Chapter 2. Never Meant to Hurt Her

For a moment, she wondered whether he even heard her. He was already dressed and stood tall, but he did not respond as he took out a heart-shaped red velvet box from the drawer.

Sean glanced at his watch. When he looked up again, his face was colored with indifference and annoyance. “Myra, don’t pull any of those dirty tricks against my woman. I’ve fulfilled your wish for a marriage—what more do you want from me? If you want to claim me as your own, I’m afraid I have no such feelings for you. If you want my heart—”

“I told you I wasn’t the one who pushed Eris into the pond!” Myra interrupted him through gritted teeth before he could say anything more condescending.

Her lips were pale and she trembled so badly that she could collapse at any given moment.

Upon hearing what she said, Sean scowled. “Are you saying that she lied?” A look of disgust passed over his face as he scoffed and turned from her. “She can’t swim—did you know that? She could have drowned if I did not arrive on time to save her. If that happened, do you think you’ll still be standing here?”

“Sean, do you really think I would do something like that?” The floodgates were open, causing the resentment and pain that had built up in her for such a long time to be released. She looked at him bitterly and reiterated. “I did not push Eris. She fell into the water on her own. She came up to me and tried to make me leave you by insulting me, but I never wanted to hurt her!”

Myra’s cheeks were sunken, which only accentuated the size of her eyes. She looked wounded and vulnerable.

Sean saw the dark clouds that gathered in her otherwise luminous eyes, but his expression darkened just as quickly. He regarded the stubborn woman before him with disdain as he thought about Eris shivering in his arms as she advised not to blame Myra for the incident. Anger immediately rose within him and without another thought, he roughly shoved Myra aside.

“You’re the most despicable woman I’ve ever met!” he spat as she staggered backward. Her feet thudded against the floor as she tried to keep herself from falling over. Her face paled as she stared at him with widened eyes.

However, he simply returned her look of astonishment with a cold, baleful gaze before he picked up the bouquet of roses from the ottoman and headed out the door.

Myra had no idea where her courage came from; she ignored the pain that shot through her arm and rushed over to block him as she demanded, “Where are you going at this hour?”

Sean shot her an icy glare. “Move!” he barked.

Her arm’s eyes were filled with mist; as she prevented him from taking another step forward, she glanced at the ring on her finger.

It was only a plain, silver band that was bought from one of those nondescript shops. Sean had purchased it for her before their relationship soured, but she still cherished it. He quickly grew tired of her after their marriage and seeing as he never bought her a proper diamond ring, she’d taken the silver one as a token that meant something.

“You’re a married man now, Sean. What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Myra shouted, no longer able to suppress her rage.

For the past two years, she had woken up everyday to see pictures of her husband with his arms around another woman. She could not remember the last time she was happy.

He pushed her arm away. Before the door was slammed shut, he responded in a withering voice, “You should have known what you were signing up for when you first married into the Chase family.”

Myra bristled and she froze in her place.

Greta did not enter the study until after the sound of the front door being closed. She eyed Myra sympathetically as she asked, “Young Mistress Myra, are you alright?”

Myra straightened. She brought her hand to her face, expecting to feel tears streaming down her cheeks, but her skin was dry and taut. She shook her head in a state of daze before she exited the study in silence to make her way to her bedroom.

***

When Myra woke up the next morning, she glanced at the empty room in a daze.

She had turned twenty-four the day before. Sean had probably forgotten about it or maybe he never committed to remember her birthday at all. He bought flowers for another woman and spent the night with her, leaving Myra with nothing more than a cold shoulder.

Myra went downstairs after getting dressed and she was greeted by a cheery Eve. “Myra, you’re just in time for breakfast!”

Eve was probably Myra’s saving grace in the family. Not wanting to look sad in front of her, Myra nodded and seated herself in the dining room.

“Myra, I know you’re upset with the way Sean behaved last night, but please don’t be sad—I’m always on your side. I’m sure one day he will come to realize that you’re the woman whom he should spend the rest of his life with.”

Myra felt tears pricking her eyes, but she remained reticent.

Eve sighed and shoved a pair of chopsticks into Myra’s hands. “You should, dear. Sean left early to attend to a couple of things, so I’ll ask the chauffeur to drop you off at work later.”

Just as Eve said that, Greta entered the dining room with today’s newspaper in hand. “Madam, here’s the newspaper you asked for.”

Greta had only just placed the newspaper on the dining table when Eve caught a glimpse of the front page news. Greta’s face faltered, but it was too late for her to take the newspaper away.

Myra stiffened as she fixed her gaze on the headline.

Below it was a picture of Sean kissing a certain young female celebrity and it was taken in front of a hotel. Clearly, he did not even come home at all last night.

“Myra—”

“Thanks for the breakfast, Mom. I have to go to work now,” Myra stoically interrupted as she rose from her seat. She took her purse and headed out the doorway.

Unable to respond on time, Eve stood by the doorway and watched as her daughter-in-law drove off.

Greta was apologetic as she approached. “I’m sorry about that, Madam.”

“It’s not your fault.” Eve sighed. She turned and looked at Greta with a somber expression. “Call Sean later and tell him that if he doesn’t come home tonight, I’ll disown him!”

Upon hearing that, Greta hastily nodded, “Okay.”

Myra and Sean’s wedding had been a low-profile affair for many reasons—there were only a handful of people who knew about the matrimony between the daughter of the Stark Family and the heir to Chase family.

Even those in Chase Group were unaware of Myra’s real identity. As far as they were concerned, she was only the leader of Design Team A.

“Myra, I’m so sorry, but I don’t think I will be able to join all of you for lunch today. I have an appointment with Director Chase at noon.” Elsie sounded apologetic enough, but she was gloating. She was cooped up in the restroom for nearly an hour before lunchtime and when she emerged, her lips were painted with a bright shade of red. Myra winced at that sight, but she made no comment.

After having excused herself, Elsie took her purse and left. Her hips swayed as she walked toward the elevator that was meant for company executives.

“What did she look so pleased for? Everyone knows how she became the leader for team B—and it’s certainly not because of her talent!” scoffed a woman who was on one side.

Myra paled. Without speaking another word, she grabbed her purse and made her way to the elevator as well.

With some time to spare after lunch, everyone chattered in groups of two or three before they returned to work.

“Myra! Look at this—the heir to the Hart Family fortune has returned to the country, and he’s officially taking over the Hart Group!” Tilly announced as she placed the tabloid in front of Myra. She was the newly-recruited intern at the design department and the only one who showed any loyalty to Myra despite what happened at the banquet last night.

She followed up with a dreamy sigh. “Oh, where do I even begin with Tony Hart? He’s a legend in the business world. He went abroad when he was eighteen and when he was twenty-two, he graduated from Harvard with a double PhD in Management and Business Economics respectively. He built his own business empire, Hartwell Group, at the age of twenty-six and up until today, no one has been able to replicate his achievements in the country. Now, he’s returned to take over the Hart Group. Oh, my God—more importantly, he’s charming and handsome without being tainted by any scandal! He’s nearly thirty-five and he’s still a bachelor!”

Myra felt herself unwinding when she saw the starstruck gleam in Tilly’s eyes. “Do you have plans to woo him?”

Upon hearing that, Tilly’s spirits seemed to die down a little. She scratched her earlobe as she muttered, “Of course not. Dreamboats like him are meant to be admired from afar. They’re not dateable.”

“Does that mean you were excited over nothing?” Myra teased as she cast a brief glance at the tabloid cover.