Love Unspoken

Getty found herself at a loss for words, her incredulous gaze fixed on Alexander. "Why?" she implored, "If you can be so kind to me, why wouldn't it pain you to see me wed another?" He responded with a grave seriousness that chilled her to the bone. "Because I cannot marry you."

His words hit Getty like a sledgehammer, shattering her heart into fragments that seemed to sink into a bottomless abyss. A dull, indescribable pain welled up within her, too profound for words. She opened her mouth to speak, but then cast her eyes downward, as if acknowledging the futility of further words. After all, she had voiced her feelings many times before, only to be met with his calm, seemingly heartless responses. Was he merely exploiting her inability to leave him? "I understand," she said at last. With that, she opened the car door and trudged towards the hotel, her silhouette a testament to her unspoken desolation. Alexander watched as her figure disappeared through the hotel doors. He leaned against the car window, fumbled for a cigarette, and lit it, quietly exhaling rings of smoke into the night air.

---

Quinn had been residing at the villa for three days, and Alexander had yet to return. Each day, Kyle Astor would bring her meals, patiently waiting until she had finished eating before departing. In the afternoons, Doctor Hughes would make his daily rounds, inspecting her wounds. The scars on her face had begun to flake away, leaving only faint red marks. The scab on her knee, however, would require more time to heal.

When Quinn was alone, she would recline on the couch, an arm draped over her eyes, while the murmuring voices from the television filled the room. Suddenly, she heard the television announcer mention a rising starlet and her enigmatic boyfriend. Quinn glanced instinctively at the screen, where a few blurred photos were displayed. Despite the pixelation, she recognized the two figures immediately - it was Getty and Alexander.

Meanwhile, the stock market had been relentlessly punishing

unlikely that it could be so easily toppled. If it did indeed collapse, the thought of the countless jobs lost and the affiliated banks that would be dragged into a financial crisis was staggering. Thus, the idea of a collapse was dismissed. Yet, the stock would occasionally surge before dropping erratically once more.

Alexander once again. "Take a look at this," he demanded, pointing to the stock trend graph on his computer. "Who's messing with us?" Alexander frowned

slipping. If you're not up to the job,

leaving him uncertain of Alexander's intentions.

resignation letter." Alexander pulled an envelope from his jacket and placed it

Wayne felt as if he might explode. "When did you prepare

ready for a while. I figured this day would come