No Wife, No Life Chapter 45

His eyes lifted slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips, a look of relief on his face.

"Well, I think today calls for a drink."

He raised his coffee cup, clinking it lightly against hers; his voice had bounced to it.

"Ms. Orsini, congrats on your fresh start."

The words echoed in her mind, repeating over and over.

"From now on, I'm officially pursuing you!"

He said it playfully, but his eyes suddenly grew serious, his expression earnest.

"I promise to take good care of you. I won't let you get hurt, not even a little."

He wanted to make it clear to Alex that the woman he had hurt would now be under his protection.

Alex's face grew darker.

He had been furious earlier, only wanting to humiliate her.

But he hadn't expected Caden to respond like this.

Harper stood up, looking Alex straight in the eye, speaking each word clearly: "Alex Lavien, I've decided to let go. From now on, I won't love you anymore."

She had never denied that she loved him.

She had loved him for many years.

Since high school, from the moment she first saw him, she had always looked up to him, dreaming of being the woman by his side.

So she had worked hard.

She excelled in her studies, skipping grades just to keep up with him.

In the end, she scored the highest on the SATs and got the chance to study abroad, but she still chose Majestic City University.

Majestic City University had him, the one she longed for, and she just wanted to be with him.

After graduation, she turned down offers from various multinational companies to join the Lavien Group as an intern, all because she liked him.

So, because of her love, did that mean he could hurt her recklessly?

This was the first time she called him by his full name, as if to make something clear.

She raised her coffee cup, taking a big gulp as if it were a shot of whiskey.

"Caden, congratulate me. I'm free!"

With that, she put down her coffee and walked out without looking back.

Caden shrugged and followed her.

The sunlight outside was still bright, but it felt a bit harsh.

Harper got into the car, her eyes reddening as she turned her head away.

Caden said nothing, starting the car and driving off.

Neither of them spoke until they reached an intersection, where Caden suddenly braked, pulling over to the side of the road.

"So, were you crying for him just now?"

He asked softly.

"Harper, he's not worth it!"

A woman like her deserved to be cherished, not to cry over a man who didn't love her.

The car started again, speeding away.

Back at the Lavien Group, Harper went straight to work.

Her desk had been moved out of the CEO's office.

Before she had moved to the CEO's office, she had her own private office, and now she was back in it.

Just then, someone knocked on her office door.

The door was open, and she looked up to see Travis leaning against the doorframe, holding a document, his brows furrowed.

"What's up, Travis?"

Travis walked over, handing her the document. "Take a look at this. The secretarial department just gave it to me."

Harper lowered her eyes, carefully examining the contract.

It turned out to be a contract signed by Emily, which the secretarial department said Alex had already approved.

Logically, since Alex had approved it, the contract should be fine.

But now that Travis had brought it to her, was there a loophole?

But Alex was always meticulous, rarely making such basic mistakes.

She read through it line by line, and after a while, she pointed out a problem. "There's an issue here."

Travis nodded.

As expected, Harper had spotted the problem right away.

"I remember Larry Jackson is mentally unstable. How can he be the acting representative for the other company?"

"I looked into it too. Larry is indeed the younger brother of the Jackson Group's president, but he has severe depression and can't act as a representative. If something goes wrong, the other party won't be held responsible, and we'll have to pay a hefty penalty."

Travis rubbed his temples, frustration and anger evident.

"Is Mr. Lavien out of his mind? How could he put someone like Emily in such an important position?"

From the day Emily joined the company, Travis had never thought highly of her.

Travis only valued capable people.

Last time, she had taken it upon herself to review the contract with Vanguard Enterprises Group, and what happened?

She couldn't even understand many of the terms, which was laughable.

"If Mr. Lavien insists on keeping her, she should stick to serving tea and coffee. She shouldn't meddle in business matters." Travis sighed. "Harper, you should let Mr. Lavien know."

Harper nodded. "Got it. I'll send it to him right away."

Travis left, his steps heavy.

Harper walked over, closed the door, and sent the document to Alex, explaining the contract's flaws.

Soon, Alex replied with a simple: "Got it."

Even though he knew the contract was signed by Emily, he wouldn't take any disciplinary action.

If it were someone else, they would probably have been fired by now.

Alex was always fair and impartial, even punishing Harper without hesitation if she made a mistake.

Harper's lips curled into a self-mocking smile.

In the end, Emily was the woman Alex loved, which was why he kept letting her off the hook.

Just then, the door was forcefully pushed open.

Emily stormed in, pointing at Harper and shouting, "Harper, what do you mean by this?"

Harper turned to her, her expression calm.

"What did I do?"

Emily fumed. "Why did you hold back the contract I signed with the Jackson Group?"

Harper's tone remained indifferent. "The contract has issues."

"I don't think the contract has issues. You have issues. You just don't want to see me succeed, right? So you're deliberately sabotaging me, making me look like a fool."

Harper chuckled.

"Do I need to sabotage you?"

She looked Emily up and down, her eyes filled with cold disdain.

"You're not better than me in any way, Emily. Tell me, in what way are you superior to me? Is it your looks, your figure, or your education?"

Her eyes flashed, staring directly at Emily, a sense of intimidation in her gaze. "Or is it your background?"

Mentioning her background, Emily's face turned even paler.

Her background was like a cross she was nailed to, an indelible shame.

"So what? Alex still loves me, not you. That's why you're taking every chance to bring me down. Harper, you're really something."

Harper's expression turned serious, her smile cold. "I'm not bringing you down. If I really wanted to bring you down..."

She paused, staring at Emily. "If I really wanted to bring you down, you wouldn't be standing here right now."