The Transactional Marriage That Imploded novel Chapter 11

Bianca's heart ached as if seared by a branding iron. Back then, he hadn't allowed her to work. No matter how much she begged, he refused. He hadn't cared about her future at all.

Yet now, he was bending over backward to protect Cynthia, even at the cost of destroying Bianca's career.

Mathis certainly knew who he loved and who he loathed—and she was the one he loathed.

Cillian replied with quiet authority, "Mr. Jagger, as long as I am at Stellaride Computing, Bianca Baldwin will be our Technical Director."

Mathis didn't miss a beat. "I'll invest three hundred million into your new token output project."

The token output was Stellaride's flagship project for the second half of the year. They were actively seeking investors, but its future was uncertain, and the capital market wasn't optimistic. Everyone was holding out.

Mathis's offer was incredibly tempting.

Bianca's heart turned completely cold. She braced herself to pack up and leave.

Cillian didn't even have to think before refusing. "Bianca is the core of this project. Without her, all the funding in the world is useless."

Cynthia looked confused. "Mr. Calder, why are you defending her so fiercely? Do you two have some sort of inappropriate relationship?"

Bianca glared at her, ready to snap back.

Cillian's expression darkened. "Ms. Quinn, think before you speak. This is a professional environment, not some gossip mill for you to spout nonsense. You're Mr. Jagger's girlfriend; conduct yourself with some class."

Cynthia looked displeased and turned to Mathis. "Mathis, look at how blatantly Mr. Calder is defending her."

Bianca said coldly, "That's because Mr. Calder actually has good judgment."

She swallowed the rest of her sarcastic remarks aimed at Mathis. There was no telling what other despicable things that bastard would do to protect his woman.

Xanthe Webber also worked at Stellaride in the HR department. She had been busy and missed the drama, but after hearing about Cynthia's stunt from Timothy Wyndham, Xanthe spent a solid ten minutes bashing the terrible couple on WhatsApp.

[Why does that homewrecker want to steal everything from you? Taking the cheating bastard is one thing, but now she wants your job too. Thank god Mr. Calder didn't listen to that mutt Mathis, or I would have died of anger.]

Bianca was swamped and only replied: [Busy! Talk later.]

She muted her phone. After being trapped in domestic life for three years, it had been far too long since she could throw herself entirely into her career. She worked non-stop until noon, when Cillian knocked and walked in.

"Weren't you going to buy me lunch? Did you completely forget?"

Bianca finally looked up from her computer and offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Cillian, it slipped my mind."

She closed her laptop and stood up. "What are you in the mood for? Name it, it's on me."