?Chapter 1553:


    Ste whirled around and saw Marc stepping out from behind a nearby pir, urgency etched across his face.


    She froze. She had never expected to encounter this man — the one she had once thought about day and night — here of all ces.


    He looked far more worn than before. Dark circles sagged beneath his eyes, stubble shadowed his jaw, and his suit was creased as though he had slept in it for days. He was nothing like the polished,posed Marc she remembered.


    Confusion flickered through her chest, followed immediately by sharp, instinctive fear. Why was he here? This was right outside the Briggs Group building. If William saw them like this, she could not begin to imagine what would follow.


    Marc closed the distance in a few long strides and grabbed her wrist without warning, trying to pull her away. The grip was rough and tight, and pain shed across her face.


    “Stel, I finally found you. I have been waiting here for days,” he said hoarsely, his voice strained as he tugged her toward a narrow alley beside the building.


    She struggled and twisted her arm, but it made no difference. He kept moving without slowing, not once checking whether she could keep up. Disgust and unease surged through her as curious nces began to turn their way from the building entrance. Instead of letting go, he tightened his hold and hauled her into the alley.


    The space was cramped and shadowed, with only thin lines of sunlight pressing through from above.


    She finally wrenched herself free and stumbled back two steps, keeping her distance as she watched him with guarded eyes. A sharp ache pulsed in her wrist where his fingers had been.


    “Marc, if you have something to say, then say it clearly. You hurt me.”


    Marc was still catching his breath, his eyes roaming her face with a restless intensity. After so long, seeing her again — seeing that she was safe — loosened the tight knot in his chest. He stepped closer, his voice rushed and strained. “Stel, how have you been? Did that bastard do anything to you? Do not be scared. I figured something out. Just listen to me.”


    Ste took in the picture before her: that devoted expression, those urgent words — all designed to convey how terribly worried he had been. Yet she felt no warmth at all. Only a chill.


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    Everything Sharon and Lance had told her flooded back. She did not answer him right away. She only looked at him quietly, and the eyes that had once held trust now held nothing but distance.


    When he finally ran out of words, she spoke — surprised by how steady her voice sounded. “Marc, answer me honestly. Were we really just a couple? Was I actually in aa for two years? And did you ever tell me the truth?”


    Her questions froze the anxious affection on his face. He stared at her, stunned.


    Panic shed through his eyes before he could conceal it. He had not expected this. He cleared his throat, avoided her gaze, and forced a shaky smile. “Stel, what are you saying? How could I lie to you? We have known each other for years. Do I really need to exin myself? I love you.”


    With every word, her heart grew heavier — until it finally sank.


    “Sharon told me everything,” she said calmly. “You lied to me more than once. Even now, you are still trying to dodge it. From the start, you never nned to tell me the truth.”


    Resentment red hot in his chest at her words. Sharon. It was Sharon who had told her.


    Seeing him fall silent, the restraint she had been holding finally snapped. She shoved him hard in the chest.


    “Say something,” she demanded, her voice shaking. “You said you loved me. Then why did you betray me? Why did you cheat? Why did you lie to me?” Her voice broke, a jagged edge of its former self. She needed the truth about those two missing years — and she needed it from the man who had sworn he loved her even as he tore her world apart.


    “Stel, please listen to me,” Marc said quickly, stepping forward and reaching for her hand.


    “You only have to answer me,” she said, pulling back and fixing him with a cold stare. “Yes or no.”


    She drew a slow breath and forced her emotions down, her gaze remaining sharp and steady, refusing to let him sidestep it.


    His lips trembled. His eyes darted away.


    Under her unyielding stare, every excuse and lie he had prepared stuck in his throat. His silence said everything.


    As the quiet stretched on, her heart sealed itself shut piece by piece. Thest fragment of hope she had been holding shatteredpletely. More than anything, she had wanted him to tell her it was all wrong — that Sharon and William had deceived her. That none of it was true.


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