down, dropping the pretense.
“I can’t give it back to you right now.
I’ve been using the journal to research a new technique lately, and I’m on the verge of a breakthrough.
I can’t let all that hard work go to waste.”
“What technique?”
Mason resorted to his usual excuse.
“It’s highly confidential R&D information.
I can’t tell you yet.
But once the research is complete, I promise I’ll return the journal to you.”
Bella’s heart skipped a beat.
The medical journal had been in her possession for a while before he took it.
During that time, she had been researching a new technique herself and had scribbled her notes in the margins.
Could it be…
Could the ‘new technique’ Mason mentioned be her unfinished research?
Before she could ask, Mason’s phone on the table began to ring.
Bella could clearly see the name flashing on the screen.
“Scarlett Sullivan.”
Mason immediately grabbed the phone and stood up.
“You go ahead and eat.
I need to take this.”