A few employees exchanged subtle glances, curiosity flickering in their eyes, though none of them spoke a word.
Watching from a distance, Maria felt a surge of irritation rising within her.
’They must have done it...’ she thought, her jaw tightening.
Instead of reacting outwardly, she composed herself and walked toward Adam’s office.
Inside, Adam was adjusting his suit, his movents neat and controlled.
The mont he saw Maria, his expression turned cold, his posture stiffening slightly.
"What do you want?" he asked, his tone firm.
Maria stepped forward and placed a folder neatly on his desk.
"This is the follow-up on the recent client matter," she said smoothly. "Mr. Jason Taylor has outlined a few additional requirents..."
Adam gave a short nod, cutting her off. "Leave it here. I’ll look into it later."
Her words halted instantly. She nodded obediently, turning to leave without protest.
But as she reached the door, her gaze flickered briefly toward the dustbin, sothing unreadable passing through her eyes.
Later, when the office had quieted and most employees had left, Maria returned silently.
She stepped into Adam’s office, closing the door softly behind her.
Her eyes moved quickly, scanning the room with intent. After a mont, she approached the dustbin.
Inside, she found what she was looking for. Condom!
For a brief second, her eyes lit up, a sharp glint of satisfaction appearing in them.
Carefully, she wrapped it and slipped it into her bag.
’I can use this...’ she thought, her lips curving slightly. ’This will be enough.’
Unaware of the quiet sche unfolding behind the scenes, Mary and Adam had gradually fallen into a steady rhythm.
They would occasionally send small parcels or couriers to each other’s workplaces, simple gestures that carried warmth.
Sotis Mary would visit Adam, and other tis he would make ti to see her.
It was during one of those visits that Athena first saw Adam.
The mont her eyes landed on him, she was montarily stunned.
’He’s... actually quite charming,’ she thought.
Back in the past, Adam had spent most of his ti in a chanic’s shop, often covered in grease and oil.
But now, things were different.
Under Mary’s insistence, he had begun taking better care of himself, visiting the salon regularly, maintaining a clean and refined appearance.
His skin had grown clearer, and his features sharper.
Athena found herself trying to engage him more than once, her tone subtly flirtatious, her smiles lingering just a bit too long.
But Adam’s reaction was imdiate and firm.
His expression would harden slightly, and his responses remained distant, almost cold.
Soon after, he stopped visiting Mary’s place altogether, choosing instead to call her over to his office or et elsewhere.
anwhile, Athena’s mood soured.
The mont she returned ho, frustration bubbled over. She began venting to her husband, Ethan, her voice sharp with irritation.
"There’s this woman at work...Mary," she muttered, pacing slightly.
Ethan froze for a brief mont at the na, his expression flickering before he masked it with a small nod.
’Mary...’ The na stirred an old mory, his first love from high school.
He took a slow breath and gently pulled Athena into his arms, trying to calm her.
"Don’t take it to heart," he said softly. "People like that... it’s better to stay away from them."
Athena relaxed slightly, leaning into him, her frustration easing just a little. She looked up at him, her tone shifting as she asked, "Did you find any job yet?"
The question hit him harder than expected.
Ethan’s body stiffened, and a faint, bitter smile ford on his lips.
"Why do you even ask that?" he replied quietly. "I’ve been trying... but nothing seems to work out."
Almost instantly, Athena’s expression changed.
The softness in her eyes disappeared, replaced by irritation.
She pushed him away, her voice turning cold.
"Then figure it out," she snapped. "For the past ten years... no, for nearly two decades... I’ve been the one taking care of everything. Sotis I really wonder what I ever saw in you."
Her words hung heavily in the air as she turned and walked away.
Ethan stood there in silence. ’A waste... is that what I am now?’ he thought, his chest tightening.
What she didn’t acknowledge was the past they shared.
It had been Athena who approached him first, back when he was focused on building his career.
She had been the one to tell him she was pregnant. Even when he suggested terminating the pregnancy, she had firmly refused.
Soon after, everything changed.
Their families got involved, and under pressure, they were married.
From that point on, Ethan had no choice but to shift his focus entirely... toward Athena and the child, leaving behind the path he had once been determined to follow.
He had no choice but to endure the constant storms that Athena brought into his life.
At night he would have to bear with her tantrums and before dawn had fully broken, he would drag himself out of bed, his body heavy, his mind foggy, and head to work.
’How long can I keep going like this...?’ he would wonder silently, rubbing his temples as exhaustion slowly chipped away at his focus.
By the eighth month, Athena gave birth.
For a brief mont, hope flickered in his chest.
But it didn’t last.
The child didn’t survive beyond two months.
The dical expenses had already pushed him to the edge.
He had taken loans far beyond his capacity, desperately trying to ensure his child’s survival.
At the sa ti, Athena’s emotional instability after childbirth only worsened the situation.
Her grief turned into volatile outbursts, and Ethan found himself unable to balance both the financial pressure and the emotional strain.
His work suffered.
Deadlines slipped. Mistakes crept in. His once sharp focus dulled under the constant weight pressing down on him.
Eventually, he lost his job.
’It’s over... everything is falling apart,’ he thought, standing outside the office building with a hollow expression.
He tried to find new opportunities, but the industry had little patience for soone who has been terminated.
Rejections piled up one after another, each one chipping away at his confidence.
With no other options, he began taking small jobs, cleaning, manual work, anything that could bring in even a little money.
For a while, it helped him survive, but it was far from enough.
Then ca another blow. His health began to deteriorate.
Tests revealed sothing he hadn’t expected, sothing that left him sitting in silence long after hearing it.
He was no longer capable of having children.
For a long ti, Ethan had considered leaving Athena.
Their relationship had beco strained, filled with resentnt and exhaustion. But after learning the truth, sothing inside him shifted.
’If I can’t have a child... then what’s left for ?’ he thought.
Athena was still beautiful, still soone others would admire.
’Even if she becos just a trophy wife... maybe that’s enough,’ he reasoned weakly. His ambitions began to fade, replaced by a quiet resignation.
His once-driven spirit dulled into sothing passive.
anwhile, Athena had regained her footing.
At first, guilt lingered within her. She tried, in small ways, to make up for everything, her tone softer, her actions more restrained.
But that didn’t last.
Slowly, that guilt dissolved, leaving behind only bitterness.
Now, when she looked at Ethan, she saw nothing but wasted potential.
’He’s useless... just dragging down,’ she thought, her eyes filled with silent disdain.
Ethan, in turn, couldn’t ignore the way his life had unraveled.
’Everything went wrong because of her,’ he thought bitterly.
Resentnt grew quietly between them, yet neither of them spoke it aloud.
Ti passed.
Three months slipped by almost unnoticed.
During this period, Aurora focused entirely on her own growth.
Her siblings had matured significantly, becoming capable enough to handle their own challenges without relying on her.
She, in turn, pushed herself further.
She completed the coursework for the next three years ahead of schedule, her mind sharp and disciplined.
When she finally sat for the exams, the results spoke for themselves.
She graduated early.
The news spread quickly across the university, creating a wave of astonishnt.
Students whispered her na in awe, professors spoke of her with admiration, and soon, she was labeled a genius.
Aurora, however, didn’t fully agree.
’I just had a head start...’ she thought quietly.
In her previous life, she had already trained her mind extensively, even mastering complex skills like hacking within three years.
Compared to others her age, she had experience they couldn’t possibly have.
’This isn’t talent... It’s an advantage,’ she reminded herself.
Even so, the world saw her differently.
While Aurora moved forward steadily, soone else was growing increasingly frustrated.
It was Adriana.
Recently, she had been encountering Eugene far too often for it to be a coincidence.
Whether it was outside her workplace or along her usual route ho, he seed to appear at just the right mont.
At first, she ignored it.
Then one day, she decided to confront him.
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