The Heir's Secret Bride

Chapter 34

At the apartment, Maeve took a short nap in the afternoon.

After waking up, she submitted some design drafts for others and logged into her email to check for updates.

Still no replies to the resumes she'd sent out,

Even the notification that her final payment had come through couldn't lift her mood.

Freelance work was just a side hustle-her real passion was in design.

But she thought, 'At this rate, will I ever land a full-time job?'

With a sigh, Maeve glanced at the time and headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

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That afternoon, she had spent some of her freelance earnings on high-quality ingredients, planning to thank Byron with a nice meal.

But even after the food went cold, he still hadn't come home.

When the doorbell finally rang, Maeve rushed to answer it, only to find it was just a drink delivery.

She took the drinks back to the table, muttering to herself, "If he's working late, he could at least let me know."

She had put a lot of effort into this dinner.

After finishing the meal and drink by herself, Maeve rested for a bit before heading out for her night run.

This area was far from her old apartment, so even if the stalker had been persistent, it'd be nearly impossible to follow her here.

Still, she stayed cautious, choosing well-lit routes with more people around.

Meanwhile, in the car, Archer glanced at the heavy traffic ahead and turned to Byron in the backseat. "Mr. Mcdaniel, this road gets really jammed at night. We'll be stuck here for a while." A last-n st-minute international video conference had kept them at the office until just now. Otherwise, they could have avoided the rush hour traffic.

"Okay," Byron responded, leaning against the window, staring outside with little interest.

"Mr. Mcdaniel, you haven't had dinner yet. Should I book a table at your usual restaurant?" Archer asked.

replied, "No need. I'll

"Understood."

figure jogging past

to head back without him. He got out of the car and

her direction.

Mr. Mcdaniel really decide to walk home just to

restaurant, slowed her pace and

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doing out here?" A low,

to see Byron standing right in front of her. "Mr. Mcdaniel, you're done with

in his pocket, Byron glanced at the nearby fast-food stalls, his expression showing clear disapproval. "Don't tell me you're planning to eat this

two

don't want it," Byron declined flatly. "I'm

both pizzas. "More

contentedly, looking like a little hamster enjoying

a quiet scoff. "You always reward yourself with junk food after a run. Are you exercising for fitness or just to indulge afterward?" Maeve's smile instantly faded. Remembering how determined she had

parade

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could pretend she

say something, when he noticed something in the reflection of a

shady-looking men, dressed like troublemakers, were lurking not far

they were concealing weapons in their pockets,

icy. He thought, 'Are

in

She

confused. "What is

eating. We're

instinctively began to

of her head, speaking

process what was happening, he grabbed her left hand and led her

and immediately took off

but as they neared

By then,

lost the pizza she was holding. Dragged along by Byron, she wasn't even sure how far they had run. Her lungs burned, and she was gasping for air. Already exhausted from her earlier run, she was at