Chapter 45

Marc waited in the cafe for over an hour.

His clothes were dry now, but they clung to him cold and sticky, making him feel worse.

His head throbbed, and a low fever was creeping in.He'd had enough.

Just as he stood to leave, his phone buzzed. A message lit up the screen-it was from one of his long -term business partners.

"Mr. Walsh, the patent has expired. We'll be pausing our partnership with Walsh Group until further notice."

Marc stared at the message, brows furrowed. Then another one came in. And another. Different companies. Same message. All of them were pulling out-refusing to renew their deals unless Stella's patent was locked in.

Marc's frustration boiled over. He tried calling Stella immediately, but her number was blocked. He tried her email,messaging apps-nothing. Total silence.

She was cutting him off, proving she could do things her way.

Marc clenched his jaw, gripping his phone until his knuckles blanched.

He called a few other partners, trying to salvage what he could. No luck. Everyone gave the same answer: no patent,no deal.

For the first time in a long while, Marc felt completely cornered.

With several deals falling through, he needed to find new opportunities; otherwise, the company would inevitably suffer losses.

Finally,he decided to contact Haley.

"Haley,where are you?" he asked, voice low.

Haley was lounging at a spa, fresh off the high of ruining Stella. Her voice was sugary sweet. "At the spa.Why,miss me already?"

"There's a charity gala tomorrow night. I want you to come with me."

Haley's heart practically did a somersault. Marc almost never brought women to public events-especially when he wasn't bringing Stella.

She had a place in Marc's heart that Stella couldn't compete with.

She was already planning to leak the photos and videos from Stella's humiliation, but now? Now she had the perfect stage. At the gala, once those images were out, Stella's name would be dirt in all of Choria.

Marc would have no choice but to drop her completely.

Haley grinned to herself.

Tomorrow wasn't just Stella's downfall-it'd be her official debut by Marc's side.

She quickly texted her mother. Her mother had wanted to secure a deal with Walsh Group,but Haley's obsession with Marc had caused tension.

She and her mom had a big argument over Marc.Haley had insisted he didn't love Stella anymore,that it was all over between them.

But her mother wasn't buying it. She'd flat-out forbidden Haley from playing the other woman.

This was her perfect chance to prove her mother wrong.

Tomorrow would be her proof. At the gala, her

mother would see the truth with her own eyes-Marc,publicly by her side, Stella completely out of the picture.

By the end of the night, Haley wouldn't be a sidepiece.She'd be the woman everyone was talking about.

"Sure, I'll be there on time," she purred into the phone."But Marc... I don't have a dress."

Marc sighed. He knew what she was getting at. "I'll pick you up early. We'll go shopping."

"You're the best! Love you!"

Marc ended the call with an irritated grunt, rubbing his temples.

This gala was important-he had a major potential partner attending. And Haley, with her Smith family background, might give him the edge he needed to sway the deal.

He smirked. Stella thought she could strong-arm him?She had no idea who she was messing with.

He didn't want to play dirty. He loved her.

But if she kept fighting him, he wasn't above teaching her a little lesson.

The next morning, Marc showed up early to take Haley shopping-he knew how long she could take.

He knew her routine, so he arrived just in time.

While she fussed over dresses, Marc waited on the boutique's sofa, flipping half-heartedly through a fashion magazine. His mind wasn't on fabrics or colors.He was already thinking about his pitch to the new investor.

"Marc, what about this one?" Haley called.

Without looking up, he muttered, "Yeah. Looks good."

Haley's smile faltered. Could he be thinking about Stella? She marched over, grabbed his face,and forced him to look at her. "Really? You haven't even seen it. Look properly."

Marc sighed and pulled himself back into the moment.He gave her a quick once-over, then wrapped an arm around her waist. "It suits you. The color works with your skin tone."

That was enough to satisfy her. She flashed a triumphant smile and told the sales clerk that she'd take the dress.

Then she headed off to get her makeup done,leaving

Marc to wait-again.

He leaned back and let his eyes drift shut for a second.And just like that, his mind went to Stella. She never wasted time on makeup or elaborate clothes.

A simple T-shirt, a ponytail, and she still looked effortlessly stunning.

Getting ready with her took ten minutes, tops.

Not like Haley, who took the whole day.

Hours later, everything was finally done, and they headed to the gala.

The venue was buzzing-full of elites from Choria's upper crust. As Marc and Haley entered, heads turned.

Whispers followed them like shadows.

"Who's the woman with Mr. Walsh? Isn't she the Smith girl? From Achury?"

"They're awfully close... Are they having an affair?"

Someone gasped, "No way. Would an Achury noblewoman really stoop to being a mistress? Or did Mr.Walsh already divorce his wife?"

The word divorce cut through the buzz of voices and hit Marc like a slap. His jaw clenched. His expression froze. That one word rattled something deep inside him.