<h4>Chapter 43: Chapter 43 Never Consider Yourself Unimportant</h4>


    Cecilia’s pov


    "I’ll log into the cloud and pull up the audio file now."


    Everyone went quiet as I opened my phone—but I could still feel eyes on me. Especially hers.


    I stared at Amara in disbelief. First Xavier trying to sabotage my career, and now her? Especially after I’d just thrown her a lifeline to save face in front of Sebastian.


    "Do you want to resign?" Alpha Sebastian asked suddenly, his tone unreadable.Or was he testing me?


    "Absolutely not!" I answered without hesitation.


    Divorce from Xavier or not, he had no right to make decisions about my career.


    Xavier’s face turned ashen with fury. Beside him, Amara shot me a look cold enough to freeze blood.


    Alpha Sebastian, however, let a smile touch the corners of his lips. "Good to hear."


    He nced at his watch before continuing. "The doctor says your leg injury needs at least a week to heal. Would you prefer to return to Denver? I can arrange for my private jet to take you back early."


    "That won’t be necessary," I quickly replied. "I’ll return with everyone else as scheduled."


    Having him fly his private jet just for me seemed... inappropriate, despite how tempting the offer was.


    "Very well. We’ll return together then." The smile in Alpha Sebastian’s eyes deepened slightly, sending an unexpected flutter through my chest.


    He told me to rest well and left with Beta Sawyer following closely behind.


    Amara hesitated, clearly wanting to say something more to me. But finally she hurried after Alpha Sebastian instead, shooting me onest venomous re.


    I sighed inwardly. It was bing increasingly clear that any female within breathing distance of Sebastian was automatically categorized aspetition in Amara’s book.


    "Cecilia, are you seriously flirting with him right in front of me? Do you think I’m already dead?"


    A furious voice erupted beside me, making me jump.


    I turned to face Xavier’s thunderous expression. Right... I’d almost forgotten about my soon-to-be ex-husband’s presence.


    "Alpha Xavier, please lower your voice. This is a hospital," I said calmly.


    "Don’t call me Alpha Xavier!" he snarled.


    "Fine then, Alpha Xavier," I replied with a sharine smile. "Please get out and remove yourself from my sight." Iy back down and pulled the nket over my head.


    Xavier was so angry I could practically feel the heat radiating off him. But for all his Alpha status and dominance disys, he couldn’t do anything to me now.


    Author’s pov


    Cecilia remained in the hospital for three days.


    And for three days, Alpha Xavier refused to leave her side. No matter how she ignored him or treated him like invisible air, he remained stubbornly present, adopting a shameless persistence that was both irritating and exhausting.


    Throughout this time, his phone rang constantly. Some calls he answered; most he abruptly terminated. His frustration was increasingly evident.


    Cecilia had a theory: Perhaps the Shadow Pack had managed to bail Cici out? It wasn’t impossible. If Cici could be released so quickly, the Blood Moon Pack’s legal team was clearly capable. The Shadow Pack’s attorneys would be equallypetent.


    In the afternoon, while Alpha Xavier was distracted, Cecilia locked herself in the bathroom and called Harper.


    "Cecilia, where are you? Has Alpha Xavier tracked you down?" she asked urgently.


    "I’m in Singapore. And yes, he found me," Cecilia replied.


    "Singapore? I thought you were in d."


    "It’s...plicated," Cecilia said, deciding not to mention her new position as Sebastian’s secretary or her injury. "What’s happening with Cici?"


    At this, Harper’s voice filled with indignation. "The Shadow Pack submitted documentation iming Cici has a psychological condition. She was released yesterday afternoon. Today, theirwyers approached me about a settlement, but I shut them down immediately. We don’t want their dirty money. We’re not settling—"


    "I agree to the settlement," Cecilia interrupted.


    "...What?" Harper sounded like she’d been pped. "You want to settle?"


    "Xavier is ying the devoted, repentant husband role right now. He won’t leave no matter how much I push him away. Even if I presented all my evidence against him, he might not give in. I’m not confident we’d win a court battle against him." Cecilia paused meaningfully. "So... I need an aplice."


    "...!!!!" Harper immediately grasped her meaning, mentally eximing a hundred expletives. Cecilia wanted to use Cici against Xavier? Her audacity was staggering!


    "Are you sure about this?" Harper asked cautiously.


    "With the Shadow Pack’s resources, getting Cicipletely cleared is just a matter of time," Cecilia reasoned. "If they’re offering a settlement now, we should take advantage of it."


    "Also, I need you to leak some information to Cici. Tell her Xavier wants to reconcile with me and absolutely refuses a divorce. Given her obsessive infatuation with him, that news will drive her insane. The Shadow Pack spoil Cici endlessly—when she loses it, they’ll pressure Xavier into marrying her. At that point, he’ll have no choice but to divorce me, whether he wants to or not."


    Harper was momentarily speechless. [You’re all a bit unhinged, honestly.]


    Before hanging up, she couldn’t help asking, "What if Xavier truly regrets everything? What if he genuinely loves you? Is there really no part of you that’s wavering?"


    Ceciliaughed softly. "If he truly regrets it, then this oue is still a fitting punishment for his infidelity. Whether he suffers or regrets, it’s exactly what he deserves."


    At seven that evening, Alpha Sebastian and Beta Sawyer arrived at the hospital.


    Alpha Xavier was absent—he’d received a troubling phone call and had rushed out, his face clouded with worry.


    [Seems like Harper delivered my message quite effectively...]


    Cecilia couldn’t help feeling a touch of schadenfreude. While enjoying this rare moment of peace, wondering if the factory situation had been resolved, Alpha Sebastian and Sawyer walked in.


    Alpha Sebastian looked somewhat exhausted. Understandably so—with their scheduled appointments continuing alongside the factory crisis, his constant back-and-forth must have been draining.


    "Secretary Cecilia, we’re returning to Denver tomorrow,"Beta Sawyer informed her.


    Noting Beta Sawyer’s relieved expression, Cecilia realized the factory issue must have been sessfully resolved.


    She’d wanted to ask about it when they visited two days ago, but Alpha Sebastian’s stern demeanor had deterred her. Now seemed like a good time.


    "Has Thomas Dunn finally confessed?" she asked.


    Beta Sawyer’s eyes lit up with surprise. "How did you know?"


    Even Alpha Sebastian leaned forward with interest, eager to hear her reasoning.


    "Just an educated guess," Cecilia replied.


    "They interrogated Dunn long enough to find out where I was being held, and I provided the recordings identifying the two ghost employees. "


    "Leonard also admitted to entering the room where I was kidnapped. Logically, with suchpelling evidence, the investigation should have been wrapped up within hours."


    She kept going, her thoughts connecting piece by piece.


    "But I knew it couldn’t be that simple. Leonard was acting weird. If they were just regr partners in crime, why would one protect the other?"


    She leaned forward slightly, eyes sharp.


    "When Leonard found out Dunn had confessed, he should’ve freaked out. That would’ve made sense. But he didn’t. He stayed calm—too calm."


    "So what made him so sure Dunn wouldn’t turn him in?" She paused, then answered her own question.


    "Maybe they had a deal. One takes the me to protect the other. Even more likely, they nned everything before I ever showed up at the factory."


    "If something happened to me, you’d start an investigation and find Dunn’s name first. He’d be the obvious suspect. He’d go down for it, and Leonard—the real one behind it all—would walk away clean. You’d think justice was served... and stop looking any further."


    When she finished,Alpha Sebastian’s expression was unreadable. Then his brow furrowed at her final point.


    "Cecilia," he said quietly, his deep voice resonating with unexpected intensity, "Don’t ever think you’re insignificant. If you had disappeared... I would have never stopped searching."


    I froze,pletely caught off guard by his words and the emotion behind them.