Noreen thought for a moment. "Probably," she said. After all, Seth had always been willing to clean up Bianca''s messes.
The situation was escting quickly, and news traveled fast. Before Noreen had even left the office, she heard from an inside source at Aurelion Group that the fallout from the fireworks incident was causing Ascendancy Group''s stock to plummet, which in turn was dragging Aurelion Group down with it.
The shareholders were furious.
Seth was forced to call an emergency board meeting. Rumor had it the shareholders were unanimously demanding Bianca be held ountable-most likely by being forced to resign.
But Seth wouldn''t budge. He was single-handedly holding off the pressure from every single shareholder.
It was true love, no doubt. The only question was how long he could keep it up. Noreen was morbidly curious to find out.
The repercussions of the fireworks incident continued to spread. Word was, the lights at the Aurelion Group headquarters hadn''t been turned off in days. Meanwhile, Bianca, the woman at the center of it all, had been admitted to the hospital, citing exhaustion.
The next day, when Noreen took ire to the hospital for her sprained ankle, ire insisted they try to catch a glimpse of the drama. Noreen, however, put a stop to that idea.
"Why won''t you let me go?" ire grumbled. "I just want to see that bitch Bianca get what she deserves!"
"I have to get back for another meeting! Don''t make my life harder than it already is, please."
ire groaned at the mention of another meeting. "Why are you in meetings all the time? I''ve been here for two days, and you''ve been in meetings for two days straight. You have no time for me."
"I''ll hang out with you as soon as I''m done."
"..." That sounded awfully familiar. She''d said the same thing yesterday.
Just as ire was about to protest, Noreen pulled out a ck card and handed it
to her. "I''ll have my assistant take you shopping. Buy whatever you want. No limit."
ire''s attitude did aplete one-eighty. "You got it, babe! You go rock that meeting. Don''t worry about me."
The hospital lobby was bustling with people, but ire spotted him immediately. She tugged on Noreen''s sleeve. "Look, it''s jerk Seth!"
Noreen followed her gaze. There he was, holding a fruit basket and supplements in one hand and a
bouquet of flowers in the other. He was clearly on his way to visit Bianca.
Just as Noreen was about to look away, Seth''s eyes met hers. His steps faltered
for a moment, his gaze deep and unreadable. Then he gave a curt nod, a silent greeting.
Noreen turned her head away,pletely ignoring him.
Seth quickly moved on.<fn278e> This content belongs to fin?novel</fn278e>
A momentter, it seemed to dawn on ire. She huffed, "He''s here to see that bitch Bianca, isn''t he? Fruit, supplements, flowers.. tle''s really pulling out all the stops!” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Where was he when you were lying in a hospital bed, half dead?" she fumed He didn''t even show up didn''t even caft And now he''s parading around here with gifts for *her*? Is he even human?"
Hearing ire bring up the past felt strangely distant to Noreen. She could even joke about it now. "No, he''s a dog. Jerk Seth."
ire''s eyes welled up with tears despite Noreen''s smile. "Oh, honey, you must have been in so much pain back then."
"It''s all in the past." She didn''t look back, just kept walking forward, each step feeling lighter than thest.
"But it still hurts me to think about what you went through."
Noreen had no time for mncholy. She nced at her watch. "If I don''t leave now, I''m going to bete for my meeting."
"Okay, you go on back to the office."
"And you?"
ire shed the ck card. "I''m going shopping, of course! My ankle''s almost healed, so as long as I don''t walk for too long, I''ll be fine. Don''t worry."
Noreen was genuinely short on time. After a few quick instructions, she rushed back to thepany.
But ire didn''t leave the hospital right away. Instead, she turned around and went back inside.