What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 479

Fate was truly a cruel joke. Shaking her head, Noelle sobbed harder, but Finnian simply turned his face away, refusing to even look at her.

With no other option, she turned and dragged herself toward the door.

Her legs felt like jelly; every step required every ounce of her strength. Stepping out of the office, she slumped against the wall, using the back of her hand to frantically wipe the tear tracks from her cheeks.

Ignoring the blatant, gossiping stares of the assistants nearby, she looked back at the closed door. What was she even hoping for? Did she seriously think he was going to come chasing after her like he used to?

Inside the office, Finnian sat motionless on the sofa, staring at the closed door.

Outside the window, the sun had finally set, bringing with it the harsh bite of early winter. He closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again. It was time to say a permanent goodbye to the past.

He looked down at his tightly clenched fists, slowly uncurling his fingers. He realized he was holding onto absolutely nothing—not the past, not the present, and certainly not the future.

Standing up, he lit a cigarette and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window. He watched the final sliver of the sunset, a thin line of crimson and gold on the horizon, staring blankly until the light faded completely into the dark.

For an entire week following that confrontation, Noelle stayed away.

Naturally, Finnian didn't reach out to her, either.

However, a sudden crisis soon dragged Noelle into an even more destructive downward spiral.

At 7:30 PM, she received a phone call that sent her collapsing into her chair, her face draining of all color. Before she even had a second to process her shock, her phone rang again—headquarters was demanding her immediate presence.

She had just slammed into her first catastrophic hurdle since taking over Aethelstan Biopharma. As the head of the company, she couldn't run and hide.

Finnian glanced at her twice, his jaw tight. After listening to everyone's reports, he spoke, his voice heavy with authority. "The conglomerate will absorb the financial hit, but there will be accountability, and the core issues must be resolved immediately. I will not tolerate a repeat of this failure."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room before landing directly on Noelle. "Before coming in here, I met with the board of directors. They have officially decided to suspend Noelle Lawrence from her position as the head of Aethelstan."

The moment the words left his mouth, a dead silence fell over the room. Seconds later, people began exchanging loaded glances and whispering among themselves. Almost every set of eyes locked onto Noelle.

She sat rigidly in her chair, her fingers gripping the report so tightly her knuckles turned white.

She desperately tried to maintain her dignity. She wanted to arrange her features into an expression of profound remorse, but she couldn't manage it, leaving her face looking like a blank, emotionless mask.

Her gaze instinctively drifted to the handsome man sitting at the head of the table. In the past, whenever she had felt anxious or terrified, he had always been her impenetrable shield and her ultimate source of comfort.