Shrouded Affections Winning Back My CEO Wife

Chapter 54

Chapter 54:

Ruby’s life hung in the balance, teetering on the edge of Eileen’s crucial decision to stay or leave her job. Tears streamed down Bailee’s face as she held Eileen close. “I’m so sorry, Eileen. It seems I’ve only made things harder for you.”

“It’s not your fault,” Eileen reassured her, gently breaking away to offer some tissues to Bailee. Bailee dabbed at her eyes, the tissues quickly becoming soaked. Self-reproach gnawed at her for her inability to support Eileen, and Eileen, moved by Bailee’s and Ruby’s concern for her, also felt a deep sting of helplessness.

“I can only quit my job after my internship is over,” Bailee confessed, drying her eyes again. “Kian wants me as his secretary and says I can’t leave.”

Eileen raised an eyebrow. Accepting such a role might be fine if it entailed simple tasks like Vivian’s—making coffee and filing papers. But with Kian, it was probably more complicated than that.

Eileen’s voice was steady as she asked, “What’s the cost for breaking your contract?”

“Sixty thousand,” Bailee answered with a heavy heart. “It’s a steep tenfold of what I earn each month.”

Eileen rose and ascended the stairs. She took out a card from a drawer and presented it to Bailee. “There is a hundred thousand in this card. Take it. Leave the Warren Group. Once you’ve handed over your duties in seven days, you won’t have to go to the Warren Group ever again, whether they give their approval or not,” she said.

Since Kian was deliberately making things difficult for Bailee, he would most likely not approve of her resignation. Bailee, upon fulfilling her handover duties in seven days, could pay the sixty thousand penalty for breaking the contract. That amount would sever her ties with the Warren Group regardless of any legal fuss.

Bailee paused, then returned the card. “Eileen, sixty thousand will suffice. I don’t need more than that.”

“Okay.” Eileen didn’t press further. She took out her phone and promptly transferred the specified amount to Bailee.

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Three days trickled by; Bryan was nowhere to be seen at the company. Eileen had neither glimpsed him nor received any word from him, though she was certain of his whereabouts—he must have been at the hospital. Aware that Vivian might not welcome her presence, Eileen still felt compelled to go there to see Bryan.

The weight of unfinished business pressed upon her. There were things in the company that needed to be dealt with by Bryan. Eileen gathered the pressing paperwork and drove to the hospital. Halfway there, she bought a fruit basket as a courteous gesture.

lean shape. He bore unmistakable signs of countless nights without rest, his face unshaven. He was still clad in the shirt he had worn since departing from her place. He must have been tending to Vivian 24/7, leaving no

last thing she wanted was to upset Vivian. Instead, she watched Bryan for a moment. She retreated to the end of the corridor and rang Bryan’s number. The ringtone sliced through the quiet, and she turned

the call, Eileen steadied herself and approached him with a slight nod. “Mr. Dawson, I didn’t mean to disturb you, but there’s pressing work at the company that needs your attention. Do you wish to return, or should I bring

toward her, and her pulse quickened. He brushed past her without a word, stopping by a window to light a cigarette. He exhaled a smoke ring into the still air and then spoke with

at eight. I’ve brought a suit for you. You could make it

shadows lay beneath his eyes.

complexion pale. Vivian said, “You promised to be by my side all the time. I woke up

tightly, standing

Let’s go back inside.” Nodding, Vivian agreed. Not loosening her hold on Bryan, she began to walk back. Pausing beside Eileen, she questioned, “Bryan, you’ve got work piling up, right? Can

everything to the

from her car and delivering

I don’t need your cheap things,” Vivian said, her

documents on the coffee table across from the bed. She said, “It doesn’t matter to me if you accept them or

Eileen with a hushed intensity. “Why do you insist on speaking to

calmly, “My place has always been clear to me. Your actions seem more about

of your place in Mr. Dawson’s heart now. You don’t have to hold

She retreated to the bed and warned, “If you expect no further complications, then act accordingly. Don’t provoke me with

for his clothes, only for Vivian

to open the bathroom door, but Bryan only allowed her to open it a crack. Bryan’s hand grabbed the clothes from Vivian’s grasp before he shut the

who had taken a seat at the coffee table, seemingly indifferent to the petty squabble over who would present the clothes to Bryan. To Eileen, the entire ordeal seemed unnecessary. She knew that

been distant since her arrival, avoiding her gaze, his demeanor icy. It was clear

his sleeves as he approached and took a seat on the

on the stern set of his jaw. He carried an air of effortless poise without a care. “Let’s

laptop before him, ready to commence their task. Bryan’s voice filled the room. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting its warmth on Eileen and Bryan. Bryan was absorbed in the laptop’s glow, while Eileen diligently

watching them, could hardly conceal her distaste for the harmonious scene. The hours melted