Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Cassie.

I ignore Kayden’s messages until it’s time for me to go to bed that night. As I lie in bed, I take my phone and take my time to read all my notifications.

Kayden: Thank you, love. These past two days are a gift. I will treasure them for the rest of my

Kayden: Give me time. I will fix everything. I hope that by then, you will come home to me.

life.

I stare back at his messages for a long time. I wish Kayden had been like this when we were married. Everything would have been perfect.

My phone beeps again. It’s another message from him. This time, he sent me a picture. It’s a photo of his wrist, and on it, he is wearing a familiar golden chain bracelet.

Kayden: You left this in the hotel room. I know this is your favorite. You’ve worn this since the first time we met.

Me: It is mine. You better give it back.

Kayden: I will hold it hostage for a while. It looks nice on my wrist, don’t you think?

Me: It’s a woman’s bracelet.

Kayden: It has a unisex design. Besides, if I wear this on my wrist, wouldn’t it be like shouting out to the world that I’m taken?

I snort as I type my reply.

Me: Well, the whole world knows you are taken anyway. Remember Megan?

Kayden: Then perhaps it would be a good reminder for her that I do not really belong to her.

Me: Then she would know it’s mine. She would know that bracelet. My father gave it to me during my high school graduation.

Kayden: It won’t shock her. She knows it’s you I love.

Kayden: She knows what she stole from you.

I furrow my brows, reading his last message.

Steal from me? Megan stole a lot of things from me. My father’s affection, my mother’s house, which she burned down to the ground, and countless other things when we were growing up. But Kayden? Doesn’t she and Kayden go way back? So, for her, it was me who stole Kayden from her when I got married to him.

Me: I need to rest now.

Kayden: Sweet dreams. I miss you.

I don’t reply anymore. As I drift off to sleep, my mind is full of thoughts of what could have been had Kayden treated me like this during our marriage.

All throughout the week, I keep myself busy preparing for the next presentation to the board about the King’s Legend project.

I put together an elite team in my company, composed of my head architect, and all my top designers, engineers and project managers. I call them all for a meeting.

“You’re looking at the current designs submitted for King’s Legend. Based on the projections, we will be needing at

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least two billion dollars to make this happen.”

“And how much funds were committed for this project?”

“One point seven. That is assuming all the previous investors are not backing out,” Attorney Magnus replies.

I think for a while. The previous design is too intricate, that is why it will take a lot of money.

“I think the previous architects and engineers are not aware of the previous problem. Based on this design, we might need to rethink the structural stability of the entire complex,” Archie, my head architect points out.

“But we have a new site now. This new site tested well. It can support all the structures we want to build on it,” I say.

“Yes. But I still recommend we recheck the design,” Archie suggests.

“Okay. And while we’re at it, maybe you can rethink the entire architectural design. I think we should make a design that will make this grander but at the same time keeping it under a billion,” I say. “I don’t want to encounter any hiccups in the funding in the future.”

“A seven–star luxury resort for less than a billion?” Attorney Magnus gasps. “Surely you are dreaming.”

“Well, dreams are what keeps us moving forward, aren’t they?” I smile softly, my mind already working on the possibilities.

“Well, it will be hard, I must admit. But not impossible.” Archie nods in agreement, his eyes glinting with determination.

“Let’s take this as a challenge, Archie. We can streamline the design without compromising the elegance and luxury we envision for King’s Legend,” I say.

“Well, I will try. But I’m sure you already have your own ideas. You are better at that than I am.”

As we delve into the details, I start sketching out some rough ideas on the clear board on the side of my desk, pointing out areas where we can optimize space and materials to bring down costs without sacrificing quality. The rest of Archie’s design team also suggests innovative architectural solutions that not only enhance the beauty of the resort but can also potentially bring the costs down.

“We could use sustainable materials for the façade here, it will give us that modern yet eco–friendly touch that’s so in demand now,” Archie explains, his voice full of excitement.

“By using prefab materials on the north section, we can cut down on both construction time and costs significantly.”

Archie nods in agreement. His vision aligns perfectly with my goal of creating a masterpiece that not only dazzles but also takes into consideration our financial limitations.

It is a long afternoon full of brainstorming. Just then, Lyn knocks on the door.

“I hate to interrupt, but there’s a delivery for you,” she says.

“Can’t it wait?” I ask.

“Well, it’s not just for you,” Lyn replies.

Then she turns around and motions for someone to enter the room.

A few delivery guys walk in carrying tall glasses of coffee and boxes of fine French macarons from the posh cafe called Rendezvous.

“Who ordered this?”

Lyn shrugs. “It came in for you and your team. And yours came with this.” She hands me a basket of beautiful pastel

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preserved flowers.

“Oh, so pretty!”

“I know! Eternal flowers are in trend now. You’ll be able to display that on your desk for at least a year.”

“Who did it come from?”

“Beats me. Perhaps from your secret admirer.” She gives me a wink and then walks out of the room.

“Secret admirer?” Attorney Magnus raises a teasing brow at me.

“Secret?” Archie echoes, chuckling. “When was it a secret that Ethan Sullivan is relentlessly pursuing her?” He turns to me. “Call Ethan and thank him from all of us. These coffee and macarons from Rendezvous are hard to get. People are lining up at this shop all the time. You’re lucky to get to order one of these. He must know the owner to be able to pull this off.”

As the rest of my team takes a break, I dial Ethan’s number and put him on speakerphone.

“Hey,” he answers in one ring.

“Hey, thank you, Ethan!” Archie says.

“The macarons are to die for, Mister Sullivan,” one of my engineers adds.

“We are swamped the whole afternoon, but you just made my team very happy,” I say to him.

“Wait, why is everyone thanking me?”

“Well, because of the coffee and macarons that you sent from Rendezvous, of course! And the eternal flowers you sent me? I totally loved them!”

Ethan falls silent for a few moments.

“Ethan?”

He clears his throat. “Ummm… Cassie… what coffee? And what flowers?”

I stop short. Everybody else in the room also falls silent.

“I’m sorry,” Ethan says. “But I didn’t send you those. Perhaps you should call Kay…”

I hung up immediately before he can mention the name in front of everybody.

Six pairs of curious eyes are staring at me. I’m sure that my face is the deepest shade of crimson.

If Ethan didn’t send the flowers and the coffee, then there can only be one other person who might have done so.

Kayden.

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