Chapter 830

[ 500 words ]

Chapter 830:

Unless, of course, there was some hidden bargain beyond my grasp, or worse, some lethal threat I hadn’t yet uncovered.

“Ethan really is an extraordinary man.” Melisa stopped directly in front of me, her eyes gleaming with unmistakable provocation. “As his mate, you should be worried. Some relationships are built on love… while others are bound together by a secret.”

Her words struck exactly where they hurt most. The uneasiness I’d been suppressing instantly grew heavier.

I wanted to grab her by the collar and force her to explain exactly what she meant.

But just then, Ethan’s tired yet earnest expression before leaving replayed in my mind. So did the warning he’d repeated more than once. Stay away from Melisa.

𝖱𝘰𝗆a𝗻𝗰𝖾 𝘢𝘯𝘥 р𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗂о𝗇 𝗼ո 𝘨𝗮𝗹ո𝗼𝗏𝖾𝗅ѕ.𝖼o𝘮

I took a slow breath and forced myself to remain calm.

“Thanks for the reminder,” I replied coolly, meeting her eyes without the slightest emotion. “But I trust Ethan. Whatever he’s done for you, I’d rather hear the truth from him than from you.”

Without waiting for another word, I brushed past her and headed back toward the company. My fingernails dug so deeply into my palms that crescents appeared in my skin.

I chose to believe Ethan. I only hoped… he wouldn’t choose to lie to me.

Back at the office, I forced myself to push Melisa’s words to the back of my mind.

I sent the finalized due diligence report to Alex, then called together the core team members who had just returned from the field. Together, we carefully reviewed every detail, checking for any mistakes or hidden issues that might have surfaced while the project had been on hold.

I understood better than anyone the pressure that came with being viewed as someone who had been handed a position through connections.

Even though Ethan had entrusted me with complete authority, I refused to become nothing more than a symbolic leader who only appeared when it was time to accept the credit.

Now that I’d taken responsibility for the project again, I intended to uncover every hidden risk myself. I wouldn’t allow months of everyone else’s hard work to be ruined because of a mistake I failed to catch.

Lianne’s POV

“Lianne, you really don’t have to work yourself this hard.” Alex looked at the pages of my notebook covered in red annotations, shaking his head with obvious frustration. “With your position now, you have every reason to enjoy an easy life. Why keep exhausting yourself?”

There was an unspoken implication behind his words, that as Ethan’s future Luna, I could easily secure extra resources or larger bonuses if I wanted.

I closed the folder with a decisive snap and met his gaze firmly. “Alex, bonuses should be earned through results, not handed out because of who I am. I don’t want anyone on this team expecting special treatment, and I refuse to let favoritism become part of our work.”

As soon as we finished reviewing the latest batch of tasks, my phone buzzed on the desk.

The moment Ethan’s name appeared on the screen, the tightness in my shoulders melted away.

.

.

.

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.