?Chapter 1044:


    Ste studied her for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t want to get tangled up in whatever you’ve got going on with Marc. You can take the project, but an alliance? Not necessary.”


    Haley had been trying to rope her in for a while, and even after another rejection, she stayed unbothered. “Suit yourself,” she said lightly. “But if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.”


    With that, she turned and headed to her car parked beside Ste’s.


    Before Ste got into her own car, she called out to Haley, “Do you really hate him that much? Enough to burn yourself just to take him down?”


    She remembered how Haley used to unt her love for Marc like it was something to be proud of.


    For the first time, Haley’s calm expression cracked, her face icing over. “He left me to rot—almostnded me in jail—and then disappeared like nothing between us ever happened. I’m done being his pawn.”


    Her voice was steady, but the bitterness ran deep. Once upon a time, she had believed Marc actually loved her.


    That illusion shattered the day he stopped answering her calls, and Jazlyn’s mocking words drove the final nail in the coffin.


    When Haley loved, she gave it her all. Now, she was determined to take back every shred of dignity he’d taken from her.


    Unlike Ste—who could take a hit, heal quietly, and move on. Ste understood that kind of hurt. Marc was the type who would save himself first and let everyone else crash and burn. She didn’t try to reason with Haley. Instead, she opened her car door and slipped inside.


    By the time she reached her apartment building, exhaustion weighed her down. She unbuckled her seatbelt but didn’t get out right away.


    Her phone buzzed. A message from William popped up: “Why note upstairs?”


    Ste froze for a second and nced up through the windshield. Sure enough, the light in William’s apartment was on.


    Was he watching her from up there? Or had he just happened to notice her car?


    Find thetest updates g????????????????.??????


    A weird feeling crept over her—like she was always under his watch, like his eyes were on her no matter where she went. She typed back, “Can you stop the constant watch?”


    His reply came instantly. “Can’t. I worry about you.”


    Ste stared at the screen, speechless. With a sigh, she tossed her phone into her bag, locked the car, and headed upstairs.


    In the dining room of the Carter Mansion, the chandelier glowed softly, its light spilling across the long mahogany table and the neatly arranged silverware.


    Nina sat between her parents, eating slowly, though her mind seemed somewhere else.


    Norene looked at her daughter and asked in a gentle but curious tone, “Nina, why haven’t you visited your grandfathertely?” She remembered how Nina used to love going to see Karson, always saying how much he spoiled her.


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