“I never intended to expose your little charade, but you crossed the line when
hurt Laney.”
Eddy’s voice was flat and cold, utterly devoid of emotion.
you
“You’ve always known how I felt. You just sat back and watched me make a fool of myself.” Ingrid’s heart shattered in that instant. “Eddy, you don’t have a heart.”
“Don’t wake Laney. You should go.”
But even as Eddy dismissed her so coolly, Ingrid couldn’t let it go. “If, back then, my family hadn’t refused Loraine, would we have had a future? Is that it?”
“No.” Eddy’s tone was like ice. “After Laney came into my life, I couldn’t see anyone else. I would never have married you.”
“Not even if my family had been willing to rescue Simmons Industries with every last cent we had?”
“Yes.” His answer was absolute. “Even if Simmons Industries had gone under, Laney would still be my only choice.”
“But you betrayed her!”
Ingrid spat the words, her voice full of venom. “I hope she never forgives you. I hope you spend the rest of your life drowning in regret.”
The door slammed so hard it sounded like thunder.
Blanche leaned against the door, listening as Eddy spoke softly to himself on the other side.
“She’ll never know… all I want is for her to be happy, with me.”
The words struck her like a blow, and tears slipped down her cheeks before she could stop them.
The next morning, after Eddy left for work, Blanche headed to the Ivycrest Research
Institute.
“Mrs. Simmons, you–“/
“Felipa, just call me Blanche, please. Or even just Blanche. There’s no need for ‘Mrs. Simmons‘ anymore.”
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She was her own person, not anyone’s appendage.
“Alright, Blanche.” Felipa grinned, and soon they were deep in conversation about cybersecurity, computer viruses, and the latest antivirus software.
Blanche found herself fully engaged with Felipa, the technical talk a welcome distraction.
Meanwhile, Eddy had made his way to the IT department.
His sudden appearance sent a ripple of anxiety through the team–when the CEO showed up in person, it was never for something trivial.
The manager quickly summoned their top programmer.
“I want a record of everywhere my car has parked. Can you connect a phone to the car’s computer and pull that data in two minutes?” Eddy remembered how effortlessly Blanche had handled similar tasks before, then corrected himself, “No–can you do it in one minute?”
“Absolutely, Mr. Simmons. That’s a basic operation,” the programmer replied.
“With my wife’s skills, would she be able to do this too?” Blanche’s résumé after returning home had listed web design–essentially a specialty in making things look good on a computer.
Not wanting to bruise her confidence, Eddy had arranged an advisory role for her in the IT department, and instructed the manager not to bother her, letting her play Solitaire in peace.
“Of course, sir. Mrs. Simmons definitely has the fundamentals down,” the programmer said, eager to please.
Only then did Eddy relax. “That’s all.”
After the programmer left, Eddy turned to the manager. “My wife won’t be coming in for work for a while.”
He wanted to make it official, to spare Blanche the whispers about favoritism and keep her from being isolated at work.
“I understand,” the manager replied with a smile. “I’ve already coordinated with HR–her resignation is processed and effective immediately. No handover needed.” A flicker of surprise cracked Eddy’s calm exterior; his eyes narrowed. “My wife resigned?”
“Mr. Simmons, I thought you knew. She quit twelve days ago.”
“Twelve days ago?” Eddy echoed.
“Yes… you actually came by IT that day, to pick up Mrs. Simmons and Miss Marshall for lunch.”
That day.
The day she’d told the staff to tear down the villa, especially the garage with the Porsche.
The day she’d left for work without waiting for him.
The day she’d come in and handed in her resignation.
Something inside him felt like it was slipping away–so fast he couldn’t even grasp
- it.
“Where is my wife?” Eddy demanded, glancing at his bodyguard, who immediately checked in with the others tailing Blanche.
“Mr. Simmons, Mrs. Simmons is at Ivycrest Research Institute.”
She’d promised to rest and recover at the apartment and not go anywhere else.
She never broke her promises to him.
Eddy left his office and sped to the Ivycrest Research Institute. Through a glass wall, he saw Blanche laughing and talking with Fernando, the two of them looking far too close for his liking.
He gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.
His phone rang suddenly; it was his bodyguard.
“Mr. Simmons, we’ve got news from your investigation. With Professor Reese’s identity now public, a lot of information’s surfaced. The detective found an old photo.”
The call ended and a faded/photograph popped up in his messages.
It showed Fernando and Blanche together, back when she was twenty.
They’d known each other all along.
His gut feeling had been right–there was something between them he didn’t know.
Eddy climbed out of the car, stormed into the institute, and let jealousy obliterate his restraint. He shoved Fernando hard, sending him sprawling, and landed a punch
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squarely on his jaw. “Fernando, you picked the wrong man to mess with!”
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