What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 80

Kaia delivered the words flatly before returning to taking off her jewelry.

Finnian's eyes darkened. Did she forget? Or was it intentional?

Kaia removed her earrings, turning back to see him still leaning against the doorframe. "Is there anything else?"

Finnian stared at her in silence for a long moment before his voice dropped to freezing temperatures. "No."

With that, the tall man turned on his heel and walked away.

He hadn't made it two steps before the master bedroom door clicked shut behind him.

Finnian stopped in his tracks, looking back at the tightly closed door.

An inexplicable, burning frustration twisted in his chest.

With less than ten days until the holiday break, the results of the massive review board showdown finally came back. Veridian Future had secured three major contracts.

Noelle, furious and refusing to accept defeat, demanded her team ask the review board for an explanation. The experts gave them exactly two sentences: "The vision was there, but the execution lacked a solid foundation. It was ambitious but structurally hollow—a castle built on sand that couldn't withstand the pressure of the real market."

Hearing that, Noelle, who was wildly arrogant and whose entire identity was tied to her career, turned completely pale. It was a devastating, humiliating blow.

It had been half a month since the pitch, and Noelle's fighting spirit had totally cratered.

Lately, aside from doing the bare minimum at the office, she attended executive meetings at the conglomerate with a permanent look of melancholic despair. Whenever she looked up at Finnian at the head of the table, her eyes were swimming with vulnerability and reliance.

She wasn't the type to loudly play the victim or complain, but Finnian easily picked up on the profound sense of defeat in her tone.

Finnian wasn't an idiot. He could see through any strategic business move instantly.

Aethelstan lost because their pitch was fundamentally weak. They didn't deserve to win.

However, the optics were incredibly messy. Finnian had personally put Noelle in that CEO chair. Her absolute failure was, in a way, a direct hit to his own reputation.

Two days later, a highly classified envelope stamped with Finnian's personal seal was delivered to Noelle's office.

Surprised, Noelle tore it open. A second later, a spark of euphoric excitement lit up her beautiful eyes.

It was a letter of intent for a strategic partnership with Cytogene AG, a century-old European pharmaceutical titan.

Noelle's fingers shook as she traced the paper. This partnership involved the integration of cutting-edge gene-editing therapies and next-gen biologics manufacturing. In terms of both technical prestige and market value, it was an absolute goldmine.

Noelle immediately called Gordon Hayes into her office.

Gordon read the letter, unable to hide his excitement. "Ms. Lawrence, this isn't just a business deal. This catapults Aethelstan into the absolute epicenter of global R&D. We'll be the first company in the country to pull this off."

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