<b>Chapter </b><b>462 </b>


    “Victoria, it’s been great working with you,” he said as he paid the bill. Just as we were about to leave, he suddenly reached out and pulled me into a quick hug.


    I stiffened, but he let go right away, all gentlemanly. “Come back to Hachester sometime and drop by the office.”


    “I will,” I replied, a little dazed. For a moment, it felt like Nathan had matured overnight. Was I just imagining it?


    Or maybe guys just grow up the moment they get their hearts broken?


    Nathan and I walked out of the restaurant side by side, and his driver rushed over to steady him.


    “Drive safe,” Nathan reminded me quietly.


    “Yeah. Are you heading back to Hachester now?” I asked.


    “Yeah, there’s a mountain of things waiting for me over there,” Nathan said, giving me a heavy<i>, </i>serious look.


    “Safe travels,” I said, then turned and headed to the parking lot to get my car.


    59%


    Just as I pulled out of the lot, I saw the Maybach with its hazard lights on zoom past me, merging into the flow of traffic.


    I nced at the city lights all around and let out a breath of relief.


    In the end, everyone returns to the ordinary routines of daily life. Who really lets love turn their world upside down?


    Days drift by, quietly flowing beneath the surface. Life keeps moving, no matter what. And tomorrow, the sun will rise, just like always.


    Ryan had gone back to Braylin. He’d said he’d be back in a couple of days, but it ended up being a whole week before I saw him again.


    I was swamped with work, and even though Jared and I used to barely see each other before we got married,tely, we’d been running into each other a lot in video conferences for work.


    Jared’s decision–making skills and his sharp understanding of the market really gave him a lot of charm.


    1 could see why Tracy was so obsessed with him. Besides being good–looking, he had this natural leadership quality that


    made him stand out.


    It wasn’t just the girls at the office who were crushing on him–even some of my own friends had started to develop


    crushes on him too.


    Whenever they got the chance, they’d joke around, asking how I could possibly let a guy like Jared go. Then they’d sneakily try to figure out what he was into, how I managed to snag him in the first ce, and whether they might have a


    shot with him too.


    After I made it clear I wasn’t nning on getting back together with him, the girls stopped being jealous of me–it was like a weight off my shoulders.


    10:31 Sat, 30 Aug


    59%


    Of course, it wasn’t just Jared who had fangirls. I actually had a bunch of secret admirers at work too, but since I was the boss, none of them dared to make a move.


    +23


    It hit me then–if you want to keep all that messy emotional drama away, just keep climbing up thedder. <i>Once </i>you’re at the top, there’s a natural line that keeps everyone at arm’s length.


    The next time I ran into Nathan was about two weekster, at hispany’s big productunch event. The ce was buzzing–media coverage everywhere, investors hyping it up, and for a while, it was the hottest thing around.


    I’d already put my money in, and Nathan really did give me a 5% stake in thepany. At this point, I actually owned a slightly bigger share than Jared.


    It was such a major event that I had to be there too. Work had me rushing over, and when I arrived, they’d put me right


    next to Jared.


    Jared looked genuinely surprised for a moment when he saw me, but then he gave me a graceful smile.


    “It hasn’t been that long, and here we are, side by side again,” Jared said, sounding a little nostalgic.


    I was dressed in an elegant dress, sitting beside him, feeling like a boat that had drifted past a thousand mountains–calm


    and untroubled now.


    “So, Jared, you think women are just meant to stay home and raise kids?” I shot back with a yful grin.


    Jared leaned in, his voice low and teasing right by my ear. “No, this is when you’re absolutely enchanting.”


    Jared’s breath was hot against my ear, and I tried to lean away–just then, I caught sight of Nathan in the crowd nearby.


    My breath faltered, and I just stared at him, totally in shock. It hadn’t even been that long, but his hair was shockingly half


    white now.


    That young, handsome face paired with all that silver–damn, it was like a needle stabbing right into my heart. My eyes burned, fighting back tears.


    As Nathan walked over, I quickly dropped my gaze, trying hard to swallow all those messy emotions.