?Chapter 1129:


    For a brief moment, she froze, her eyes flicking to Haley, who was watching her calmly, as if she had seen thising. She answered the call, and Marc’s familiar voice came through, casual as ever.


    “Stel, got time tomorrow? Let’s grab dinner.”


    Normally, she would have ended the call right then, treating it like some spam number she didn’t care to deal with.


    But with Haley right in front of her, she hesitated.


    “I don’t see a reason for us to share a meal,” she replied tly.


    Marc gave a forcedugh. “Stel, don’t be like that. We’ve known each other for ages. Even if we’re divorced, one dinner won’t kill us. I’ll pick you up tomorrow. Are you still at Neb or the institute?”


    His sheer audacity made her stomach turn.


    Still, she couldn’t ignore how strange it was—Haley showing up and then Marc calling right after. Something was definitely off. She met Haley’s gaze and said slowly into the phone, “Fine. Send me the address.”


    Marc sounded caught off guard by how quickly she agreed. He hesitated for a few seconds before finally sending the location to her phone after she repeated herself.


    “Tomorrow at six,” he said cheerfully. “Don’t keep me waiting.”


    After Ste hung up, Haley raised a brow, a hint of smugness on her face. “See? Told you he’d say yes. Just offer him something in return, and he’ll bite.”


    Ste frowned. “Haley, I don’t want you ‘saving’ me, and I don’t need any more of your… ‘help.''”


    Haley justughed softly, the sound echoing off her heels as she turned to leave. “I’ll be waiting for your good news!”


    The next day, Marc picked a French restaurant—the same one they used to go to back then. He’d even booked their old table. He got there early. The moment Ste walked in, he was already on his feet, acting like nothing had ever gone wrong between them.


    “Stel, you’re here.”


    Ste took her seat without a hint of warmth. “What do you want, Marc?”


    He gave a strained smile. “Do I really need a reason to see you? We used to be husband and wife.”


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    She met his gaze head-on. “Whatever was between us ended long ago. Or did you forget what you did?”


    She hadn’t forgotten the traps he set for her back then; she just couldn’t be bothered to dwell on them.


    He must really think she was gullible.


    Marc’s lips twitched, his voice lowering a notch. “I didn’t want to, alright? Things were bad then. Thepany was drowning, and I had to keep the lights on somehow—”


    Ste let out a quietugh, not the kind that reached her eyes.


    “You can drop the pity act. It doesn’t suit you.”


    The idea of looking out for his employees wasughable. When had someone as selfish as him ever truly cared about hispany’s staff?


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