Emir followed her gaze, his sharp blue eyes landing on Josh, his jaw tightened before he walked past Elsa.
Josh could only stare back, his knuckles whitening as his grip tightened around his briefcase.
"Good morning, Mr. Wright," a silky voice interrupted.
Elsa stopped breathing... That voice.
Mr. Vincent—one of the very executives who had ruined her life here.
Mr. Vincent stepped forward to greet the CEO, his gaze sweeping across the lobby. Elsa quickly turned her entire body away.
"Mr. Wright," Vincent called out again with a wide smile as he extended his hand. "I have been waiting for you."
Emir stared at the hand.
His fingers twitched slightly before he slowly slipped his hand into his trousers pocket.
"Mr. Vincent... you must have waited a long time. Let's not keep the board waiting," Jason interjected, stepping in to shake the executive's hand instead.
Emir glanced at Elsa before turning back to Mr. Vincent.
"Let's go," Emir commanded, his hand remaining tucked in his pocket.
Elsa felt her chest heaving, struggling to pull air into her lungs.
A faint glow caught her attention. Elsa glanced down at her arm—the mysterious mark was back, blinking faintly.
Her heart tightened. Another mystery she didn't have time to solve.
Then she noticed Josh taking a step toward her.
Not now.
She turned on her heel and walked toward her department, refusing to let him see the confusion on her face.
"OMG! My queen!" a dramatic voice echoed across the quiet office.
Elsa looked up and smiled.
Marcus, her former colleague, was grinning from ear to ear.
"Babe, you're back! I missed you so much! I knew you'd come back one day."
As the department's undisputed gossip king, Marcus lived and breathed corporate drama.
"So..." He leaned in close. "Are we fighting back?"
Elsa blinked. "What...?"
Marcus let out a loud laugh, waving his hand dismissively. "Oh, please. I need you to! This place has been way too boring without you."
Josh walked up to Elsa.
"Follow me," he muttered under his breath, turning toward the stairwell—their usual meeting spot.
Elsa followed him.
"Elsa, what are you doing here?!" Josh grabbed her arm the moment the door swung shut.
"You're hurting me," Elsa whispered as she wrenched her arm out of his grip and took a step back.
"What the hell are you doing here... didn't we already talk about this?!" he hissed.
"Calm down, Josh," Elsa said smoothly. "I told you yesterday that I wanted to share something important, but you said we’d talk tonight. I just thought it would be best to surprise you."
"A surprise?!" Josh ran a stressed hand through his hair. "Is this really your idea of a surprise?!"
A heavy silence fell over the stairwell.
"Am I really that embarrassing to you, Josh?" Elsa asked softly.
Josh let out a sigh and stepped closer. "Elsa..." He reached out to hold her hands. "I was just caught off guard. You know I'm only trying to protect you from what happened back then."
Elsa looked directly into his eyes. "Then tell everyone."
"What?" Josh blinked.
"Let's go out there right now and tell everyone that we're married," Elsa whispered.
"Elsa... you—"
Before he could pull away, Elsa grabbed his arm and dragged him straight back out into the open office.
Dora looked up instantly from her computer, her eyes widening in horror.
"Everyone! Please, give us a moment," Elsa called out, her voice ringing clearly across the entire room.
Every single head in the department turned toward them. The room fell dead silent.
"Elsa... what the hell are you doing?!" Josh hissed, trying desperately to pull his arm free.
"Tell them, Josh," she said, her eyes never leaving Dora.
Josh remained silent.
"Or should I?"
"Elsa..." Josh whispered.
"No..." she said softly, turning to Dora with a smile.
"Dora will."
