He Died, Yet Made Me Watch His Mistress’s Wedding

Chapter 2

When the morning light filtered through the gap in the curtains, I slowly opened my eyes.

The painkillers had worn off, and the dull pain surged back. I forced myself to sit up and get some water for my pills.

Suddenly, the sounds of a man and woman laughing and playing came from the living room.

This apartment was bought with savings Kai and I had pooled years ago. For the past three years, only I had lived here; no outsider had ever set foot inside.

My heart sank. Leaning against the wall, I slowly walked to the living room. The scene before me made my head spin.

Layla was curled up on the sofa, clinging to Kai's sleeve and acting spoiled. Kai lowered his gaze to look at her, his smile gentle.

The two of them chatted and laughed without a care in the world, as if no one else were present. The coffee table was covered with Layla's cosmetics and handbags, and she looked every bit the lady of the house.

I suppressed the discomfort surging in my chest and spoke in a hoarse voice, "What are you doing in my home?"

Kai slowly looked up at me, without the slightest trace of guilt. "This house is half mine, so it's my home too. Layla had nowhere to stay, so I brought her back to live here for a few days."

Layla tugged at Kai's sleeve, her voice taking on a sobbing tone. "It's all my fault. I was willful and insisted on coming here, making Miss Ford unhappy. I'll leave right now."

I clutched my stomach, my face pale, my tone cold and hard. "You'd better leave right now!"

"She's not going anywhere!" Kai immediately stepped in front of Layla, his brows tightly furrowed. "Eloen, can't you speak properly? Layla has been enduring three years of hardship with me; can't you be a little more tolerant of her?"

I sneered inwardly.

He was hiding out overseas, living in luxury. That counted as hardship?

I was about to retort when a coppery taste surged up, and I coughed up blood.

Kai instinctively took half a step forward, as if to check on me.

Layla quickly grabbed his arm, raising her voice, "Miss Ford, you don't have to fake being sick just to drive me away!"

Kai halted in his tracks. The concern in his eyes instantly vanished, and he said disappointedly, "There's no need to pretend to be sick to get my attention. That's pretty lame."

I couldn't be bothered to argue. I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, gripped the painkillers inside my pocket, and turned to walk out of the apartment.

I had left midway last night, snubbing the investor. That day, I had to offer them a formal apology.

After arriving at the company, I first swallowed the pills, tidied up my appearance briefly, and walked into the meeting room.

I patiently explained to them repeatedly that I had suddenly fallen ill last night.

Then, I presented the refined partnership proposal.

After much effort, I finally managed to calm them down.

After finalizing the follow-up cooperation and seeing the investor off, I finally let out a sigh of relief.

But this brief respite didn't last long. Suddenly, the downstairs lobby erupted in an uproar.

Kai walked into the office area with his arm around Layla, followed by several original shareholders who had co-founded the business with him, each holding a document.

Kai held up the shareholder voting record, saying, "The shareholders have reached a unanimous decision. From today onward, the company's management control is returned to me."

Layla pressed close to him, speaking just loud enough for everyone around to hear, "These past three years, while Kai was working hard abroad, I was always the one accompanying him through the hardest days. Now he can finally return to manage our company."

I shot Layla a vicious glare. "The company surviving this long has nothing to do with you."

I turned to Kai, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "I don't know how you've been winning the old shareholders over behind my back, but anyone with half a brain can see that I've been single-handedly keeping this company afloat for the past three years. What gives you the right to waltz back in and take over just like that?"

Before Kai could get a word in, Layla snapped. She rushed up to me, hand raised to slap me, and shrieked, "Stop twisting the facts!"

I threw up a hand to block her. My fingers had barely touched her arm when she staggered backward, pretending to fall hard. Her forehead just happened to strike the corner of the desk, and blood quickly welled up.

She clutched her forehead and huddled against Kai's side, tears instantly streaming down, she sobbed, "It hurts... why did you push me..."

Kai stared at the blood on her forehead and turned to me. "Eloen! I could let your rudeness slide, but now you've actually laid hands on her! Apologize to Layla immediately, or I'll revoke all your management authority!"

My bone-deep pride wouldn't let me bow my head and admit fault. Besides, from start to finish, I had done nothing wrong.

Looking at the man before me, who couldn't tell right from wrong, who blindly took her side, the last remaining shred of youthful affection in my heart shattered.

I said, "You don't have to do a thing. I'll hand it back myself."

I pulled out the handover documents from the drawer and signed my name without hesitation.

I straightened my back, didn't spare them another glance, and walked out of the company.