Chapter 178 Bite Marks
Finished
Melanie looked at me with a mix of sympathy and determination. “If they couldn’t appreciate how good you were to them. then take it all back. Don’t give them a single bit more.”
“I’m already working on it,” I said with a smile.
She nodded. “Tiffany, you’re becoming even more decisive that I am these days. You’re starting to give off serious girlboss vibes”
I don’t care about the whole ‘girlboss‘ label,” I chuckled. “It’s exhausting trying to live up to that. I just want to earn enough to support myself and maybe share a bit with my family. That’s more than enough.”
Melanie agreed. As long as you’re content and keep your desires in check, happiness usually follows.
After lunch. I headed back to the office. There was a meeting scheduled for the afternoon
The meeting wrapped up around 4:00 pm. when Shawn’s right–hand assistant suddenly approached a few of the hotel managers and said, “Mr. Hartwell would like to treat everyone to dinner tonight to thank you all for your hard work lately”
The group immediately lit up with excitement. The assistant turned to me and smiled warmly. “Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Hayes said you’d know best what your team enjoys. Could you pick the restaurant?”
All eyes turned to me.
The words ‘I’m not going were on the tip of my tongue, but I forced them down.
“Ms. Mayfield, give us a little treat, will you?”
“Yeah, let’s eat somewhere nice for once!”
Seeing how hopeful everyone looked, I couldn’t say no. So I booked us a very nice restaurant.
Around 600 p.m., my phone buzzed. It was a message from Jace asking if I’d be coming back to the office tonight.
I replied that I had dinner plans and told him to head home.
He simply replied, “Oh.”
As the sky darkened, the area around the restaurant grew more lively. We had reserved a large private dining room, and the dishes were already being served when Shawn arrived, accompanied by a few company execs. Amy was with them, too.
She wore a beige suit that gave her a refined, composed look
She was still talking to Shawn when they walked in, her eyes shining with admiration and respect for him.
Shawn had the distinct elegance of someone born and raised in Hanzora, handsome features, a calm, composed demeanor, and intelligent eyes that always seemed to hide something.
They seemed to be discussing something serious. Even after they entered the dining room, Amy sat right next to him and kept the conversation going
Most of what she said was in Englarian. He responded fluently, and soon, the two of them were carrying on an entirely Englarian conversation.
The rest of the room fell silent; everyone was suddenly interested in their phones.
I
I didn’t even need to look up to know they were all feeling sorry for me again.
They knew Shawn was my husband. And yet, there I was, seated clear across the room from him. He was at the head of the
Chapter 178 Bite Marks
“No need. I’m fine right here,” I said, offering him no face in front of
everyone.
He just smiled and let it go. Amy glanced down at her phone again, her expression unreadable.
Finished
Earlier, everyone had been quiet because of the business talk, but now, a few people started loosening up, lightening the mood. Soon, the whole room relaxed.
I joined in a work chat with two of the higher–ups beside me, mostly about hotel operations.
Suddenly, someone blurted out in surprise. “Mr. Hartwell, is that a bite mark on your neck?”
Shawn paused, then casually reached up to touch the left side of his neck and laughed. “An insect gave me that.”
I was mid–sentence when I heard his reply. My entire body shivered with discomfort. I completely forgot what I was going to
say.
Amy glanced over, her expression unreadable.
Everyone else gave Shawn and me ambiguous looks as if they all knew the mark was mine. And they were right.
It was me. I had wanted to draw blood, but unfortunately, my teeth weren’t sharp enough.
Now, basking in the teasing murmurs around us, Shawn looked at me with a faint smile as if he was enjoying the attention.
I, on the other hand, thought he had lost his mind.
I used to go to his office just to see him, only for him to send an assistant to dismiss me. Any food I brought was handed off to someone else as if it were nothing.
Back then, he couldn’t have cared less about me. But now? He was playing the part of a devoted husband as if his life depended on it.
Maybe he really does have a personality disorder.
I had zero interest in airing our private business in front of all these people, so I just kept my head down and scrolled furiously through my phone.
Our impending divorce was still a secret, known only to our two families. No one at the company had caught on yet. Rumor had it that I returned to the workforce just to be ‘worthy‘ of Shawn and came back for love. How pathetic. Even though Queena was no longer with the company, people still idolized her. They said I was only working hard to compete with her, to outshine her.
I’d heard it all before. At this point, I didn’t even bother defending myself.
The food was plentiful, the drinks flowed, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
Halfway through dinner, I excused myself to use the restroom, but I just needed to breathe.
The smell of alcohol in that room was making me nauseous.
I wandered toward the back of the restaurant and discovered a quiet little courtyard. There was a small pen with rabbits and a flock of button quail, all well cared for and thriving under the soft glow of the lights. Their tiny figures moved energetically.
full of life.
