Standing before Love

It was only when Lyla was left alone in the room that she slumped into the couch, as if she had lost all her strength.

All she could say was that she was truly tempted by Tony’s words.

Indeed, she had the intention to marry into the Hart Family, but she was also well aware that without this man’s protection, it would be a fantasy to be able to even cast a glance at the entrance of the Hart Residence, let alone entering the house.

She was no longer young and she would be old in a few more years. By then, she would lose her beauty that she had been using to capture men’s heart. Besides, there was also the man in the United States. If she couldn’t rely on Sean, how was she going to guarantee her own safety?

Sean’s eyes were filled with hatred when he looked at me today. Yet, I have a feeling that he still loves me deep in his heart. Otherwise, why has there been so much news about his relationships and affairs in the past two years? And all the women from the news look so similar to me. With Tony’s help, Myra and Eve won’t even be my match!

Lyla narrowed her eyes slightly as a bright gleam flashed across her eyes. It’s a pity that I can’t get hold of that man, though.

The next morning, Myra moved out from the Chase Residence.

When Eve learnt about this in the morning, Myra had already packed her luggage and drove off.

Myra’s phone kept ringing wildly in her pocket, yet she didn’t pick up any of the calls.

Eve had always treated her like her real daughter, so she did not know how she should face her at this time.

Myra felt that she would eventually go insane if she were to continue to stay in the Chase Residence. However, she knew that she would surely fail to resist Eve’s pleas if she picked up the calls.

Fortunately, the Sunny Bay Project had officially begun, so she did not have much time to ponder over this matter.

She had attended two meetings with the Hart Group in the morning to have an in-depth discussion about the refined design plan and details of the venue.

When she was at the Hart Group, she was initially worried that Tony would intentionally give her trouble since the two of them had had a conflict last night. Nonetheless, it was fortunate that he did not attend both discussions. On the contrary, it was Mr. Logan who attended to her throughout her time there.

Mr. Logan’s attitude toward her was as warm as usual. Myra didn’t feel anything about it before this but now, she found it awkward.

She suddenly recalled the first time she went to the Ritz Carlton with Tony to discuss the design plan, and it was Mr. Logan who attended to her as well. At that time, he told her that he would mention her name before Tony to promote her. Myra did not realize what he meant at that time but now that she thought about it, she realized that he might have noticed Tony’s intentions back then…

Could it be that Tony has had feelings for me since then? But how is that possible? We didn’t even know each other before that; at the very most, we met each other once, so why would he… Myra’s expression changed as the different thoughts ran through her mind.

Mr. Logan walked up to her with a grin so wide that it almost reached his ears. “Miss Stark, your suggestion today is very innovative. I will surely convey it to Director Hart word by word.”

Myra, who took notice of his suggestive tone, inexplicably felt flustered. She quickly packed her stuff and headed out of the conference room as she mumbled, “I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you for that then, Mr. Logan.”

She hurried out of the conference room and toward the lift. When Myra arrived in front of the elevator, fortunately for her, the doors slid open with a ding.

Upon raising her head, she felt as if her whole body stiffened and her blood started flowing in the opposite direction.

Currently, standing in the lift were four or five elite white-collar employees with some distance between one another, and all of them were dressed in immaculate suits. The man standing impassively at the front was none other than the person that Mr. Logan had mentioned—Director Tony Hart.

His perfectly proportioned figure was clad in a suit and he stood in the lift in a relaxed manner. With one hand shoved in his pocket, he had both eyes looking forward, and the lines of his sideburns were cold and sharp as he emanated a suppressing yet distant aura. It was merely one night that had gone by, yet the curvature at the corner of his lips formed a colder and harder line. His gaze flicked across Myra nonchalantly—who was standing outside the lift—and his expression was as cold as usual, as if he did not recognize her.

In contrast, his secretary Leo, who stood behind him, looked at her warmly. “Miss Stark, do come on in.”

The stunned Myra returned to her senses when she saw Tony’s cold attitude. She waved her hand, as though she was about to say that she would wait for the next lift but Mr. Logan, who had caught up with her without her notice, gave her a gentle push from behind.

Unprepared, she felt a pain in her knees when they were bent and the very next instant, she staggered into the lift. The door then closed behind her decisively.

Myra’s bag had been left open, as she was about to put the documents inside. However, the stagger caused her opened bag to turn upside down, and its contents rushed out and fell onto the floor.

Her lipstick, eyebrow pencil, foundation, work tag… All her stuff was scattered all over the floor, leaving her dumbfounded.

Just as she was about to bend over to pick up her stuff, she felt a sharp tearing pain in her knee—it was the injury from her fall when she fell down onto the stony path last night.

As a matter of fact, her wound was scabbing over. Even when she was in the conference room earlier, she had been careful when stretching her legs.

Upon seeing this, Leo intended to step forward to help Myra to pick her things up, but he suddenly noticed Tony’s freezing gaze. Shocked, he quietly took a step back, while the other men dared not step forward to help her as well.

When Myra noticed that Leo initially intended to come over to help her but then stepped back, she was able to guess that it was Tony who stopped him from helping her.

Well, it makes sense. My words last night must have hurt his pride deeply. I bet that a high-status man like him never expected that he would be rejected by a woman.

Gritting her teeth, Myra slowly bent over and picked up her stuff one item at a time, placing them into her bag.

As the items were small, they were scattered all over the floor, causing her to have to move about in the lift to pick them up. Unfortunately for her, the last lipstick had landed beside Tony’s handmade suede shoes.

Glancing at his still feet, she clenched her fists and went over to pick up her lipstick.

The moment she raised her head, she met his cold eyes that were looking down at her from his height. His gaze was cold and emotionless, making her feel uncomfortable, so she quickly stood up.

Her wound screamed in pain when it was squeezed together after it had been torn apart, causing her face to blanch and her body to lose her stability.

A pair of hands were extended in time to support her. “Miss Stark, please be steady on your feet.”

When Myra was finally steady on her feet, the pair of hands retracted swiftly, as if the person could not wait a second longer.

Tony’s expression remained impassive. Myra seemed to have heard him saying these words to her before but at that time, his tone did not contain hints of mockery. Now, it was as if he was suggesting that she intentionally fell in his direction.

Her face flushed deep crimson and she felt embarrassed before so many people, yet she couldn’t say a thing.

When the lift arrived at the first floor, the few men exited the lift one after another.

After Leo had exited the lift, he glanced at her apologetically.

However, Myra had fallen into a daze as she stared at the man with the sturdiest build in front of her. It was merely a small issue; is there a need to treat me with such hostility?

She lowered her head and saw that the white gauze at her knee had been dyed red by her crimson blood. For some reason, a trace of aggrievement welled up inside her. Gritting her teeth, she exited the lift with her fist clenched tightly.

It had been quite a long time since she last met Estelle. Myra heard that the shooting for the role in her last film had completed, so she invited Estelle to meet up at a café.

As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw a woman sitting at their usual corner in the café. The woman wore a cap and a pair of sunglasses, which managed to cover most of her face.