Theron stepped closer, his eyes falling on the overturned cup and the spilled coffee on the floor.
"What are you two doing?"
Daphne forced a smile, trying to hide her nervousness. "Nothing. We are just here to have some coffee. Right, Elowen?"
She tugged at Elowen’s hand.
The hot coffee had already left Elowen’s skin painfully sensitive. Daphne’s rough grip only made the burning worse.
Elowen winced.
Theron panicked instantly. "What’s wrong?" He instantly shoved Daphne away and took Elowen’s hand. The moment he saw the angry redness spreading across the back of her hand, his expression darkened.
"How did this happen?" Then he turned his fiery gaze to Daphne. "Did you do this to her?"
Daphne’s heart trembled. Under his cold, piercing gaze, all her confidence shattered.
"I-I didn’t do anything. Elowen, please tell him. It was just an accident. For the sake of our old friendship, please tell him I didn’t hurt you."
All her smugness vanished. There was nothing left on her face except fear.
Elowen pulled her hand back. "Sir... Mr. Knox. It was just an accident."
Daphne smiled in relief. "Yes. The coffee spilled on her hand accidentally. We weren’t fighting."
Theron glared at her. "Get out."
His aura was so frightening that Daphne couldn’t keep standing there. She turned and fled.
Elowen quietly turned to the door, intending to sneak away. But his voice from behind stopped her.
"You are coming with me."
Without waiting for her response, he held her arm and took her to his office.
Daphne watched them disappear into the room. Her mouth fell open.
"What the hell? The CEO actually took her into his office? Do they know each other?"
But she quickly dismissed that question.
"How could that be? That bitch has never gone out of town, let alone abroad. There was no way they could have met before."
Resentment twisted her features.
"Certainly, she bewitched him." Jealousy burned her eyes. "She is such a shameless bitch. Trying to lure the CEO’s attention. I won’t let her succeed."
Inside the office...
The moment they were inside the room, Elowen drew her arm free and stepped back.
"I’m fine, sir. You don’t have to worry about me."
Theron turned toward her. "How could you be fine? You are burned. Look how red your skin has become. There are already blisters forming. And you are still saying you are fine?"
Elowen forgot how to breathe. No one had ever shown her this kind of concern except her mother. For years, she had learned to endure pain quietly.
But this man, who was practically a stranger to her, was worried about her.
’Why does he care about me?’
Before she could make sense of it, he guided her toward the sofa.
"Sit down. I’ll ask my assistant to bring some medicine for you."
Theron immediately dialed his assistant. "Antony. Bring some ointment for burn injuries. The best one. I don’t want any scar left on her skin."
There was a brief pause before Antony’s voice came. "Right away, sir."
Elowen finally came to earth. "Actually, you don’t have to do all this. I can take care of myself."
Theron looked back at her, his expression complicated. His chest was heavy with unspoken words.
’You really don’t remember me, Elowen.’
He remembered the first time he had seen her. Since then, she had stayed in his heart. He had waited so long to see her again.
Now that she was in front of him, he couldn’t say what she meant to him. He inhaled a lungful of air.
"I know you can take care of yourself. But there is no harm in accepting help from someone else."
Those words silenced Elowen completely.
She had been married to Soren for seven years, but he had never truly seen her. He had never been there when she was hurt. He had never asked if she was okay.
Whenever she needed him, he was never there for her. For so long, she had faced everything alone that she had eventually stopped expecting anything from anyone.
But Theron’s simple words touched a place deep inside her.
Meanwhile, Antony walked in. "Sir, the ointment." He handed Theron the small box and quietly left.
Theron sat beside her and reached for her hand.
"I can do it myself." Elowen’s voice was polite but firm.
Her fingers were shaking as she applied the ointment to her burned skin.
Theron watched her silently. He wanted to help. He wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to do everything alone anymore. But he had no right to say those words yet.
After applying the ointment, Elowen stood. "I’ll leave now. Thank you for your help."
She bowed to him and then dashed out the door.
"Wait..." Theron stretched out his hand as if to stop her, but she was already gone.
His fingers curled. His hand slowly dropped. Then he smiled.
"Running away from me?" He picked up the ointment box and looked at it. "We’ll meet again soon."
Elowen returned to her workstation. She looked at her reddened hand, uneasiness weighing on her chest. She couldn’t forget Theron’s gesture, his gentle voice, and his concern.
’Does he care about me?’ The thought struck her.
Then she shook her head instantly. "What’s wrong with me? Mr. Knox is kind. He is only taking care of his employee."
She pushed the unnecessary thoughts aside and forced her focus on the unfinished design.
At Soren’s office...
Soren’s frowned as he went through the documents. In between, he kept checking the clock. It was almost getting dark, yet the work wasn’t finished.
His assistant entered and placed another pile of files on the table. "These are all for today."
"What?" Soren looked at the tower of files with wide eyes. "So many files? I haven’t finished checking the previous documents. How am I supposed to finish all of these?"
Kael almost choked with disbelief.
Soren had never complained about work before. He was a complete workaholic. He could sit in his office for hours without taking a break and had always treated work as more important than anything else.
"Sir, these are nothing. Only ten files."
"Ten files? I told you I would leave early."
Kael flashed a smile. "You can finish checking them by eight in the evening. That will be the earliest you will leave the office."
"Eight?" Soren stiffened in his place. He had intended to leave early and pick up Elowen.
"Yes, sir." Kael nodded. "You usually leave the office late. Sometimes at ten. Sometimes at almost midnight."
"Midnight?" Soren blinked, speechless.
He had never realized he had been so occupied with work. He had thought money, power, and the company were everything. But what did he get in the end other than betrayal and pain?
He had lost everything he had and then had been killed.
This time, he wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes.
"That’s enough." He slammed his hands on the table and stood. "I’m leaving."
His words wiped Kael’s smile.
"But Mr. Vale... These files are..."
"Send them to my house. I’ll check them tonight." Soren didn’t glance back. He picked up his jacket and walked out.
Kael stood there, shock and disbelief mixing on his face.
Soren would rather spend the night at the office than bring even a single file home.
"What’s wrong with him?" He scratched his head in confusion.
Elowen packed her belongings and left the office. As soon as she stepped outside the building, she saw a familiar figure. Her steps immediately stopped.
’Soren?’ she screamed in her mind.
He was standing beside his luxurious car, leaning casually against it.
Soren noticed her and grinned. "Elowen." He moved toward her.
"You! Why are you here?"
Instead of answering her, he tugged at her arm and pulled her to his chest.
Elowen went still. She didn’t even breathe.
"You finally came," he whispered near her ear. "I have been waiting for you."
Elowen came to her senses and reacted. "You—waited for me?"
The man who used to stay at the office until late had actually come to pick her up.
"I told you I would come. I kept my word."
From his office, Theron watched the scene through the floor-to-ceiling window. As he stared at Soren’s arms around Elowen’s waist, his whole body burned with resentment and hatred.
"You stole her from me. And then you mistreated her all those years. Now you are pretending to care about her."
His fingers tightened around the glass in his hand. "Soren... you can no longer hurt her. This time, I’m taking her away."