Sera never hated confrontation. But for some reason, the current scene in front of her gave her a bit of pressure. She looked at Chris who had been staring at her, without saying anything.

Was this the pressure that Edward felt earlier when she did this very same thing? A part of her actually wondered what he was thinking. Clearly, he looked upset. But… what's with this silence?

"I'm going to… sleep," she blurted out before she stood and turned her back towards him. She was about to walk out of his office when she felt his hand on her wrist. And to be honest, she immediately expected him to start shouting.

His gaze was enough to tell her that he might start shouting anytime. It was like he had been trying to control himself. Maybe stop himself from breaking all the things inside his office.

And yes, that sounded toxic.

And yes, that would be the greatest deal-breaker for her.

She simply had no time to deal with any toxic behavior right now.

To her surprise, he just held her wrist, saying nothing.

Sera looked stared at his hand on her wrist before turning around to face him. He was already standing close, his tall frame towered over her. "What?" she lifted her gaze and looked at his shadowed face.

"Did you really have to do that?" His voice …. Was actually the opposite of his sharp eyes. It was soft, gentle event. It made her feel secure.

"Yes."

"You didn't have any other choice?"

"No."

"Are you going to do that again?"

"No."

"Good."

She could feel his heat vibrate towards her. She pursed her lips and stared at him but he was standing against the light and it enabled her from seeing his face. Despite this, she could feel the intensity of his gaze boring towards her.

She gulped. A part of her actually wanted to say that she was sorry. But… why would she apologize for something that actually made her gain some profits? Next thing she knew she was already in his arms.

He pulled her towards him and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry."

She heard him say in a voice that reminded her of Cross. His tone… the way he said it…. It sounded just like Cross.

Was she hallucinating?

Perhaps she missed the man too much, her brain was trying to use Chris to ease her strong emotions towards Cross.

But that wouldn't make sense.

"Why are you apologizing?" she asked, confused. She was certain that Chris had nothing to do with her being slapped. Why was he saying… sorry?

"I'm sorry…"

His arms around her tightened.

She tried to look at his face but she couldn't really move her head. "Why are you saying sorry?" her voice softened.

"I was slacking."

Huh? What's that supposed to mean?

"I could protect you. I could have…"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You had to resort to having yourself slapped just to make that woman suffer. If I— "

"If you did something to her…" she slowly got out of his embrace. "If you do something. Did you think it would make me happy?" She wouldn't like it If he would intervene in her plans.

Once again, he stared at her as if… as If he was about to tell her something.

"Did you want to tell me something?" she asked.

"Hm?"

"Did you— "

"No. I just thought you're beautiful."

She snorted. "My cheek felt swollen. I didn't know you would find that beautiful." She then lifted an eyebrow. "Was it a kink?"

"Your face is swollen and you were joking about my kink." He shook his head before letting out a sigh. "If you're not wounded, I would have already lifted you up and back you up against the wall. Then… "He moved çloser, so close she could already feel his erection against her stomach. "But you look like hell… so… why don't I give you a good bath instead?"

She gulped. Bath… with him.

"No thanks." She swiftly took a step away from him. "I need sleep." She knew going in a bath with him would mean staying in there for more than an hour. That… that is not good for her right now.

She immediately bolted out of his office. Staying around with him for too long is not very good for her heart and definitely not her body.

Chris stared at the closed door and sighed. Sera was an independent woman. She does her own thing, and she clearly doesn't need any help. And that is the thing about her. She doesn't need a man.

She can do her own thing with or without him. A girl like this can be very difficult to handle since he needed to do everything for her to want him, not need him. Obviously, he isn't someone that would just give up because of this silly reason.

He had been watching her for too long. He loved the kind of woman she was and he knew he would love the kind of woman she will become.

He shook his head. All he needed to do now is… make her love him and that is kinda difficult considering his rival is his very own self. At one point, he struggled to tell her the truth about him.

He wanted to tell her the reason why he had to use Cross to get close to her. But he was scared, scared to see her eyes, those blank eyes that she used when they first met.

He sighed and sat on the sofa as he started calling a number. "Mr. Barnes, good evening. Yes, I want to withdraw all the deals that we currently have with the Fu Family. Yes, including all the real estate. I understand. No, cancel all the meetings that you will have with Mr. Fu and his father. Hmmm." Chris nodded. "There's no need to explain to this kind of people. Let's boost their rival instead. Yes, everything. Hmmm… then let them lose billions. If they cannot recover, then they can only blame their stupidity. Alright, I will see you in a few days."'

Chris ended the call before he started working again.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xin had been crying since she arrived in the Zhang Family mansion. Obviously, it wasn't because of the old man's death. It was because of the thirty-three messages that she received asking her about the video that they received on their phones.

Sera sent it.

She sent the messages to her friends. Zhang Xin didn't know how she got her friend's number. She didn't know how Sera knew that she was close with these people. All she knew was the fact that she was over.

Everything about her is over!

"Mom, you have to relax… if we can still do something about this."

"How? Yingying… you knew those people You saw how much I worked hard just to get close to them! And now…" Zhang Xin clenched her hands. Unable to stop herself, she approached one of her expensive vases and throw it towards the wall.

The feeling of throwing something immediately eased the tension inside her.

"Mom, sit down. I think we can find ways to clear out your name. We can clearly say that someone… edited it. That— "

"No!" Zhang Xin interrupted her daughter. Those women were wives of politicians and other influential people. They would never accept this kind of excuse! She held her phone and dialed a number and just as she expected, the number wasn't receiving any calls from her.

She was blocked.

Just because she failed to give a few explanations, the person immediately blocked her! In times of need, those women… were the first people to leave.

Why is it like this? How could they leave her?

"Mother, I think you reacting like this would make father angry." Zhang Ying calmly said. "Grandfather just died and you were worried about your friends. That is— ""

"You wouldn't understand even if I tell you." Zhang Xin blurted out before she started drinking whiskey straight from the bottle. "You grew up from a rich family. You were born a Zhang… while I…" She just adopted the last name of the Zhang Family in an attempt to erase her dark past. She looked at her daughter. "Please don't blame your mother for acting like this…" Tears filled Zhang Xin's eyes. She had been trying so hard.

She showed up in every event, in every gala. She donated to every charity and impressed them at every tea party. She tried her best to get close to these women, to become a part of their circle.

She wanted to be one of them.

And she succeeded. After a few years of trying so hard, she finally became one of them.

And then… Sera just…

Sera ruined everything in a few minutes.

"I will kill that woman!" she hissed. "That woman… ruined my life!"