Chapter 9
Myra chuckled softly, her voice cold. “Sean, I thought you no longer cared about my business. Maybe the real question should be—do you still care about me?”
Sean pressed his lips together, refusing to answer her. The silence between them hung heavy, but Myra’s heart sank, even though her face remained stoic. Without another word, she turned and walked upstairs, leaving him behind.
It could have been the chill from the water, or perhaps exhaustion, but that night, Myra ran a fever. She tossed and turned, her dreams filled with fragments of memories. One dream took her back to the first time she met Sean, seeing him act affectionate with another woman. Then, she found herself beside him, married, but the dream shifted. The final scene played out at their wedding, but the exhaustion in Sean’s eyes was replaced by something darker. His bloodshot eyes were filled with hatred as he coldly demanded, “Say it again—have you ever wronged me?”
Myra clenched her fists, forcing herself to shake her head. Sean’s expression grew more grim. “Alright. Just as you wished.”
The hatred in his eyes lingered in her dream, and it finally jolted her awake. She sat up in bed, her chest heaving with quick breaths. The clock on her nightstand read 4:00 AM, but sleep would not come again.
The next morning, Myra woke to dark circles under her eyes, barely concealed by a thick layer of foundation. She made her way downstairs to find Sean having breakfast at the dining table, while Eve, sitting beside him, nagged him about coming home earlier. Eve’s words were a repeated plea for him to spend more time with Myra, since it was lonely for her to be home alone.
To Myra’s surprise, Sean did not interrupt Eve as he normally would. Instead, he nodded, offering a rare response of understanding when he noticed Myra coming down the stairs. It was a behavior Myra found extremely unusual.
Eve turned and saw Myra standing at the landing. Her eyes lit up, and she waved her daughter-in-law over with a broad grin. “Myra, come over and have breakfast,” she said, evidently pleased to think that Sean had finally realized what he’d been missing.
But Myra’s expression remained impassive as she bowed slightly to Eve. “Mom, I have some business to handle this morning. I won’t be having breakfast at home.” Her voice was quiet, almost dismissive, as she made her way to the door without waiting for a response.
Eve, startled by her daughter-in-law’s abruptness, glared at Sean. “It’s your fault. If you hadn’t been neglecting Myra, she wouldn’t be upset like this. You need to make it right. If you don’t bring her back tonight, you can leave this house for good.”
Sean watched Myra’s retreating form, a complicated expression crossing his face.
News of the Hart Group’s decision to take full control of the design for the Chase Group’s Sunny Bay Project quickly spread throughout the company. Naturally, Myra’s name was on everyone’s lips as the one who had earned that victory.
That morning, Myra was listless. She had bought some antipyretic medicine on her way to work and felt drowsy after taking it. But the thought that her design had been approved gave her a glimmer of hope. She cheered herself up and threw herself back into the work, making adjustments to her design.
While she was focused on her calculations, a stack of documents was suddenly dropped on her desk with a loud thud. She looked up to see Elsie glaring at her, her face contorted in a mix of fury and something else—jealousy, perhaps.
“What’s the matter?” Myra asked calmly, pulling her chair back slightly. She was too tired to be generous, so she didn’t offer a smile, though she’d never had any conflict with Elsie before.
“Are you actually asking me what the matter is?” Elsie hissed, her heavily made-up face twisted in anger. “Why didn’t you wait for me yesterday when you went to the Hart Group to discuss the Sunny Bay Project?”
A flush spread across Elsie’s face, but her eyes burned with frustration.
Myra placed her pen down and coughed lightly before responding, “We had a scheduled appointment with the Hart Group’s Project Department at that time. Even if I waited for you, do you really think they would have waited for you?”
Elsie’s face flickered with guilt, realizing she had returned to the office late yesterday afternoon because she’d been spending more time with Sean. But her anger flared once more, particularly when she saw the look of quiet triumph on Myra’s face. Myra has taken all the credit for yesterday’s success!
“If that’s the case, then what about last night?” Elsie’s voice raised, as she pointed a finger accusingly. “Why didn’t you invite me to dinner with the Hart Group? Both of us are handling the project, so why didn’t you invite me?”
Myra felt her irritation growing, but she kept her voice even. “Oh, so you’re aware that we’re both handling the project now, are you? Then where were you yesterday afternoon?” Her gaze turned colder as Elsie’s tantrum wore on. “I was at my meeting. I had work to do.”
Elsie stumbled over her words, caught in the lie. “I—I had something to discuss with Director Chase. You can ask him if you don’t believe me! But that’s not the point! Why didn’t you invite me to that dinner last night?!” She shrieked, the frustration evident in her voice.
Myra, feeling a headache brewing, stared at her with cold eyes. It was clear Elsie didn’t understand what she was truly angry about. The entire exchange felt like a battle she was no longer interested in fighting.