"Hello, Miss Shepherd. Are you sure you want to erase all your personal records in this country?"
Madeline didn't hesitate. "Yes, please proceed with it."
"Alright, the procedure has been submitted. You'll receive a text message notification within fifteen business days."
"Thank you!"
As Madeline left the office, she felt a weight lift from her chest. The suffocating pain she'd been carrying around eased, even if just a little.
Suddenly, she remembered she'd left some things in Elias' office. She needed to clear everything out if she was indeed going to leave.
When she entered Elias' office, the two people inside froze momentarily. Madeline felt lost because their ambiguity could be seen at a glance.
Fighting back a wave of bitterness, Madeline plastered a smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."
Elias was momentarily taken aback but quickly recovered. "Ah, Madie, why are you here? Did something urgent come up? Perfect timing—wait a bit and I'll take you out for lunch."
Madeline saw not a flicker of fear in Elias' eyes. She couldn't tell if he was hiding it exceptionally well or was just used to lying to her.
She controlled her emotions without revealing any flaws and smiled a little. "No, nothing urgent. I was running some errands nearby and remembered I left something in your office, so I came to grab it."
Elias was the epitome of perfection. Talented and strikingly handsome, he doted on Madeline to the point of obsession. Yet this paragon of virtue, a man everyone envied, was having an affair.
"Alright then, give me a moment to wrap up work with my secretary."
The moment Madeline sat; the secretary started speaking in perfect French. "Elias, you left me hanging earlier and I feel awful. How are you going to make it up to me?"
Madeline's blood ran cold. She stared at Miss Young, whose outwardly professional facade belied such brazen words.
Seeing Madeline's stunned expression, Elias and Whitney assumed she couldn't understand French. They became even bolder, openly flirting in her presence.
Elias glanced at Madeline, a faint smirk playing on his lips. His expression was even more composed than Whitney's—almost unnervingly so.
He teased Whitney in flawless French. "You little seductress, setting me on fire like this. Tonight, you'd better help me put it out, or you're not going anywhere."
