Maverick's Celebration Pastas were divine, each bite layered with skill and heart, but they did nothing to cool the fire raging in my chest. My anger still burned, the way it does when someone trespasses into your most sacred space, leaving you restless, unsettled, and raw.

I didn't let Adrian stay. At that moment, just looking at him made my stomach turn.

Maverick sat with me instead, sharing two quiet drinks.

He studied me for a moment before speaking. "Forgive me for being blunt, but the rumors outside are not in your family's favor. I suggest you keep your ties with Chairman Hayes intact. If your family truly runs into trouble, the Hayes family might still have the power to pull you out."

I swirled the wine in my glass and took a slow sip. "Uncle Maverick, do you know why Adrian dares to behave like this?"

Silence settled over him. He didn't need to answer; we both knew. Adrian's audacity came from those whispers outside. If my family truly was on the brink, then this was him beginning to show his true colors.

I added, "If those rumors turn out to be true, Adrian wouldn't even bother to apologize today. And it wouldn't be me asking for the divorce."

Maverick remained silent. He knew I was right. He drained an entire glass in one breath. "People these days are heartless. If your family hadn't helped the Hayes family, they would've been history long ago."

I smiled faintly. "If I could lift the Hayes family up, I can crush them back down."

He only glanced at me, knowing those were nothing more than my wishful thoughts.

Now, all the outside rumors pointed to the Serrano family becoming nothing but a relic of the past, with countless eyes waiting to watch us fall.

On that point, I said nothing more.

A decision had already settled in my heart: to use this incident with Adrian to show everyone whether the Serrano family would fall or not.

....

When I got home, Adrian was unusually proactive.

He wore the pajamas I had once picked for him, the same ones I used to beg him to wear, only for him to say it was undignified for a man.

Tonight, he wore them on purpose, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

In the first years of our marriage, he went out of his way to please me, because back then, his family needed my help and the backing of the group behind me.

But in the past two years, the Hayes family had clawed its way out of the mud and climbed higher and higher.

He stopped making the effort. Every time, it was either "busy" or "tired." I had reached out more times than I could count, only to be met with cold responses.

When he did agree on rare occasions, he was like a dead fish.

Sometimes, I even felt disgusted with myself.

As a woman, I felt like I had failed.

But forgiving yourself was always easier than forgiving others.

I had long carried resentment toward this relationship; today, even more so.

Faced with his sudden display of initiative, I chose to turn it away.

I went upstairs to the bedroom and locked the door behind me.

Lying in bed, I realized Adrian and I had been sleeping in separate rooms for two years.

The last time we had been intimate was six months ago.

It used to be him locking the door; today, it was me.

The next morning, to my surprise, he had made breakfast and was already seated at the table, waiting.

I ate in silence, only a few bites, without looking at him.

He seemed ready to speak, but when I stayed quiet, he swallowed his words.

At noon, his mother called, saying we hadn't visited in a while and inviting us to dinner.

She gave me a reason I couldn't refuse; my parents would be there too.

I knew this had been arranged by Adrian.

He wanted to use this dinner to smooth the cracks between us.

But a chill that had built for years could not be melted in a single night.

Yesterday's meal with Nadia was only the fuse; it had simply lit the fire already waiting.

Still, I had thought about it all night. To divorce over a single dinner would be too hasty. I would wait. Watch. See how he acted from now on.

That evening, over dinner, Adrian handed my father a document. "Dad, take a look. This is the project plan for the Haines project."

My father took the proposal, reading it with care.

"Not bad," he said at last, "very thorough. If the Haines project is carried out according to this plan, the profits could be maximized. I'll take this home and review it in detail."

Adrian smiled. "Dad, you can't just look it over. This project won't run smoothly without your support."

I understood instantly. My family still held some value, value Adrian needed for the Haines project. That was why he hadn't dared burn every bridge with me.

I stayed quiet through the meal, offering no hint of the tension between us.

The dinner was lively, the laughter warm, but beneath it all, only he and I knew how hollow it truly was.

I had a little too much to drink, so he took the wheel and drove us home.

"That proposal was Nadia's work. Even your father acknowledged it. Her ability is remarkable; she's a true talent. I only took her to dinner to keep her in the company. Nothing more."

"I thought tonight's dinner was meant to ease things between us. Clearly, I was mistaken. You simply refuse to let her go, don't you?"

"Bianca, you're being unreasonable. I'm only trying to retain real talent for the company. Don't be deceived by her age; many firms are eager to hire her. Talents like hers require special treatment to keep."

"If she said she'd only stay if I handed you over to her, should I step aside as well?"

"You're being absurd." Adrian's expression chilled. "If she's dismissed, then this proposal is useless. I can't explain that to your father; you can tell him yourself."

I laughed bitterly inside. So this was his plan.

Talent?

What a joke. Every year, top graduates flood the market. Talent has never been scarce.

What was scarce was the platform.

Since Adrian wanted to play games with me, it was time he saw exactly what kind of person Bianca truly was. Let's see if my authority still stood now that the Hayes family had risen in power.

The next morning, I walked into the office with a clear plan. He couldn't bring himself to fire Nadia? Then I would.

By 9:30, I was in my office, sipping tea and admiring the river view, when the door was shoved open without so much as a knock.

Adrian strode in, his expression dark, and slammed a contract down on my desk. "Bianca, what is the meaning of this? I told you Nadia is a talent. I even had your father review her proposal. Why did you still fire her?"

I met his glare, my voice cold. "Adrian, do you really think I don't see through your little schemes? Why didn't you tell my father yesterday that the proposal came from Nadia? Even if it had been filled with scribbles, as his son-in-law, you'd still earn a few polite words of praise. Do you honestly believe her proposal was that good?"

I tossed a document across the desk. "Take a good look at this."

Adrian picked it up; it was the same proposal he had proudly handed to my father yesterday, only now it was almost drowning in red ink.

"The red lines," I said coolly, "are the revisions it needs. The circled parts? Complete nonsense, running entirely against the goals of the Haines project. And you had the nerve to present this to my father?"

"Tell me, those proposals you've given my father in the past, by the time you got them back, they'd all been edited, hadn't they? I was the one who fixed them. This time, he asked me to revise it again."

I let the words sink in before delivering the cut. "Whether Nadia is talented or not is debatable. But whether you, the chairman, are competent? That's the real question."

Adrian's jaw tightened. "Even if Nadia's proposal isn't perfect, it still has merit. She has fresh ideas. The company needs people like her."

"Bianca, I hope you can ask Nadia to come back. Don't forget, you're the Vice Chair of Hayes Group. I'm the Chairman. And as Vice Chair, you don't have the authority to fire my assistant."

"What if I don't?" My voice was ice, my gaze locked on Adrian's.

The Hayes family's influence had been climbing, and it seemed Adrian had put some things together over the past couple of days. I waited to see if he'd finally bring up divorce.

He didn't. Instead, he turned on his heel and stormed out.

Just as I thought, my family still had value to him. He wasn't ready to give up those benefits. Not yet.

But he clearly had no intention of letting me off easy either. His tactics grew bolder, each move pushing harder against my patience.

Then came Nadia's little announcement on her social media.

[Recognition from leadership, I've gone full-time.]

She had been nothing more than an intern at Hayes Group. Now, she was flaunting a signed full-time contract, its location tagged at Maverick's hidden restaurant.

Adrian knew exactly where to strike. He had taken Nadia there again, right to the place he knew would cut the deepest.

This time, I didn't call.

Some things only needed to be done once.

The first time I had dialed Adrian, there was still a fragile thread of hope in my heart. That thread is gone now.

I stayed silent, but Maverick didn't.

"Biance, I wasn't going to say anything… but after thinking about it, I feel I should tell you, I'm leaving."

"Leaving? Uncle Maverick, what do you mean by leaving?"

"I'm tired. I want to see the world. Someone else will take over the restaurant."

"Maverick, I understand. I'll make sure you get justice for the grievances you've suffered."

"Bianca, it's not what you think. I really am just tired. Don't let this affect your relationship with Chairman Hayes."

After hanging up, I went straight to the restaurant.

When I walked in, only Nadia was there. She shot to her feet the moment she saw me.

"President Serrano, Chairman Hayes said my proposal was good and wanted me full-time. I really didn't mean for this to happen. There's nothing going on between me and Chairman Hayes."

I didn't bother acknowledging her. "Where's Adrian?"

"That Maverick got upset with me. Said he wouldn't cook for me, so he left. Chairman said he'd cook himself, I couldn't stop him."

Her posture was humble, but her tone carried a faint, deliberate provocation.

Adrian, cooking for Nadia? Not even bothering to hide it anymore.

I was about to go find him when the sharp rhythm of leather shoes striking the wooden floor reached my ears.

"President Serrano, I'm sorry! I know I was wrong, please, don't hit me!"

Nadia suddenly cried out, grabbed a wine bottle, and smashed it against her own head. Blood trickled down.

Vicious.

"Bianca, that's enough," Adrian's voice cut across the room as he entered, carrying a dish. "Apologize to Nadia. Now."

"Nadia… how tender your affection is."

He knew I despised him calling Nadia that, yet he still did it. Did he truly think I was that easy to trample?

I strode forward, picking up the wine bottle from the floor; it hadn't even shattered.

I brought it down hard on Nadia's head. "Now you can really cry out."

"Bianca, don't you think this is too much?" Adrian's glare was sharp, his tone colder still.

"President Serrano, I'm sorry, really sorry! I was wrong!" Nadia bent low, feigning meekness while fishing for Adrian's sympathy.

"You did nothing wrong." Adrian helped the staggering Nadia to her feet. "I'll take you to the hospital first. Don't worry, this won't end here."

Left alone in the tiny restaurant, I pulled out my phone and dialed my father. "Dad… my chest feels tight."

My father stayed silent, so I continued, “Over the past two years, as the Hayes family’s business soared, my relationship with Adrian had grown colder and colder. Two days ago, on my birthday, he chose to spend it with a female subordinate who just happened to share the same birthday, rather than come home to be with me. I confronted him about it, and today, he went so far as to personally cook for her. It feels like the Hayes family’s wings have grown far too hard.”

“You say the word,” my father replied, just four words.

My mood instantly lifted. “Then break those wings, crush them to the ground.”

Not long after I ended the call, Adrian phoned. He told me to meet him at the City Hall.

Half an hour later, we stood at its entrance.

Adrian had changed into a sharp, tailored suit. Much as I despised him, I had to admit, objectively, he looked every inch the part: polished, poised, and irritatingly handsome.

Next to him stood Nadia, her head swathed in gauze, yet her eyes burned with open provocation.

In this silent war of emotions, she believed she had already claimed victory.

But would a man like Adrian truly be ruled by emotions?

Adrian gazed down at me, his voice dripping with condescension. “Bianca, you still don’t understand the situation. Your family is on the brink of collapse. I’m giving you a chance, kneel and apologize to Nadia now, and this marriage doesn’t have to end.”