Chapter 18

Upon hearing Vincent's words, Brinley fell silent.

Vincent added, "You should feel lucky that Hannah is alright. If things had turned out worse, you wouldn't be getting off so easily."

Ever since Brinley's father, Charles Gilbert, passed away because of Vincent, Vincent had gone out of his way to treat Brinley kindly-she was Charles's only child.

Now with the tension rising, Brinley had no choice but to feign discomfort, pressing her hand to her chest and claiming she was having heart palpitations.Then, she closed her eyes, pretending to have passed out. Facing the truth, especially coming from Vincent, was more than she could stand.

Without hesitating, Vincent called for a doctor before stepping out. Brinley needed time to reflect.

Meanwhile, in Hannah's room, Felix noticed her IV was almost empty and pressed the button to call a nurse.

A nurse entered and stopped short when she spotted a strange man sitting next to Hannah. She gazed at Hannah. "And who might this gentleman be? Your husband is still over there with his acquaintance."

Hannah knew Vincent was with Brinley. A calm reply came from her. "He's actually my ex-husband."

Surprise flickered in the nurse's eyes. "Wait-so everything here is that complicated?"

Hannah answered with a quiet smile, not bothering to explain.

Once the IV was out, Felix put away his laptop and offered to drive Hannah home.

But they'd been deep in discussion, and Hannah wasn't ready to return home just yet. A new idea crossed her mind. "How about we continue talking at a café instead?"

Felix grinned. "That works for me. But you just spent the night on fluids-are you even allowed to have coffee?"

"| feel brand new now. That IV must have been some kind of miracle cure."

Felix could not help but laugh at her dry humor.Together, the two left the hospital and headed to the cafe.

Meanwhile, Vincent walked back into Hannah's hospital room, only to discover the bed was empty.He started asking staff about her whereabouts and soon heard that she had left with another man right after her IV finished. A stormy look crossed his face.His fingers traced the wedding band on his hand as his mind drifted.

Later, when Derek came to pick Vincent up, Vincent was alone. Neither Brinley nor Hannah joined him.

Vincent's foul mood was impossible to miss.

That afternoon, Vincent barked at several team members over a contract issue, putting everyone at the office on edge. No one knew what had set him off.

Several staff members slipped out to a nearby caféto complain. None of them expected to run right into Vincent's "lover," Hannah. To make things even more interesting, they saw her with another man,something they could gossip about for days.

A few quick photos were snapped before they quickly fled the scene. The office group chat was soon buzzing with updates.

"Looks like the boss's lover has moved on to someone new!"

"Wait, what? So he's the one who got dumped?"

Clive Monroe, the head secretary, jumped in with confidence. "No chance. Everyone knows Hannah's the one who got tossed aside. His first love came back,that's the story."

Clive had recently talked with Brinley. From what he had noticed, Vincent spared no effort in treating her well. Only a few days ago, Vincent had instructed him to pick out a purple gemstone necklace. He made sure to send the photo of it to Brinley right away. It came as no surprise when she wore it the very next day. Clearly, he had chosen the right person to suck up to.

If Clive had to make a prediction, he would say Brinley would be joining the company soon, followed by some big announcement about their engagement.It was plain to see-Vincent intended to marry Brinley.

Lost in his own theories, Clive failed to notice Vincent had walked up right behind him.

In his distraction, Clive had forgotten to deliver the revised contract documents. Even though Vincent had called and texted, Clive hadn't answered once,prompting Vincent to come and check the situation. Now, as Vincent glanced at the group chat history on Clive's phone, he spotted a photo of Hannah sitting with another man. His tone dropped to a low, cold register. "Where was this taken?"

Clive jumped, startled. "It was at Chance Café."

Without showing much emotion, Vincent smoothed the cuff of his shirt. "If the contract revision isn't finished before the day ends, everyone loses their monthly bonus."

Groans spread across the office.

When Vincent got into the car, he instructed Derek,"Drive to Chance Café."

At the same time, Clive hesitated and then sent Brinley a heads-up.