Chapter 17: Chapter 17

While Candice was in a stalemate with him, the mysterious. woman in the house came over silently and stood behind Byron.

Her nose and mouth were bruised, and her complexion was pale, giving her a fragile, battered beauty that would make a man vulnerable and sympathetic.

When they made eye contact, the intense vigilance and murderous intent in her eyes made Candice a little scared and diffident.

Byron immediately retracted his wrist when he noticed her.

He may be self–contained but he didn’t seem very loyal. However, he wasn’t exactly promiscuous either. Although the two of them were single, he made it seem like a clandestine relationship.

Perhaps, Byron could draw a clear line between random hookups and women he had actual feelings for. He treated her differently.

“Who is she?”

Byron went back to the living room and opened the refrigerator door as he answered, “A friend.”

Candice pursed her lips in dismay, for he had left her here.

He wasn’t worried that she would expose him either. It seemed that he was certain that she had no reason to do so.

It was true that they weren’t dating and Candice had merely one–sidedly assumed that they were in an exclusive

relationship.

Besides, given Byron’s personality, they probably wouldn’t last longer than a month even if they were really in a relationship.

Candice smiled and said, “Doctor Byron saved my mother. I decided to pay him a visit to send my regards after learning about his suspension.”

The woman frowned, for she hadn’t heard of it.

“You’ve been suspended?” she asked.

Byron leaned against the wall and mumbled.

“Are you going to return to the hospital?”

“I’ll see.”

“Why?”

He didn’t answer.

The woman turned her head to the side and called out to him, “Byron.”

The way she called him was domineering yet distant, with a distinctive style of a bad woman

It turned out that no matter how outstanding a man may be, he would still be vulnerable to a woman who throws tantrums at him despite being surrounded by suitors who pamper him endlessly.

“It was a mistake at work.”

The woman didn’t probe any further and instead, turned to the side and said to Candice, “Why don’t you come in for a while?”

Candice politely declined, “I shall not impose on you.”

Byron glanced at the door nonchalantly and she happened to make eye contact with him.

He soon looked away.

The woman returned and sized Byron up before saying, “She’s gone.”

He was rather calm and completely unconcerned.

“What do you want to eat?” he asked.

“Pasta made by you.”

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Byron entered the kitchen and the woman suddenly stood in front of him.

With an ambiguous smile, she asked, “How far have you two progressed?”

“What do you mean?”

“Go ahead and keep pretending.” She hooked the waistband of his pants with her fingertips and rubbed the part of his skin below his navel.

“I’m talking about you and her.”

“You’re really controlling,” he said with an indifferent smile.

The woman followed behind him and complained softly, “He hit me.”

Byron ripped open a packet of pasta and placed it inside the pot as he said, “It’s your choice to be with him.”

“Can’t I regret it?” she said, showing some weakness as she took the initiative to hug him.

“You’ve lost weight,” she added.

“Do you even care?”

Pressing her face against his back, she said, “Of course I care about you. Everything about you matters to me. Your emotions and your mood change because of me.”

“All you care about is money.”

She turned his body over and said, “Is that what you think about me? I was young and clueless about love. Now that I’m getting older, am I not allowed to repent?”

Byron/looked down at her and said, “You’re not old now.”

“Compared to her, I’m indeed a little old,” the woman said.

“Who?” He was clearly asking the obvious.

“That girl. You don’t have that many new lovers, do you?”

Byron stirred the pasta in the pot with a wooden spoon and said, “I have plenty.”

“How old is she?”

“I can’t remember.”

“Seems like you’ve had a change of taste. You prefer innocent, sweet young things now.”

Byron didn’t respond.

“She even has your address. Do you think I’d believe that there’s nothing between you two? To be honest, I really feel threatened. I should have confirmed your feelings before deciding whether to leave him or not. Otherwise, I’d end up with nothing and nowhere to turn to, which is what I hate,” the woman said as she hugged Byron even more tightly at his waist.

“You feeling threatened has nothing to do with her.” Byron turned off the stove and slid his fingers along the woman’s cheek to her neck before moving them downwards.

I’m just sick and tired,” he said.

“You’re sick of me?”

“I don’t feel the same as I used to,” he answered as he moved his hand away.

She was really good at controlling the atmosphere.

Not willing to be suppressed by Byron, she turned the tables on him and said, “Then it does seem that I shouldn’t miss you. My exes wouldn’t be as hard on me as you are.”

She turned around to leave but Byron dragged her back.

The attractive thing about Vicky was that she would forever go against t the norm. She would never beg, stoop low, hold. herself cheap, or break down in tears.

She had countless backup plans, which would create a sense of urgency for her current lover.

She enjoyed the submissiveness of men. She was even more adept than Byron when it comes to love and relationships.

Rita may be a player but Vicky completely trumped her.

Candice came downstairs and looked up at the windows on the 11th floor. The curtains were drawn and Candice wondered what was going on in there.

Even after driving out of the district, she still felt uneasy. Thus, she sent a text to Byron with her free hand: [Professor Wilson, have you two broken up again?]

He didn’t reply.

She then texted Harry: [Is the woman in his house Vicky?]

Harry was pretty quick to reply. [What does she look like?]

Candice recalled the woman’s general appearance and replied: [Stunning and tall, with a touch of disheveled beauty.]

Harry was about to enter the operating theater to help a patient with prosthetic implants, a surgery that shot Byron to fame. He was the most skilled in it and he would have been the one to perform that surgery if it wasn’t because he was suspended.

Harry pushed the door open and entered the room after reading that text.

The nurse entered with scrubs in hand. “Doctor Harry?”

“Be right there.”

Byron was surrounded by countless gorgeous women but

there was only one who could be described as stunning.

Harry knew who Candice was referring to and he was just trying to confirm.

Byron was reading Candice’s texts when he called.

She had sent another text after the first.

—[Professor Wilson, I won’t call you again in the future.]

She sounded disgruntled yet rational and sober, deliberately pretending to be unaffected.

Byron lit up a cigarette and leaned against the couch languidly, exuding a touch of gloominess.

Harry called thrice but no one picked up. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and returned to the operating theater.

Candice wasn’t surprised that Byron didn’t reply. She thought that he definitely didn’t have time to reply to her since he was busy getting intimate with Vicky.

She had been hurt by men to the point that she had lost all confidence. She had courted two men in total, each of whom was tougher to win over than the other.

Candice went to Rufus’s office to confront him, but he wasn’t there. Instead, she bumped into Sharon at the door. Ever since Rita replaced Sharon, the latter had been neglected. Candice was too busy settling her divorce and the issues that came with it, so much that she couldn’t be bothered about Sharon at that time.

“Have you been transferred back here as a secretary?”

“I started working for Mr. Nelson again after Rita Torres resigned,” Sharon answered.

“Where’s Rufus?” Candice asked.

“The boss is out on a business trip, so Mr. Nelson is conducting a conference on the second floor.”

Candice pushed her away and barged into the conference. room, where Rufus was giving out the operational metrics for the new quarter when a sudden slamming on the door startled him.

Immediately afterwards, he was faced with a slap that caused him to be greatly humiliated.

“Since you guys are colleagues, you must know Rita Torres, Mr. Nelson’s lover who caused the breakdown of my marriage with Mr. Nelson. She sowed discord, instigated Rufus to abandon his wife, and take all our matrimonial

assets, including a secondhand Audi that was awarded to me as per the divorce agreement.”

With a trace of panic, Rufus barked, “Candice!”

He stood up to stop her. “What nonsense are you getting up to!?!”

Candice pointed her phone at the computer port on the table and exported Rufus‘ bank transfer records, as well as the video of him and Rita being intimate in the car, after which she projected them on the screen.

Rufus was flustered and immediately switched off his phone.

However, it was too late and doing so wouldn’t stop tongues from wagging. Just like how he had gone to the hospital to kick up a fuss, no one bothered to find out the truth and were only curious about how juicy this love triangle really

was.

Rufus dragged Candice out of the conference room and hid in the dark stairwell, his eyes incredibly bloodshot as he questioned, “You’re going to ruin me, aren’t you?”

“You’ve already taken the house and schemed against me to cause me to end up with nothing. Rufus, have I ever created trouble for you?”

“What were you doing just now!?!” he hollered as he punched the wall.

Staring at him, Candice said, “Byron has been suspended.”

Stunned, he immediately flew into a rage and questioned, “Are you here to take revenge for him?”

“I was just seeking justice for myself. Do you dare to take this to court?”

“I didn’t break the law. The house was in my name when we got married, and you were okay with it! Why should I go to court?”

The more frustrated Rufus was, the calmer Candice was. That proved that he was flustered because he had a guilty conscience.

“If you have a conscience, don’t go around cheating others. out of their money by using me as an excuse. Don’t go too far and force me to the corner.”

Gritting his teeth, he said, “Are you going to fight me to the death because of Byron?”

Candice used to be too enamored of him and too soft- hearted that she spoiled him rotten, which caused him to become more aggressive. After the divorce, he was still

trying all sorts of methods to extort some money from her.

“Yes, I’ll sue you.”

Candice went downstairs, and Rufus chased after her.

“Don’t you claim to love me? In what way do you love me?” he questioned.

“How should I be loving you? Turn a blind eye to your infidelity? Join you in scamming others even after our divorce?”

Rufus grabbed her hand and eased up a bit before saying “We’ll split the $80,000 from Byron’s compensation 50/50. If you can get him to give us $150,000, we can split it 40/60. Candice, with his status and the car he drives, hist family must be very wealthy. He can’t possibly marry a divorcee like you, right? We used to be married after all. Why do you have to help an outsider?”

Candice had simply gotten an eyeopener. She and Rufus did not have a peaceful divorce, and instead, turned against each other. Yet, he still had the cheek to suggest that cooperation.

“Are you that short of money?” she questioned.

“Rita…” He didn’t go on and instead, asked, “Do you agree

Candice’s face was expressionless as she waved him off and Rufus stood in the way of the car.

“You cheated on me and now you’re stopping me from getting money from your adulterous lover?”

She simply ignored it and floored the gas pedal.

Rufus was afraid of death, so he quickly dodged when he saw how extreme Candice was now that she was hopping mad.

Forty minutes later, Candice met with Doctor Roger at the hospital to discuss Byron’s suspension.

He recognized Candice and asked, “Your mother is a patient in the ICU, right?”

Candice said yes.

Doctor Roger came around the desk and poured her a glass of water.

“You mean Doctor Byron was framed by your ex–husband and you didn’t actually have any close contact with him?”

Doctor Roger pondered slightly before saying, “I understand Doctor Byron well, and he’s always been self–disciplined when it comes to relationships. He’s still young in his prime now. While he might lose control and cross the line

sometimes, I believe he won’t go too far. But the matter has seriously been blown out of control this time. There were many patients, family members, and colleagues present the other day. The hospital and department had no choice but to deal with it seriously.”

She reckoned that the hospital was eager to reinstate Byron but lacked a reason to.

Thus, Candice decided to push for it.

“Doctor Byron was really maligned,” she said.

Doctor Roger nodded and said, “We’ll hold a meeting to discuss this and clarify things as soon as possible so that we can reinstate his position.”

Harry was performing a surgery at this moment, so Candice didn’t see him. After making a trip to the bathroom, she gave Nancy a video call.

“It’s over between me and Byron.”

“Have you two even officially started?” Nancy remarked while practicing yoga.

“We almost did. I guess things would have worked out if his unforgettable lover hadn’t returned.”

“Is she pretty?”

Candice had really never met a woman as beautiful and sophisticated as Vicky.

“Not too bad,” said Candice, feeling disgruntled that Vicky was more attractive than her.

“You definitely have a better figure than her. In terms of looks… you’re too plain–looking. Sultry and seductive women are the most popular with men, and men are willing to spend effort to please them,” said Nancy who was still doing splits in mid–air.

Candice dried her hands and walked out while saying, “We’re not meant to be.”

She didn’t have any actual feelings for Byron, though his scent was indeed very attractive. However, Candice was only attracted to him because of his looks and had gotten intimate with him in a moment of loneliness. In the adult world, it is rather normal for a man and a woman to sleep with each other without having any feelings.

11788 Vouchers She had an agenda but unfortunately, she failed to get into an exclusive relationship with him and things had to come to an end.

If she continued to dwell on it, Candice might sink deeper into it, but things hadn’t developed to such an extent yet.

When she came out of the clinic, Candice bumped into a man on the steps in front of the door.

The man was tall, looking sharp and clean in a formal black business suit. He was exuding a refreshing scent that resembled soap or detergent.

The man was holding his phone with one hand as he was in the midst of a call and flipping through documents with the other. His palm was half curled as he was clutching a purse.

With the impact of the collision, he dropped the purse and his passport and ID card fell out.

Candice was overwhelmed with pain and stumbling on the spot dizzily when the man suddenly paused his phone call and asked, “Are you hurt?”

His metal button cut Candice’s forehead, which was bleeding a little. She covered her wound and said, “I’m fine.”

When she regained her composure, she bent forward to pick up his things and subconsciously took a glance, only to see that his name was Percy, born on November 13 in LA.

His eyes seemed rather familiar to her, but she just couldn’t remember where she had met him before.

“Miss, that’s mine,” the man said.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Candice immediately returned it to him, and he thanked her gently and graciously.

“Thanks.”

The video call was still ongoing, so Nancy witnessed everything. “He’s really handsome. Are you stupid? Why didn’t you seize the opportunity to cry in his arms!?!”

Pretending to be coquettish, she continued, “You should have been like ‘Sir, you’ve hurt me. Please take me to see the gynecologist. My boobs are swollen.”

Candice didn’t say anything, but the man’s voice suddenly came from behind her.

“Which floor is Doctor Byron on?”

The familiar address made Candice’s feet twitch as she

turned around.

The nurse who was questioned said, “Are you referring to Doctor Byron from the reproductive unit? His office used to be in Room 1 on the third floor, but he was suspended yesterday.”

“Suspended?” the man asked with a frown.

“He was accused of having a messy affair with a woman, whose husband came to the hospital to create a scene.”

The man frowned even deeper, puzzled by what he had just heard.

“Is there some misunderstanding?”

“Anyway, she was not only with Doctor Byron, but also Doctor Harry from the same department, and we have colleagues who saw her delivering meals to them.”

At this point, the nurse happened to catch a glimpse of Candice and quickly whispered, “That’s her.”

The man turned around, and the ample sunlight cast on his shoulders. It was slightly blinding.

After a momentary pause, he asked Candice in a warm and deep voice, “Do you know Byron?“