Mr. Cooper's face drained of color in an instant, terror pinning him where he stood. He couldn't fathom what he'd done to provoke Julian's ire and was too petrified to move.

Julian strode out, his footsteps swift and resolute, without sparing a glance in Caroline's direction.

Mr. Cooper remained frozen in place until Julian’s figure disappeared entirely. Only then did he realize his shirt was soaked with sweat, humiliation seeping from every pore. Without exchanging another word with Ethan, he mumbled a weak excuse and escaped, looking every bit like a coward fleeing the battlefield. The rest of the crowd, sensing the moment had soured, trickled out after him.

Caroline opened the car door for Ethan.

Once seated, Ethan picked up the contract and flipped through it casually. “You handled yourself well tonight. I half-expected you to throw a fit right there.”

He was referring, of course, to Mr. Cooper’s blatant proposition. It had been obvious to everyone in the room—Mr. Cooper wanted her in his bed.

In the past, Caroline wouldn't have been able to stomach it. But survival demanded resilience. She had no choice now but to endure. Her credentials weren’t worth much anymore.

“I need the money, Mr. Tucker.”

Ethan loosened his tie and leaned back against the seat. “What’s the deal with you and Julian?”

Even an idiot could see Julian treated her differently.

“We’re divorced.”

“Divorced? Ha! That’s headline-worthy. Remember that time I almost kissed you at that party? Julian broke three of my ribs for it. Then Paige Group kicked me out. Do you have any idea how high I’d climbed in that company? Getting rid of me wasn’t easy for him. God, he must’ve been under so much pressure.”

After all, at the time, Julian had been locked in a bitter power struggle with his older brother.

Caroline pressed her foot to the gas pedal, her face impassive. “It wasn’t because of me.”

Ethan, for all his flaws, wasn’t stupid. He had no illusions about the dynamics of power. The lesson had been painful enough the first time—cross Julian, and you’d pay dearly. Julian was like a rabid dog. Once he sank his teeth into you, he wouldn’t let go until you were stripped to the bone. If Ethan made a move on Caroline now, he doubted he'd survive intact.

“Every morning at six-thirty, I want you picking me up. Go over every item on my schedule with me beforehand,” he instructed, closing his eyes. “You did a good job tonight, but let me be honest with you. When you applied, you should’ve realized this role is about selling yourself, not your skills. If you don’t want to get taken advantage of, you’ll have to fend for yourself.”

Caroline had handled Mr. Cooper deftly. A few well-placed compliments had puffed up his ego enough that he’d succumbed to his own hero complex. When he’d seen her struggling with the contract, he’d jumped at the chance to help, signing without hesitation.

Forty minutes later, the car pulled up to Ethan’s house. He grabbed the contract and got out. “This car is one of my spares. If I don’t need you to drive me, feel free to use it. Just be sure to claim the gas money.”

To be fair, Ethan wasn’t a bad boss. He was strict about keeping work and personal matters separate and wasn’t unfair.

Caroline nodded. Only after Ethan disappeared into his home did she drive away.

Her phone rang. It was her sister Evelyn.

“Carol, it’s late. Why aren’t you home yet?”

Before Caroline could reply, her brother-in-law Camila’s voice cut through the line. “Why do you care what she does? She’s been kicked out, hasn’t she? I looked into it—Mr. Paige has someone else now. Your little sister’s pathetic. How many years did she cling to him, and she didn’t even manage to snag a single apartment for herself?”

Evelyn’s voice turned awkward. “Carol, don’t take him seriously. Camila had a rough day at work. He doesn’t mean it.”

By then, Caroline had parked outside Evelyn’s apartment complex. Stepping out, she went upstairs and knocked on the door.

Evelyn answered, her face clouded with concern at Caroline’s pallor. “Are you feeling okay? You were caught in the rain last night—could you be coming down with something?”

“I’m here to get my luggage, Sis. I’m planning to rent a place.”

“What for? Renting here is expensive, and you don’t have much money right now.”

Her workplace had advanced her ten thousand dollars today. It would cover a few nights at a hotel while she searched for something affordable.

Evelyn hesitated, wanting to argue, but Camila slammed a door somewhere in the back of the apartment. “Didn’t I tell you? Mom’s coming for a visit. We don’t have an extra room.”

Evelyn, already on shaky ground in her own household, fidgeted, pulling Caroline aside as if seeking an alternative but finding none.

Caroline managed a small smile and moved to retrieve her suitcase. She’d only brought the one.

Evelyn followed her downstairs, her steps heavy. “Carol, is there really no chance you and Julian can work things out?”

Caroline placed the suitcase in her trunk and nodded. “We settled everything already. Also—didn’t Camila say he’s taking you to the hospital soon? What’s the appointment for?”

Evelyn touched her abdomen, her expression falling. “It’s been two years, and still no baby. We’re going to see if something’s wrong.”

Birthing a child carried enormous weight in this family. Evelyn was twenty-nine—an age that carried stigma and scrutiny. She didn’t have many years left before it might be too late.

“Carol, if only you and Julian had a child, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.”

Caroline’s lips twisted into something like a smile. She and Julian hadn’t been intimate in years. How could she possibly be pregnant? He loathed the mere idea of touching her.

“I’ll go now, Sis. You should head back inside.”

Caroline climbed into her car. In the rearview mirror, she saw Evelyn lingering by the curb, unmoving. A sudden wave of sadness washed over her.

She thought back to the years they’d survived together after escaping the village. She’d been eleven; Evelyn had been fourteen. The steel and concrete of Imperial City crushed the breath out of them, and for all their years of struggle, they remained nameless, faceless among the swarming masses—mere survivors, clinging to life.

Ten minutes out, her phone rang again. This time it was the old matriarch of the Paige family.

“Carol, my dear, why aren’t you home yet? I’ve been waiting at your place for ages. Julian’s already back.”

Caroline’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel. Her heart stuttered.

The old lady had always treated her well—better than anyone else in the Paige family ever had. Caroline knew the Paige family had taken her in as an adopted daughter purely for appearances, a convenient way to quiet gossip. But the matriarch? She had genuinely hoped Caroline and Julian would marry.

The old woman’s health had been fragile for years. She lived on medication, her doctors warning against undue stress. Caroline had even learned massage techniques, just to help her relax during weekly visits to the family estate.

Caroline's throat clenched, her mind blank for a moment.

Sensing something off, the matriarch put down her phone and fixed her gaze on Julian, who was reviewing documents with a stoic expression. “Did you two have another fight? I raised you better than this, Julian. You’re a grown man—when will you learn to control that temper of yours? If I find out you’ve been sneaking around with that Willow woman like everyone’s saying, I’ll break your legs myself. You hear me? Don’t you dare disgrace this family! Cough... cough…”

Her voice grew strained with the effort.

Julian frowned, his tone neither warm nor cold. “Calm down. There’s nothing between Willow and me.”