He Hid Me. His Rival Married Me.

The Chairman's Fury

The elevator doors slid open.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The sound of a walking cane echoed through the executive floor.

Every employee immediately stood.

No one dared speak.

Chairman Edward Knight had arrived.

At seventy-six...

The old man still possessed a presence that could silence an entire room.

His sharp eyes swept across the executives.

Finally...

They landed on Adrian.

"Everyone."

"Out."

Within seconds...

The conference room was empty.

Only grandfather and grandson remained.

The old man tossed a newspaper onto the table.

The front page displayed the photograph of Damien Black holding an umbrella over Isabella.

The headline was impossible to ignore.

THE HIDDEN MRS. KNIGHT WALKS AWAY WITH HIS GREATEST RIVAL.

Edward's voice was frighteningly calm.

"Explain."

Adrian remained silent.

"I asked you a question."

"What happened?"

After several seconds...

Adrian answered.

"We divorced."

Crack!

The chairman's cane struck the marble floor.

"You what?"

"We divorced."

The old man's breathing became uneven.

"You married that girl three years ago."

"You knelt in front of me."

"You promised to protect her."

"And now you're telling me..."

"...you divorced her?"

Adrian lowered his eyes.

"It was my decision."

Edward laughed.

A cold...

Disappointed laugh.

"I warned you."

"I told you that if you ever made that girl cry..."

"You would regret it."

Adrian frowned.

"You knew?"

The chairman looked at him.

"I knew everything."

"I knew you hid her."

"I knew you never took her to family gatherings."

"I knew she spent holidays alone."

"I even knew..."

His voice cracked slightly.

"...that she came here every Friday with homemade lunch."

Adrian's heart skipped.

"What?"

Edward nodded.

"She always left through the back entrance."

"Because she didn't want your employees to know she was your wife."

The room fell silent.

A forgotten memory surfaced.

Every Friday...

His secretary would mention that someone had dropped off lunch.

He had never asked who.

He simply assumed it was housekeeping.

Edward's eyes turned red.

"Do you know what she told me?"

Adrian slowly shook his head.

"'Grandfather...'"

"'Please don't scold Adrian.'"

"'He's under a lot of pressure.'"

"'I'll wait until he's ready to tell the world about us.'"

The old man closed his eyes.

"Even while you were hurting her..."

"She defended you."

Adrian felt as though something heavy had crashed into his chest.

His breathing became uneven.

...

Across the city...

Blackstone International.

Damien stood by the floor-to-ceiling window.

His assistant entered hurriedly.

"Mr. Black."

"The internet is exploding."

Damien didn't look away from the skyline.

"I expected that."

"The chairman of the Knight family has personally gone to Knight Group."

A faint smile crossed Damien's lips.

"So..."

"The old lion has finally awakened."

The assistant hesitated.

"Should we continue with the acquisition plan?"

Damien's smile disappeared.

"No."

The assistant blinked.

"No?"

"For now..."

"I have something more important."

He turned around.

"Where's Miss Isabella?"

"She's in the design studio."

Damien walked out without another word.

...

Inside the design studio...

Isabella stared at dozens of wedding dress sketches spread across the table.

She looked confused.

As Damien entered...

She stood immediately.

"I think your staff made a mistake."

"They brought me here."

"They didn't."

Damien picked up one of the sketches.

"My company owns one of the biggest luxury fashion brands in the country."

"We're preparing next season's collection."

She looked at him, puzzled.

"What does that have to do with me?"

He handed her a pencil.

"I heard you studied fashion design."

Her eyes widened.

"How did you know?"

"I read your file."

"You graduated at the top of your class."

"But after marrying Adrian..."

"You gave up your career."

Her fingers tightened around the pencil.

No one...

Not even Adrian...

Had ever remembered that dream.

Damien placed another sketch in front of her.

"I don't need you to thank me."

"I don't need you to trust me."

"I only have one request."

She looked up.

"What is it?"

He met her eyes.

"Start living for yourself."

For several seconds...

Isabella couldn't speak.

No one had ever said those words to her before.

Her phone suddenly vibrated.

An unknown number.

She answered cautiously.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other end was old...

Yet powerful.

"Isabella."

"This is Edward Knight."

"I owe you an apology."

She froze.

Then the old man said something that changed everything.

"Come and see me."

"I have something..."

"...that Adrian never told you."