"It''s all my fault; I was so careless and spilled the soup all over your jacket... Why don''t you give it to me, and I''ll wash it clean for you?"


    Ste stood outside the door, unable to see their expressions.


    Haynes was silent for a long time before he finally spoke three words.


    "No need." His voice was steady, devoid of any anger, as calm as ever. It was as if the stained jacket was just another piece of clothing, nothing special.


    "I noticed you''ve been wearing that jacket a lottely; you must really like it, right? Haynie, since I made the mess, I insist on cleaning it. I promise I''ll make it spotless..."


    Rachel''s voice suddenly changed, tinged with a hint of tears, as if she''d been struck by a thought.


    "Haynie, do you hate me now? Is that why you won''t give me the jacket?"


    "No."


    Rachel sobbed softly, "Really?"


    "Yeah."


    "Then... can you let me take the jacket?"


    This time, the silence stretched on much longer than before. Eventually, Haynes sighed and uttered a single word. "Fine."


    Rachel finally broke into a smile through her tears, "I''ll return it to you once it''s clean."


    Shortly after hanging up, Ste heard the front door close-Haynes was gone.


    Wanting to avoid any chance of bumping into him, she waited a good thirty minutes. When she was certain he wasn''ting back, Ste finally headed downstairs.


    On the first floor, she spotted two young nurses holding a familiar jacket, chatting as they walked.


    "Rich folks really are something else. Get a jacket dirty and just toss it instead of washing it."


    "Come on, Haynes is loaded. For him, tossing a jacket a day wouldn''t even make a dent in his wallet."


    "This jacket looks like it''s pretty high-quality, not cheap at all. If Ms. Pearce hadn''t specifically told us to chuck it, I''d have taken it home myself."


    "Forget it, what the rich discard isn''t ours to use."


    As they chatted, they threw the jacket into the trash.


    Once they left, Ste opened the trash can.


    Sure enough, it was the jacket she had gifted Haynes. Her grip on it tightened until her knuckles turned white.


    After realizing Foreman had been deceiving her, Ste decided to stop waiting foolishly for his call. Instead, she headed directly to The O''Brien Group.


    Upon entering, she was stopped by two receptionists.


    One of them asked, "Miss, who are you here to see?"


    Ste paused, "I''m here to see Haynes."


    As soon as Haynes'' name came up, the receptionists'' smiles vanished, and their eyes shifted, suddenly cautious. "Do you have business with Mr. O''Brien?"


    Ste nced at the receptionist, "It''s important."


    The other receptionist frowned, asking, "Do you have an appointment?"


    Ste didn''t have an appointment. "I''m Mrs. O''Brien. I need to see Haynes urgently."


    The receptionists exchanged looks. "Sorry, we don''t recognize you." They knew Haynes was married but had never met the so-called "Mrs. O''Brien."


    One receptionist, eyes darting, said, "Mr. O''Brien instructed us not to let anyone in without an appointment."


    "Miss, if you really are Mrs. O''Brien, why not give Mr. O''Brien a call? We''re just following protocol. If he says to let you in, we will."