The words hung in the air, and Noreen herself fell silent. She remembered a time, long ago, when ire Chase had said the very same thing to her. How strange that, after everything, she was now the one on the outside, offering warnings to others.


    Sophia, oblivious to Noreen''s inner turmoil, said cheerfully, "He would never let me lose."


    *Yes,* Noreen thought, *that''s exactly what I said, too. Love truly did make people blind. And she was done with it. She didn''t want it, not from anyone. The magic was gone. Love was something that only existed in novels and movies. When she looked at the people around her, she couldn''t think of a single person made happy by it.


    "Are you going to be here all night?" Sophia asked, eyeing the thick stack of files on Noreen''s desk.


    "Looks like it." Noreen needed to clear her desk so she could focus entirely on the uing IPO roadshow.


    "I''ll stay with you." Sophia began tidying the documents on Noreen''s desk while Noreen dove back into her work. After organizing everything, Sophia sat down to review Noreen''s schedule for the next few days, searching for any possible gap where she could squeeze in a break. Noreen was so exhausted it pained Sophia to watch. But after poring over the calendar, she found there wasn''t a single spare moment.


    "It''s so unfair it makes me sick," Sophia grumbled. "You''re here working yourself to the bone, and some people have time to go on vacation."


    The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them, pping her own cheek in frustration. Her mouth was always running faster than her brain.


    Noreen just sighed. "Are you talking about Bianca''s vacation? I already know."


    After all, she still had Seth on WhatsApp. Three days ago, he had posted a status update: *All is well The apanying photo was a stunning ocean view, clearly from a resort. Seth was the type, who rarely posted anything, so when he did it was flooded withments. It was impossible to miss, especially since they ran in the same financial circles and had too many mutual friends.


    Jude, in particr, had spammed thements section, whining about Seth going on a trip without him.


    Seth''s only reply was to Jude: *You enjoy being a third wheel that much?*


    It was a clear confirmation that he was there with Bianca.


    But Noreen''s focus was elsewhere. The first thing she thought when she saw the post was, *It looks like he''s recovering well.*


    With that, thest flicker of guilt she felt vanished. Her mind was entirely consumed by the first IPO


    roadshow. It was the most critical part of an


    InnoCore''sunch n, and it had to be perfect. Noreen personally oversaw every single detail, from the schedule and venue to the guest list and media invitations.


    Finally, with everything in ce, she allowed herself a small sigh of relief. Carman, noticing the weariness that clung to her, looked at her with concern. "You''ve worked so hard."


    "You too," Noreen replied, her tone serious. "This roadshow is crucial for InnoCore''s IPO. You need to have the presentation memorized. There can be no mistakes." She gestured around the empty conference room. "Let''s do a full run-through. Imagine this room is t the venue tomorrow packed with


    stors and media.


    We''re going to do a dry run of the speech,pletely off-script."


    She knew Carman got nervous in front ofrge crowds, so she wanted to desensitize him. He stepped onto the makeshift stage and began his presentation. Noreen took out her phone, acting as a member of the press, snapping pictures. They rehearsed it again and again, ensuring everything was wless.


    "Thatst one was perfect!" she said. "That''s the energy you need to bring tomorrow."