ra felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her as she noticed all the staff on the top floor watching her and Simon''s dramatic entrance.


    Simon kicked open the CEO''s office door with one swift motion. There was Dn, sitting calmly at his desk like nothing in the world could ruffle him. Simon let out a mockingugh and mmed the door shut, blocking out the curious eyes from outside.


    Releasing ra''s hand, Simon turned to her with a challenging re. "Go on, spill it! You said Dn isn''t your boyfriend. So who was the guyst night, huh? Who was making you feel so good?"


    ra pressed her lips together, her face turning a deep shade of red. Simon always had a knack for humiliating her in front of Dn.


    Dn, engrossed in his paperwork, seemedpletely uninterested in their squabble.


    Simon, irritated by Dn''s cool demeanor, snatched the files from his hands. "Dn, was it you with rast night?"


    ra''s anxiety spiked at Simon''s confrontational stance. She worried Dn might react as he had once before with Lincoln-calmly but decisively, maybe even lethally.


    Simon might be a fool, but he didn''t deserve to die. ra yanked him back towards her. "Mr. Dn, I''m sorry I couldn''t stop him."


    Dn paused, pen hovering over the paper, and nced at ra''s protective stance in front of Simon. For a brief moment, he caught a glimmer of caution in her eyes.


    Without looking at her again, Dn smoothly retrieved the stolen documents. "Has your boyfriend ever seen you defend another man like this?"


    ra''s previous boldness crumbled at his words, reced by a creeping sense of guilt.


    Dn continued signing the papers at a leisurely pace. "Especially when that man used to be your fiancé."


    ra felt her confidence wane further, but Simon suddenly spoke up with smug satisfaction.


    "Ha! So what if ra is siding with me? It''s obvious she cares about me and doesn''t want me to suffer Dn''s wrath. Seems like ra''s boyfriend isn''t you after all, Dn. I thought you were more impressive than that. Guess you couldn''t outmaneuver another man, huh?"


    Simon felt triumphant, convinced now that Dn wasn''t ra''s mystery man. Could it be someone she met on the outside?


    If that were the case, Simon thought, such a guy would be easy to deal with. He nned to uncover this mystery man''s identity-if he was just a waiter, Simon would offer him a substantial sum to disappear from ra''s life, paving the way for himself to step in and make Dn envious.


    The more Simon thought about it, the more optimistic he became about his prospects.


    Feeling quite pleased, he grabbed ra''s hand again. "ra,e on. I have new evidence to show you."


    ra shook off his hand. "I''m still at work."


    Simon nced at Dn, his smugness returning. "Fine, I''ll wait for you to finish. By the way, what does your boyfriend look like? Why doesn''t he want to be seen with you? Is he too ugly? You should think about your future kids. If you pick an ugly guy, you''ll have ugly kids."


    ra was too exasperated to respond and left the office without another word.


    Simon, buoyed by his own confidence, felt that getting rid of ra''s unattractive waiter boyfriend was only a matter of time.


    He was convinced that ra''s taste in partners had shifted, either due to past trauma or a subconscious belief that attractive men weren''t trustworthy.


    He was about to follow ra when Dn''s voice stopped him.


    "The project in New Haven, you''re going."


    Simon halted. New Haven? What backwater ce was that?


    "I''m not going anywhere, Dn. Don''t think I don''t know what you''re up to. You want ra''s boyfriend gone, just like I do. I''ve always been ahead of you, and this time will be no different. Even if you go to Grandpa, it won''t matter. I couldn''t care less about the Ferguson family fortune."


    Without that concern, no one could control him.


    Dn raised an eyebrow, setting his pen down. His tone remained calm and indifferent. "No wonder she''s not interested in you."


    Simon''s pride was wounded. Among the younger Fergusons, he was indeed the least ambitious. He''d once only dreamed of marrying Quinn, and now he was scheming to win ra over.


    His face flushed with anger, contemting whether he should focus on his career first. Maybe then ra would see him in a better light.


    But the sight of Dn''s face snapped him back to reality.


    "Even if I focus on my career, it''ll be after I''ve won ra over. You''re just trying to get rid of me, and I''m not falling for it. Within a month, ra will break up with that ugly boyfriend, and you won''t stand a chance."


    With that, Simon marched out, feeling a renewed determination. Seeing ra busy at her desk, he couldn''t help but wonder why he hadn''t noticed her allure before. He must have been blind.


    He wanted to approach her, but seeing the reluctance on her face, he knew he was currently unwee.


    Perhaps it was better to gather more evidence about the car ident. Once he had something substantial, ra would surely look at him with admiration.


    Buoyed by this thought, Simon was filled with motivation.


    However, as soon as he arrived at his destination, he was ambushed. A bag was thrown over his head, and before he could react, a brutal beating ensued.


    The attackers were swift and ruthless, stopping short of killing him but leaving him battered and unable to get out of bed for the foreseeable future.


    His back, still healing from a previous punishment, was now reopened, and he lost consciousness from the pain.