Lyla didn’t end up letting Sean send her home. She put on a considerate front as she told him that she understood he was quite busy with work, so she didn’t want him to rush around and tire himself. When Sean heard that, his heart softened. He gave her a kiss and escorted her to a waiting taxi while telling her to be careful. He then watched the taxi drive off before turning around to look at Stark Tower.
Myra has changed so drastically and I sure didn’t expect that. I thought that she would remain steadfast in her love for me despite how I’ve hurt her. Turns out that all her affections were only an act. In fact, she probably never did love me as deeply as she portrayed.
After coming to the realization, Sean clenched both fists tightly and he gave a last look at Stark Tower with his dark, brooding eyes before he turned around and left.
Meanwhile, Lyla did not make her way home after parting ways with Sean.
As soon as the driver drove a slight distance away, she looked at the driver as she bit on her lower lip and requested, “Excuse me, sir—please send me to the Hart Group.”
Without any hesitation, the driver turned the car around and headed in the opposite direction.
Along the way, Lyla was lost in her thoughts as she tried to reconcile the situation. In fact, she felt quite anxious and fearful. It was as if she was stuck in a bottomless pit and while everything seemed quite calm and peaceful, it was all just an appearance.
At this moment, she was reminded of the day that Sean and Myra signed their divorce papers. As soon as Myra exited the Civil Affair Bureau, she had gone into a black sports car. I didn’t see the face of the person in the car back then, but I remember feeling quite intimidated by him. All I knew is that I shouldn’t mess with the guy, for he’s not someone I can take onn.
Afterwards, I thought it was just an act put on by Myra. Since she had lost Sean to me, in order to flatter her ego, she must have hired an actor to show me that she wasn’t such a loser after all. However, come to think of it, she was being quite secretive that day. If it was all an act, then she should by right have flaunted it in our faces to achieve her goal.
Besides, there’s another strange thing—after I got married to Sean and after the incident where Tony helped settle the land issue with the Chase Group’s Hilliville Project, I can’t seem to get hold of Tony anymore. Somehow, without even knowing the reason, my career was totally ruined. As for the Hilliville Project, it’s doing so well right now. Coincidentally, Myra holds 40% of the property under that project… Coupled with Sean’s words earlier and Sebastian’s reaction…
At the moment, Lyla had all the pieces in her mind and she was trying hard to link everything together. However, there seemed to be a missing piece and this troubled her a lot. While she exited the car, her fingers were tightly clenched into a fist, her fingernails piercing deep into her flesh.
“Miss, here’s your change. Hey, Miss—” Lyla could hear the driver yelling at her from behind, but she did not have the energy to deal with him. She simply walked toward the Hart Group without a backward glance.
The Hart Group’s building is quite an impressive skyscraper with its stately height. In fact, I actually wanted to go after Tony in the first place, but he was too aloof and mysterious for my liking. As such, when he came to me and handed me the option of assisting me to marry Sean, I changed my mind and went after him instead. Come to think of it, why was Tony so eager to help me then? Perhaps it was because he wanted to take over the Hilliville Project at a minimal cost? I can’t seem to get my head around this but something seems off here.
“I’m sorry, Miss Fisher. Mr. Clark says that Director Hart is currently occupied. He’s not available to see anyone.” The receptionist at the front desk spoke to Lyla politely, but she was being quite firm as well.
There are so many women like her who come here every single day, and all of them would like to see Director Hart. Apparently, Miss Fisher here has just got married to Director Chase from the Chase Group, so why is she here to see Director Hart?
Without showing it, Lyla gritted her teeth so tightly that pain shot through her gums.
She kept her eyes on the receptionist and replied in a deep voice, “Please inform Mr. Clark that I’m here regarding Myra Stark.”
Upon hearing her words, the receptionist was significantly stunned and at the same time, she noticed that Lyla’s expression wasn’t quite right. Contemplating this, she clicked on the intercom once more and repeated Lyla’s words to the person on the other end. Soon after that, Leo gave his reply, which was quite surprising to her. As soon as she hung up, she said to Lyla in an impassive tone, “Miss Fisher, Mr. Clark is ready to see you upstairs.”
Without even waiting for the receptionist to finish her words, Lyla spun around and strode toward the elevator.
I was just trying my luck there in mentioning Myra’s name. Surprisingly, that worked and I’m now allowed to go upstairs.
Myra… Myra Stark…
Suddenly, Lyla felt the world turn dark in front of her eyes. In fact, everything made sense to her now—for example, Sebastian’s reaction and how he sided with Myra. That must have been because the guy who was with Myra was actually Tony.
At this point, Lyla felt as if there was a ball of emotion careening around her chest uncontrollably, and her whole being was clouded over by a thin veil of darkened mist. She had never experienced such a sensation before.
“Miss Fisher.”
As soon as the doors to the elevator slid open, she saw Leo standing at the entrance waiting for her, a faint smile on his face. He looked at his watch as he commented in a slightly mocking tone, “Director Hart has ten minutes for you.”
Without giving Leo the chance to lead the way, Lyla gripped both her hands tightly as she strode into Tony’s office without a second glance at Leo. Before this, she would always make sure to check her appearance before entering this room; on this day, however, she wasn’t in the mood to do so.
The door to Tony’s office was slightly ajar as Lyla walked toward it. Without giving much consideration whether to knock on the door or not, she forcefully pushed the door open and made her way inside.
Upon entering the room, she noticed that Tony was standing by the full-length windows behind his work desk, and he had his back to her. His tall, strapping body fitted perfectly in his custom-made Italian suit. That being said, he managed to maintain a low profile despite his charming edge. However, it was hard to mask his dominance and indifference as it was evidently shown in every move he made.
Tony had one hand in his pocket and the other was holding onto a cigarette between his middle and index finger. He didn’t take a puff; instead, he held onto it while allowing it to continue burning. As soon as he heard footsteps, he gave a quick flick to the cigarette and then turned around gradually. “Miss Fisher, what is it regarding Myra that you wish to discuss with me?”
His perfectly handsome face was currently devoid of expression and his eyes were icy cold.
Despite being aware that she could never win the heart of this man in front of her, Lyla could always feel her heart beating wildly for him every time she saw him. Nevertheless, she didn’t forget her purpose of coming here today, hence she tried her best to suppress her infatuation. She took a deep breath to calm herself down before saying, “Director Hart, I would like to know why I was blacklisted previously.”
It was as if Tony had expected this question from her. He looked at her with an indifferent expression as he replied, “I felt like it, so I did it. I don’t need a reason for that, do I?”
Lyla was close to exploding in anger and she gritted her teeth tightly. Although Tony wasn’t exactly on friendly terms with her before her marriage to Sean, he wasn’t as hostile to her previously. Her hands fisted and she said with her voice lowered, “Director Hart, I suppose you remember that you gave me a stack of photos the last time I came here, yes?”
That stack of photos was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Myra and Sean’s disagreement had strongly intensified after that.
How ironic! I thought Tony loathed Myra and wanted to ruin her life. However, soon after that, the two of them got together! He must have been attracted to her all this while for him to resort to such a scheme to break up her marriage.
As soon as Lyla realized this, her body immediately froze in place.
That’s right—helping me get into the Chase Family would mean that Myra would be thrown out from there. As such, him helping me was actually helping himself claim Myra for his own. After I married Sean, Tony then blacklisted me and severed all ties.
