Clementine had been in a foul mood for days, her expression thunderous. No one dared to cross her, and the office became significantly quieter\u2013the only sound was the constant thud of folders slamming on her desk every day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Clementine rolled her eyes and said, \u201cWhy are you so smug? As if anyone would want to go to your stupid dinner.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet didn\u2019t even spare her a glance. \u201cI wasn\u2019t planning on inviting you, so don\u2019t flatter yourself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Clementine was speechless. It was an unspoken rule in the department that whoever got promoted had to give everyone a\u00a0<\/p>\n
treat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madison quickly raised her hand and said, \u201cI want to eat something expensive!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rest of her colleagues added, \u201cAfter everything you went through for this promotion, you owe us a big meal. Let\u2019s celebrate!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet chuckled and replied, \u201cNo problem. Order whatever you want. It\u2019s on me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Noah, who had been quiet until now, suddenly asked, \u201cDr. Benson, who is your husband? He must be a formidable man if the hospital director shows him that much respect.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His father\u2013in\u2013law was the head of the Medical Services Department, in charge of promotions. So, he knew that Scarlet was backed by someone powerful behind the scenes, Rowan had no choice but to exclude Clementine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rowan had warned that Scarlet was untouchable, but he hadn\u2019t revealed who exactly supported her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All eyes in the room turned to Scarlet. Her husband was a mysterious man, and everyone was curious about him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Clementine wanted to spill the truth\u2013how Scarlet, with her innocent exterior, had manipulated her way into marrying a wealthy man but Rowan had warned her to stay quiet. The words \u201cWilliam Cooper\u201d and \u201cHeritage Bank\u201d were on the tip of her tongue. She was practically bursting to share what she knew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet glanced at Noah. She remembered he had been drunk and made a crude joke at her during a dinner banquet, only to be insulted by Mandy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a man. Just like you,\u201d Scarlet replied flatly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I could never compare to your husband. No wonder Dr. Benson looks down on us ordinary men. I suppose if I were as beautiful as her, I\u2019d marry a rich man, too \u201c\u00a0<\/p>\n
Noah had transferred from another department to ophthalmology and had been incredibly persistent in pursuing Scarlet at first. When she ignored his advances, his admiration quickly soured into resentment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite being married, Noah was notorious for hirting on young, pretty women After Scarlet ignored him, he flirted with the nurses. The women in the department couldn\u2019t stand him, but no one dared to antagonize him due to his connections. Only Mandy dared to lecture him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be jealous. We all know you\u2019re just bitter because you took a shot at Scarlet and she ignored you. If the men\u2019s room doesn\u2019t have a mirror, use the ladies and take a good look at yourself. You\u2019d realize you\u2019re a toad, not a prince.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room erupted in laughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Noah wasn\u2019t handsome, but he loved to dress up in luxury brands, though his clothes were knock\u2013offs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The female colleagues broke into fits of laughter \u201cYou\u2019re so hilarious, Mandy\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Noah\u2019s face flushed with anger. He shot Mandy a murderous glare, snatched his stack of medical case files from the desk, and stormed out of the office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That evening, Scarlet treated the colleagues she was genuinely close with to dinner. They went for a high\u2013end seafood buffet\u00a0<\/p>\n
Play now\u00a0<\/p>\n
X CLOSE\u00a0<\/p>\n
212\u00a0<\/p>\n
before heading to the karaoke for a singing session.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madison dragged Scarlet to the restroom halfway through the event. Madison was dealing with a stomachache, so Scarlet washed her hands at the sink and leaned against the wall, scrolling on her phone while waiting\u00a0<\/p>\n
Suddenly, Scarlet felt uneasy, as if someone was watching her from the shadows. She looked around and saw a waiter hurry past with a tray of drinks as muffled singing echoed from the private rooms lining the hall. There was no one suspicious in sight\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI shouldn\u2019t have eaten so many crabs just now.\u201d Madison groaned, clutching her stomach. When she saw Scarlet\u2019s expression, she asked, \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI had the feeling that someone was staring at me,\u201d she murmured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madison scanned her surroundings before replying, \u201cThere\u2019s no one here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet stopped looking around \u201cProbably just my imagination.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHelp me. I\u2019m about to collapse.\u201d Madison leaned into Scarlet, who supported her as they headed back toward their room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe you should head back and take some medicine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I haven\u2019t even sung my song yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you still have the strength to sing?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madison was reluctant to leave the party so early, but her stomach pain was too much to ignore. So, she reluctantly grabbed her bag\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet helped Madison call a cab home and waited until it pulled away before turning back inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The front door of the karaoke place opened inward. Just as Scarlet reached for the handle to push it, someone on the other side pulled the door open with sudden force. The momentum jerked her forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet didn\u2019t tumble to the ground as she had a hand on the door. Someone beside her reached out and caught her arm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet looked up and saw a man with a faint, almost teasing smile. \u201cCareful now,\u201d he said, his eyes fixed on her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet recognized him. It was Blaine, the man she had encountered at Nicole\u2019s event.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Play now\u00a0<\/p>\n
Clementine had been in a foul mood for days, her expression thunderous. No one dared to cross her, and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-end-of-the-contractstart-of-his-obsession"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13555"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13593,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13555\/revisions\/13593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}