?Chapter 34:


    After weighing everything, Ste made up her mind to apply for leave from the research institute.


    Her supervisor didn’t question her request and signed off on it right away. When Lainey found out, she walked over and asked, “Ste, is this about the project team list?”


    She could tell Ste had been deeply invested in that assignment.


    Ste didn’t exin, just offered a faint smile. It was the kind of look adults exchanged when words weren’t necessary, and Lainey didn’t push for more.


    “You’ve been going nonstoptely,” Lainey added. “A break might do you good.” She’d noticed how Ste barely gave herself a moment to breathe.


    Ste was always among the first to arrive and often thest to leave. There were even nights she stayed at the institute. No one there worked with as much intensity.


    After leaving the building, Ste stood near the road, trying to g down a taxi. She intended to collect thest of her things from Marc’s vi.


    At that moment, a ck sedan pulled out of the garage. Luca was behind the wheel, and William sat in the backseat, eyes fixed on a file.


    Luca quickly spotted her.


    With her striking features and tall frame, she wasn’t easy to overlook.


    “Mr. Briggs, that’s Ms. Russell,” he said. “Should we let her know the truth about the team selection? She didn’t seem okay today.” Luca spoke inly, knowing she’d asked for extended leave.


    Why else would she leave so suddenly if she weren’t upset?


    But William stayed quiet.


    Through the car window, Ste caught a glimpse of William, and her chest tightened. She turned quickly and walked off, putting space between herself and the vehicle.


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    Luca blinked in surprise. Was she deliberately avoiding them?


    William noticed as well. The way she hurried off felt more like she was escaping than simply walking away.


    His jaw tightened slightly, and his mood shifted.


    Back when she was eager to be part of the project team, she had gone out of her way to stay close. But now that the list had been announced, she didn’t even try to hide her distance.


    A quiet, humorless chuckle escaped him. “It’s fine. She’s not the delicate type.” Then, he motioned to Luca to drive away.


    The car rolled past her, tires kicking up dust in its wake.


    Only when the vehicle had vanished from sight did Ste finally exhale. Something about William set off too many rms in her—it felt safer to keep their contact strictly professional.


    Elsewhere, Marc had noticed Ste hadn’te home in days.


    Knowing howmitted she was to her position at the institute, he decided to spend the nights with Haley instead.


    By the sixth day without any sign of Ste at the vi, Marc grew increasingly unsettled.


    He called her, again and again, but her line never connected.


    She had blocked his number, that much was obvious.


    He stared at the screen in stunned silence, struggling to believe it. Ste had actually shut him out.


    A strange panic stirred in his chest, creeping in slowly until he waspletely uneasy.


    In the days that followed, he began waiting near the institute, hoping to catch a glimpse of where she went when she didn’t return home. But each time, he left disappointed—he hadn’t seen her once.


    Today, though, he arrived earlier than usual. Just as he was beginning to think the wait would end in vain again, he finally spotted Ste walking out. Just as he was ready to drive over, something caught his attention. A familiar ck sedan rolled out of the garage.


    He mmed the brake, killed the engine, and leaned back, eyes locked on the car.


    That was the same one she had entered before—he was sure of it.


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