She Quit Her Family and Found Herself novel Chapter 162

Abby didn't know Herbert personally, but back at the press conference, he had inexplicably blocked their path, insisting on calling out to "Ms. Atherton."

Because of that, she had absolutely no good impression of him.

Seeing him approach now, she immediately stepped in front of Hulda, her voice turning icy. "Excuse me, but the Director needs to rest right now."

Herbert didn't stop. He stared at the radiant, dazzling woman in front of him, his emotions a chaotic, swirling mess he had never experienced before.

In that moment, he had a thousand questions he wanted to ask, a thousand things he wanted to say.

But as he met Hulda's calm, completely unbothered eyes, all that slipped out was a single, strained question: "Why didn't you tell me?"

His voice quivered slightly, laced with blame, profound confusion, and a bitter undercurrent of regret that he hadn't even recognized himself.

"Mr. Jewell, what exactly did I need to tell you?" Hulda lowered her glass, her gaze sharp and deeply serious as she looked back at him.

The sheer coldness and distance in her demeanor sent a jolt of pain straight through his chest. "Hulda, what did you just call me?"

"Mr. Jewell," she repeated, emphasizing the syllables, her expression growing even more detached. "If this is about the collaborative bidding, please check the institute's official website or the public service platform for the relevant announcements. Seeking me out privately is entirely pointless. We are doing everything strictly by the book."

Her relentlessly professional attitude made her feel like a total stranger to him.

A suffocating sense of losing control wrapped tightly around his throat, and a completely unfamiliar panic began to spread from the darkest corners of his heart.

"Hulda!" The usually composed Herbert suddenly raised his voice, completely disregarding the formal setting.

This was already the second time today he had lost his dignity.

The first had been at the press conference, right when Brandon announced that Hulda was the Director of the Research Center. Back then, his lapse in composure was just a knee-jerk reaction to unprecedented shock.

But this time? He couldn't even explain to himself why he was reacting like this.

All he knew was that this terrifying loss of balance made him feel sick to his stomach and overwhelmingly agitated.

Thanks to his sudden outburst, their secluded corner instantly became the focal point of the entire reception.

"Mr. Jewell... I don't feel well. Maybe we should just go..." Sylvie Sinclair hurried over, lightly grabbing his wrist. Even though she tried her best to suppress it, her voice still betrayed a frantic, desperate urgency.

Behind Sylvie stood the bespectacled executive and the rest of the H&J team, watching Herbert in stunned silence.

It was the first time they had ever seen their brilliant boss completely lose his cool.

While they were intensely curious about the actual relationship between Herbert and Hulda, they were far more terrified that if Herbert offended the new Director, it would spell the end for H&J Technologies.

But Herbert was deaf and blind to all of it.

His field of vision had narrowed down to a terrifying pinprick, and the only thing he could see was the woman standing in front of him.

He simply couldn't accept that Hulda was speaking to him with such icy, bureaucratic detachment.

The woman who used to prioritize him above everything else in her life was now glaring at him, coldly issuing warnings.

"Well, this looks lively," Caspian's voice floated over, light but laced with unmistakable mockery.