In the past few days, she had been steering clear of Dn, avoiding his office unless absolutely necessary. She was doing her best to fly under the radar and even contemted switching back to her old department.


    Lost in her thoughts, Simon suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand. "Come on, let''s step outside. I need to talk to you," he said.


    ra instantly pulled her hand away.


    Simon frowned slightly but soon shed a smile. "Ryan told me everything. He said you''ve been a bit off-kilter because of my wedding and asked me to keep an eye on you. ra, you''re a grown woman. Can''t you handle this better?"


    ra took a deep breath. She couldn''t shake the feeling that Dn''s gaze was locked on her-intense and unwavering, yetcking warmth.


    "Are you finished? You really think you''re that important, huh? Do you honestly believe I''d lose my mind over your wedding?"


    Simon was so convinced her recent erratic behavior was due to being overly upset. He wrapped an arm around her waist. "Alright, let''s go see a therapist after work."


    ra had had enough. She kneed him where it hurt the most.


    Simon doubled over in pain, his face turning a sickly shade. "ra!"


    ra felt a wave of satisfaction but froze when she met Dn''s gaze. She had actually hurt Simon in front of another Ferguson. Dn was bound to be displeased.


    "Mr. Dn, I didn''t mean to, I just..."


    Dn was the most intimidating person she''d ever met. Under his scrutiny, lies felt transparent and awkward.


    He looked away, hisshes lowering. "Go clean the archive room for a day."


    That was her punishment. But surprisingly, it was just cleaning the archive room.


    She nodded quickly. "I''ll get right on it." Once outside his office, she hurried off to the Ferguson Corporation''s archive room.


    After she left, only Dn and a pained-looking Simon remained. Simon straightened up with difficulty, still trying to cover for ra Dn, I''ll take her to see a therapistter. She might really be having some issues."


    Dn nced down at the file in his hands. His tone was calm as he said, "Are you sure it''s because of you?"


    Something seemed to set Simon off, and a ridiculous thought crossed his mind. He blurted out without thinking. "ra and I have slept together."


    The office atmosphere went dead silent like someone hit pause.


    Simon didn''t look up at Dn, feeling the weight of the sudden tension His pride as a man held him steady. "We grew up together. Emotions got the better of us."


    His hands slowly clenched, his fingertips trembling. "Dn, aren''t you supposed to see Shelly today?"


    Thest sentence was a reminder not to forget Shelly.


    Simon''s heart raced for reasons he couldn''t grasp. Dn was the most prestigious man in the city; surely, he wouldn''t be interested in ra if she slept around.


    He wasn''t trying to belittle ra, but


    he couldn''t suppress his darker thoughts. The room stayed silent a long time before Dn finally. spoke. "Someone who cares


    Pol.ne


    her wouldn''t talk about her like that."


    With that one sentence, Dn made his stance crystal clear.


    Simon found it hard to hold his head high, gritting his teeth to keep hisposure. "I''m just reminding you, Dn. ra was once my woman."


    "Get out."


    Dn''s words were brief. His focus was on the documents in front of him, seemingly unbothered by Simon''s statement.


    Simon began to doubt himself, wondering if he was overthinking things. Dn and ra seemed to exist inpletely different worlds.


    Once outside, Simon still felt uneasy, his face a shade paler. Dark thoughts crept


    in, and suddenly, the idea of ra marrying Nate didn''t seem so bad after all.