Irene landed at the airport in the early hours of the morning. It had been a long time since she'd slept this deeply.
Rubbing her stiff shoulders, she pulled her suitcase toward the exit, scanning the crowd for a pickup sign.
The apartment she'd purchased in Valemont belonged to a young owner, who, after learning her flight details, had enthusiastically offered to pick her up.
After a long moment of searching, she walked hesitantly toward a man dressed in black, his expression solemn.
"Did Mr. Martin Cooper send you?"
The man neither confirmed nor denied it. After quickly matching her face with a photo on his phone, he respectfully opened the rear door of the car.
"Ms. Shaw, please."
Irene was momentarily taken aback. She hadn't expected the owner to send a stretch limousine.
She ducked into the car, watching as the men in black carefully loaded her luggage into the trunk.
Once the car pulled away, she said politely, "This is a bit of a hassle at this hour. Please thank Mr. Cooper for me."
The driver remained silent, posture rigid. The man in the front passenger seat spoke instead.
"Ms. Shaw, It was Mr. Wells who asked us to pick you up. He's still in the country handling some matters and will come see you later."
Adrian Wells?
She lowered her head instinctively, a quiet stir of emotion rising within her.
They hadn't been in contact since her marriage.
They didn't even have each other's phone numbers. That was why she'd sent him an email once she'd made up her mind.
Win or lose, she felt he deserved to know.
Irene soon let it go. If Adrian wanted to know something, he had his own ways.
Still, she couldn't help feeling that he always appeared in her life when she needed it most.
The car pulled up in front of the small apartment building. The bodyguard stepped out and began unloading her luggage one piece at a time.
When the door was opened, Irene stepped out.
The bodyguard handed her a brand-new phone with both hands. "Mr. Wells asked me to give this to you. He said you might need it."
She accepted it without hesitation, watching as the driver and bodyguard carried all her luggage upstairs.
They checked every lock carefully and even took photos of a broken light on the exterior stairway.
"I'll have someone come fix it tomorrow." The bodyguard reminded her again, "Ms. Shaw, you can contact me anytime if you need anything. Until Mr. Wells arrives in Valemont, I'll be responsible for your day-to-day needs."
He gestured toward a building less than fifty meters away. "We're staying over there."
Irene couldn't help widening her eyes. Adrian had moved faster than she'd imagined.
A strange realization surfaced. He might have already been putting things in place before she'd even finalized the purchase.
Over the next few days, Irene went to the school and met with Caleb.
The enrollment process went smoothly. Caleb even arranged evening language classes specifically for her.
When he asked whether the schedule suited her, Irene brushed it off.
Having just ended her marriage with Ethan, she didn't want people linking her to anyone else too soon.
Especially Adrian. She didn't want to cause him trouble.
Irene vaguely remembered seeing reports about Adrian not long after her marriage. The reclusive business magnate seemed close to an engagement with a prominent heiress from Kofraiwana.
Life felt as if someone had pressed fast-forward. She was too busy to spare any time grieving over Ethan.
Her days were filled with language classes, assignments, and gallery visits.
At dusk, she would sometimes see the bodyguard pacing downstairs, responding quietly through his earpiece.
She didn't know that after holding himself back for three days, Ethan had finally stormed off to confront Gordon. "Where is Irene?"
