?Chapter 1004:


    Marc stepped in front of her again, lowering his voice as he pleaded, “Stel, I know you hated the way I behaved before, but I’ve changed. I can give you more than William ever could. Come back to me, let’s start fresh, alright?”


    His tone carried an inted confidence, as though he believed he was granting Ste a favor, certain she would ept his offer now.


    Ste’s stomach turned at his arrogance. “Marc, are you deaf? Even if I spent the rest of my life alone, I would never have anything to do with someone like you.”


    Even if every man in the world vanished, Ste still wouldn’t give Marc another chance.


    Without sparing him a nce, she walked quickly toward the roadside, ready to g down a cab. At that moment, the car William had sent pulled up beside her.


    “Ms. Russell, the rain’sing down too hard. Mr. Briggs asked me to bring you home,” the driver exined.


    She hesitated, but with Marc still hovering nearby, she worried he would continue pestering her. Reluctantly, she opened the back door and climbed inside. When Marc made no move to follow, Ste finally allowed herself to breathe easier.


    Ste had assumed Marc’s sudden visit was a one-off, but over the following days, he appeared again and again, clinging to her like an unwanted shadow.


    To avoid both him and the thought of returning to the vi to face William, Ste deliberately workedte each night.


    Even so, Marc lingered outside the institute without fail, insisting it was on his way and offering her a ride.


    “I didn’t realize you’d taken up a side job as an Uber driver, Marc. You must really enjoy chauffeuring people around.”


    Marc’s fingers jerked at her mockery, but he steadied himself and said, “Stel, please don’t talk like that. I’ll show you with my actions that I mean to treat you—”


    right.


    Ste brushed off Marc’s words as if they were meaningless chatter, not even bothering to respond.


    When she returned to the vi, her phone rang unexpectedly. It was Steven. He exined that Neb had a new project lined up, but the client was proving to be extremely difficult. He asked if Ste could personally step in and travel to meet them.


    New content avable now at g?lnσν???s?c?m


    She agreed to arrange a meeting over the weekend, but to her surprise, the very next day, Marc appeared right outside her research institute, waving a contract that already carried the client’s signature.


    Ste’s eyes flickered with surprise as she took in the papers. “How did you even know this was the deal I was after?”


    Marc gave her a confident smile. “Stel, we move in the same circles. You think I wouldn’t know what you’ve got your sights on?”


    The truth, however, was nothing like what he implied. The client happened to owe Marc a favor from years back, which was the only reason they agreed to sign.


    If it weren’t for that old debt, no one would have given Walsh Group the time of day.


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