His 181St Second (Laverne and Marina) novel Chapter 232

Chapter 232

Chapter 232

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Marina frowned, her lips parting as if to speak, but the words died on her tongue. Daron lowered his hand and spoke in a calm, measured tone.

“This report is excellent. You’ve only just joined Zamora Group and don’t know much about the company yet, so I imagine you sacrificed a lot of your personal time to complete it,” he said.

‘Why does he sound like he’s just praising some random employee?‘ Marina thought, an uneasy feeling creeping up inside her.

“I saw the message your sister sent me earlier. Since she asked, I don’t see any reason to refuse,” Daron continued.

“You can take the afternoon off. You can leave now,” he added.

Marina froze, momentarily at a loss.

Daron noticed she hadn’t moved and asked, “Is there something else?”

His voice was calm, carrying a polite courtesy that hadn’t been there when he’d spoken to her before.

Marina shook her head.

“No, that’s all,” she replied.

With her head down, Marina stepped out of Daron’s office. As she pulled the door shut behind her, she cast a final look his way.

Daron sat at his desk, looking completely at ease, his head bowed as he worked through the documents in front of him.

As if sensing her gaze, Daron looked up at her.

Their eyes met for just a split second, and Marina snapped her gaze away, shutting the door behind her.

Back at her desk, Marina was immediately approached by Bella, who looked genuinely curious.

“Marina, who did you recommend to Mr. Zamora?” Bella asked.

Ever since Marina joined Zamora Group, Bella had been the only one who’d been friendly to her. She figured Marina would probably recommend her.

As soon as Bella asked, everyone turned to look at her, just as curious about the answer.

‘Who’s the lucky one who got this chance to shine?‘ they all wondered.

“Mr. Zamora will be explaining the report himself at the company’s annual meeting,” Marina replied.

Bella let out a disappointed sigh, the hope in her eyes fading instantly.

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Chapter 232

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and got back to work.

Bella felt like she’d just been punched in the gut.

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This report was supposed to be Chloe’s assignment for her, but she ended up passing it to Marina instead.

“This is all on Chloe. She didn’t even warn me that the report was going to be showcased at the annual meeting, Bella grumbled to herself.

Marina could see how disappointed Bella was, but she didn’t say anything to comfort her.

She’d spent nearly five days working on that report, and had to burn the midnight oil for several nights just to finish it.

She’d never planned to recommend Bella in the first place.

Marina shut down her computer, tidied up her desk, and grabbed her handbag from under the desk.

Seeing this, Bella leaned in and asked quietly, “Where are you going?”

Marina stood up, lowered her voice, and replied, “Mr. Zamora said my report was excellent, so he gave me the afternoon off. I’m heading out now. See you.”

“Mr. Zamora said my report was excellent, so he gave me the afternoon off. I’m off now, see you guys,” Marina said, grabbing her bag.

Bella managed a weak smile, but her disappointment was written all over her face.

‘If only I’d done that report myself, I’d be the one leaving early today,‘ Bella grumbled inwardly.

After leaving Zamora Group, Marina dialed Elnora’s number.

Elnora picked up right away.

Marina didn’t waste any time before asking, “Elnora, what did you say to Mr. Zamora? He just gave me the afternoon off.”

Elnora was quiet for a moment, sounding genuinely surprised that Daron had actually let Marina leave early.

After a long pause, Elnora finally asked in a low voice, “Did you two have a fight?”

Marina scratched her head, a little embarrassed. “Not really.”

“There wasn’t even any drama, no reason at all. Can you even call that a fight?‘ Marina thought to herself.

Elnora urged, “Come on, tell me. What did you guys actually talk about?”

Marina bit her lip. She’d originally planned to keep her distance from Daron at the Zamora Group, avoid any conflict, and just get through these three months peacefully.

But then, he brought up the night she got drunk and called him “husband.”

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Chapter 232

Marina had always thought that night was nothing more than a dream.

So when he mentioned it, her instincts kicked in, and she tensed up like a startled cat.

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She kept trying to convince him, determined to prove she’d never once regretted calling off their

engagement.

Elnora waited for a while, then finally spoke in that calm, knowing voice of hers.

“Is it that hard to say, or are you just being stubborn with him again?” she asked.

Marina looked totally mortified.

‘Leave it to my sister to see right through me,‘ Marina thought.

“Honestly, I don’t think Mr. Zamora is mad at me. I feel like he’s probably over me by now. After I explained

why I was so set on breaking off the engagement, he seemed fine with it,” Marina said.

“Maybe all he ever wanted after all these years was just an explanation,” she added.

Elnora let out a quiet laugh. “Are you sure he’s really over it?”

Marina hesitated. “Probably… I guess?”

Elnora just smiled, clearly not buying it.

“So, how did you explain to him why you insisted on ending things?” Elnora asked.

“Uh…” Marina was stumped by her sister’s question. She could lie to Daron, but lying to Elnora was impossible.

Elnora knew her way too well.

“Honestly, it doesn’t really matter what I said. What matters is…” Marina started.

Elnora jumped in. “Come on, how can you say it doesn’t matter? He waited ten years for the truth, and you just gave him a lie. That’s not solving anything.”

“Anna, that’s not really fair to him,” Elnora added.

Marina’s eyes turned red, and she bit down hard on her lip, her hand trembling as she held the phone.

“There is no answer. I’m not telling anyone the truth. So whatever I told him, that’s the answer he’ll have to accept,” Marina said.

Elnora thought, ‘She was hesitating just a moment ago, and now she’s suddenly determined to draw a line with Daron. No one changes that fast unless something big happened.’

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