Chapter 55: Chapter 55

Chapter 55:

Bryan frowned slightly and looked at Eileen in the car. Eileen quickly wiped her eyes with her hands and stepped out of the vehicle. “Mr. Dawson, do you have any other directives you’d like to give?” Eileen asked. She had not expected Bryan to come down.

From his position behind the car window, he likely did not see her tears. Bryan pressed his lips together and handed her a voice recorder. “This is yours.”

Eileen accepted it with both hands. It was the voice recorder she had used to record the meeting. “Thank you, Mr. Dawson.”

People bustled around them, creating a noisy, chaotic environment. Yet, between Bryan and Eileen, a stark silence prevailed. Eileen felt like she could hear her own heartbeat. Seeing that Bryan remained silent, she asked, “Mr. Dawson, is there anything—”

“No,” Bryan replied as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket. He stepped back and positioned himself on the stairs. “You can leave now. I’ll smoke a cigarette here.”

Eileen remained in place, feeling the gentle breeze play with her hair. After a brief pause, she said, “Mr. Dawson, whether you believe it or not, I must clarify that I did not intentionally answer Miss Warren’s phone call that morning.”

Bryan paused in his smoking. He seemed poised to respond, but Eileen interrupted, “I’m leaving now,” she said before Bryan could say anything.

She turned, re-entered the car, and started the engine. Through the rearview mirror, she saw Bryan’s tall figure remaining stationary, smoking, one hand casually placed in his pocket. His effortless style and composure lent him an air of distinction, drawing occasional glances from passersby.

As Eileen’s car rounded the corner, Bryan finally allowed himself a brief glance in her direction. The image of her car gradually disappeared from his view, his expression growing contemplative. The two teardrops that had fallen from Eileen’s eyes seemed to strike his heart with force.

Frustration surged from the depths of his heart. Suddenly, even the strong taste of the smoke seemed bland to him. The workload Eileen had brought occupied most of his afternoon. He was preoccupied until late at night. By then, Vivian was already asleep. He finally set aside the files, his expression weary, and lay down on the sofa.

gⱯlnσνe𝓁s․com is your update hub Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the entire ward. The steady sound of Vivian’s breathing filled the room. Suddenly, Vivian opened her eyes.

She sat up, lifted the thin quilt, and walked over to Bryan’s side without even putting on shoes. She gazed at his handsome face with fascination. “Bryan…” she whispered softly, careful not to wake him. Even in his sleep, his brow was furrowed as if he were troubled by a dream.

Despite his furrowed brows, he seemed more relaxed asleep than awake, which provided Vivian some relief from his usually expressionless daytime demeanor.

She reached out to smooth the frown on his forehead with her fingertips. But as soon as she touched him, her wrist was seized by his hand with astonishing strength.

Bryan murmured. Vivian, looking into his eyes, which had snapped open suddenly, saw a mix of tenderness and confusion in them. He had called out Eileen’s name.

Regaining his senses, Bryan’s frown deepened. He sat up and released Vivian’s hand. “Why aren’t you sleeping? What are you doing here?”

Vivian crouched beside the sofa and looked up at him. “Bryan, my bed is big enough. Let’s go to bed together. You’ve had a busy day, and you look tired.”

“I don’t need to,” Bryan replied curtly. Observing Vivian’s saddened eyes, he thought of Eileen’s determined gaze. A fresh wave of irritation welled up inside him. He picked up a pack of cigarettes from the table and stood up. “I’m going out for a smoke. You should go to bed.”

“Bryan…” Vivian called out urgently, but her plea was met with the sound of the closing door. She bit down on her lip hard enough to taste blood, but she felt no pain. She realized she still couldn’t measure up to Eileen now.

Wiping her tears, she rushed back to the bed and grabbed her phone to make a call.

“Kian, I don’t want to see Eileen near Bryan anymore! I can’t allow Bryan to fall in love with anyone but me. I want her gone!”

On the other end of the line, Kian remained silent for a while before finally responding, “Okay.”

On the rooftop, the night breeze softly rustled as Bryan looked at the sparkling city lights. Despite the beautiful view, he could not shake off the thoughts of Eileen. Countless cigarette butts littered the ground near his feet. He had hoped the smoke might help dispel his thoughts of Eileen, but instead, each puff seemed to embed her expressions and smiles deeper into his psyche.

Frustrated, he pulled out his phone to look at his chat history with Eileen, which was strictly professional. Aside from her formal inquiries, there were his curt responses. The only slightly personal message was a reminder she had sent him months ago, telling him to eat on time.

After a while, he pocketed his phone and walked away. Overwhelmed by his emotions, he left the hospital.

Eileen had been sleeping poorly lately. She woke up around four in the morning. Deciding against trying to sleep again, she went out for a morning run. She captured a photo of the sunrise and shared it on social media. Almost immediately, someone liked and commented on her post.

It was Huey. “Eileen, why are you awake this early? Did your tyrant boss exploit you again?”

Sitting on a roadside rack, Eileen sensed Huey’s animosity towards Bryan. She wondered why. She responded, “My boss is fine. You keep making things difficult for me by insisting I recognize hundreds of game characters before you’d agree to clarify our relationship.”

These days, she hadn’t even had time to open the game.

Huey responded, “Please, just a little longer. If my mom finds out we’re not really together, she’d kill me. Let’s just keep this up for now.”

Eileen couldn’t help but smile as she sent a message to Huey, ready to continue their conversation. “Set a deadline. How long will it take until you tell your mom that we’re not suitable for each other?”

Shortly after, Huey called her. “When will you finally learn all the characters in my game?”

“I doubt I’ll recognize all the characters in your game before our mothers secretly plan a wedding, so think about it. Do you really want to keep making this difficult for me?” Eileen said as she wiped the sweat from her brow with a towel and turned to head back.

After a moment of hesitation, Huey finally set a definite timeline. “One month! I’ll tell her in one month, max!”

Eileen quickly agreed. “To save you from your mom’s scolding, you can invent any excuse, and I’ll back you up.”

Huey thanked her for her understanding and complimented her a lot. As Eileen ended the call and walked into her house, she didn’t notice Bryan leaning against a car nearby. From his vantage point, he watched her unlock her door and step inside.

He lowered his head to read the exchange between Eileen and Huey on Eileen’s social media. Eileen and Huey’s relationship was fake? She had been trying to memorize hundreds of game characters just to clarify her relationship with Huey?

His lips formed a tight line, and a hint of regret flickered in his eyes. Hidden in the shadows, he watched as Eileen, now dressed for work, left her house and drove off. He remained there until her car had disappeared from view. Then he got into his car and followed her out.

Across the street, Kian sat in his car watching the two vehicles, his gaze sharp and cold. After a moment, Kian took a deep breath, started his car, and drove toward the Warren Group.

At the Warren Group headquarters, Bailee tried yet again to submit her resignation letter to Benjamin.

“Mr. Warren won’t accept your resignation. No matter how many letters you submit, it won’t make a difference,” Benjamin told Bailee, refusing to take the letter. “Your willingness to resign is clear enough. Don’t anger Mr. Warren unnecessarily.”

Bailee was reluctant to incur the hefty liquidated damages, especially since it would mean using Eileen’s hard-earned money. If she could persuade Kian to accept her resignation, she could return the money to Eileen.

She resolutely placed the letter into Benjamin’s hands. “Please pass this letter to Mr. Warren; thank you.”

Benjamin, ceasing his attempts to dissuade her, took the letter and handed it to Kian, who had just arrived at the company.

Later, when Bailee brought coffee to Kian, she noticed four of her resignation letters piled on his desk. Rubbing his chin, Kian looked up at her. “You want to resign?”

Bailee set down the coffee and nodded firmly. “Yes, I hope you can approve it.”

Kian smiled and raised his eyebrows. “Okay, before that, you have one task to complete.”

“What is it?” Bailee responded without hesitation.

Kian pulled a stack of documents from his drawer. Although not voluminous, the dense array of figures on them was daunting. “These are financial data for the Lothach Group from recent years. I need a detailed summary and report. Also, draft a contract between the Warren Group and the Lothach Group, and make sure it’s delivered to Lothach Group by the end of the day,” Kian said.

This task was overwhelming, but Bailee accepted it without complaint. “Alright, I’ll get started right away,” she said.

She collected the documents and quickly left the room, watching her hurried departure. Kian’s expression turned thoughtful as he furrowed his brows.

In the evening, Eileen returned home exhausted and cooked herself a bowl of noodles. While eating, she remembered the times Bryan had sat across from her, enjoying the noodles she had prepared. Despite a hectic day, thoughts of him frequently surfaced in her mind. Now, during the quiet of the night, those thoughts only doubled.

After showering and changing into fresh clothes, she considered taking two sleeping pills to aid her sleep. Before she could do that, she received a message from Benjamin.

“Hurry to the hospital.”

The message suggested something bad had happened to Bailee, causing Eileen’s heart to race. She quickly changed her clothes and rushed out.

She arrived at the hospital in just half an hour. Upon exiting her car, she saw Benjamin waiting at the entrance.

“Let’s talk while we walk,” Benjamin said briefly and walked into the hospital with Eileen following close behind. “Bailee went to the Lothach Group to deliver a contract for Mr. Warren. I’m not sure what exactly happened, but she ended up injuring her head, and now she’s here in the hospital.”

As Eileen hurried to keep up with Benjamin, they entered the elevator, where Benjamin pressed the button for their floor.

Benjamin glanced at Eileen and added, “Jonathan’s injury isn’t severe, and he didn’t press charges. Mr. Warren brought Bailee here to discuss a private settlement.” Bailee was likely to face consequences, and given Jonathan’s lascivious reputation…

“I can only bring you this far. You’ll need to handle the rest.” After a brief pause, Benjamin continued, “If the situation escalates, consider calling the police.”

The idea of involving the police was daunting. Given the influence of the Mueller family, if Bailee were taken to the police station, she might face significant challenges in securing her release.

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