Maeve continued to massage Byron''s injured knee in silence, her gaze distant and unfocused.


    When she finished, she was about to tell him he was all set when suddenly, his warm breath brushed against her cheek. Before she could react, his cool lips pressed firmly against hers. Byron cupped the back of her head, his dark, intense eyes locking onto her shocked expression.


    His tongue easily slipped past her unguarded lips, iming her mouth with a forceful, unyielding kiss.


    His kiss, like everything about him, was domineering and relentless, driven purely by his own desires.


    In the past, his kisses had been just that-kisses, But this time, his hand slid down from her car to her neck, his long fingers lightly parting the cor of her nightgown.


    The teasing, suggestive touch made Maeve''s cheeks burn with embarrassment. She tried to push him away, but he effortlessly pinned her wrists behind her back with one hand. Half-kneeling between his knees, her neck held firm by his grip, she felt trapped in his embrace.


    The sheer intimacy of


    the


    position made her feel overwhelmed with shame, her mind going nk.


    It was only when Maeve began to struggle for breath that that Byron finally released her slightly, a low chuckle escaping as he looked into her embarrassed, tear-filled eyes. "I told you, I''m a a normal man," he he murmured, his dark eyes glinting with a predatory edge. "Did you really expect a normal man to act any differently?"


    Maeve''s breath reath caught, а wave of heat spreading through her body..


    "If you can''t even control your basic urges, what kind of normal man are you?" she snapped, frustrated.


    She thought, "As "As if I I hadn''t noticed where your hands was just moments ago. gaze sharpened as he studied her. "So, do you want to find out?"


    Byron''s


    "Find out wha Find what?" Maeve blinked, Maeve blink struggling to


    "Find out whether I''m a normal


    to follow his line of thought. man or not.


    "Why would I want to do that?" Maeve''s heart skipped a beat, her voice trembling as she tried to argue. "We''re just married in name. Do we really need to be doing this?" Justst night, he had talked about their future divorce, and now he was talking about fulfilling marital duties. She thought. Does he want a divorce or not?" Byron raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who says a married couple in name can''t do these things?"


    "I say so!" Maeve blurted out, quickly pushing his hand away before rushing out of the master bedroom in a panic.


    Byron casually lowered his pant leg, a faint smile tugging at his lips.


    He thought, ''If she really doesn''t want it, why is she so flustered? What a contradictory woman


    The next morning, after a restless night of tossing and turning, Maeve woke upte, as expected.


    Rushing to the balcony to pick some vegetables for breakfast, she was shocked to find that all her nts had wilted. She


    nearly stopped breathing in disbelief.


    8.78%


    Byron came out after washing up, noticing her crouched on the balcony with a pained expression. He walked over to take a


    look


    "Are these nts dead?"


    "Not dead, but close," Maeve replied, her voice heavy with sadness. "When they go to nt heaven, they''ll be sure to thank you for your wonderful watering." She was so upset over the vegetables she had painstakingly nurtured that she momentarily forgot about the events of the previous night Byron frowned slightly, muttering, "So delicate."


    Maeve looked I up at him with a deadpan expression. "And whose fault is that?"


    After a brief pause, Byron offered, I''ll rece them."


    "No need Maeve sighed, gazing at her drooping nts, genuinely saddened. T''d grown attached to them."


    Byron was at a loss for words, thinking, ''Attached to a bunch of vegetables? Yet you have no problem eating them before!


    Too disheartened to make breakfast, Maeve went downstairs and bought two pizzas, which she ate before heading off to work.


    -Byron, holding his suit jacket, nced toward the balcony. After a moment of thought, he took out his phone and made a call


    Half the arived at the apartment, each


    seated on the sofa. led out to the "No need for


    can these nts be saved?"


    gardeners exchanged surprised nces. They were used to tending rare and exotic nts at the estate, and had assumed they were being called in to care for something equally special. But it turned out they were here for vegetables.


    One of the gardeners wiped his his brow


    He thought, ''But this isn''t really what we usually do, Mr. Mcdaniel, yes, we can save these vegetables, but..."


    do.


    "As long as it can be done," Byron said, his tone firm. "You''ll stay here today and take care of these nts. Bring them back to life. If you do a good job. I''ll double your pay."


    The gardeners'' eyes lit


    lit up, and any reservations vanished. "Yes, Mr. Mcdaniel, you can count on us."


    Byron nced at his watch before asking, "How long will it take? Will I see any results today?"


    "Well... we can''t guarantee that, but we''ll do our best."


    Alright,


    I''m leaving it to you," Byron said, then left the apartment.


    At Eternal Hope, Maeve didn''t have much time to dwell on her frustration, as she was quickly buried under a mountain of work. She had alreadypleted the designs for the Morningstar series, and the drafts from the other designer she was  00: 78%


    ΠΠ


    coborating with were also on her desk.


    The next step was to finalize everything and decide on the fabrics for each design.


    After working for over two hours, she ced the organized dran on her desk and headed to the break room for a drink. As she walked back to her desk, someone identally bumped to her shoulder.


    "Oh no!" The person eximed, and his coffee spilled all over Marve''s desk.


    Maeve''s


    eyes widened in shock as she quickly grabbed the stack of design drafts, only to find them soaked in coffee.


    The designs were now a blurry, unrecognizable mess.


    Her heart sank.


    "What''s wrong with you? Can''t you watch where you''re going?" The male designer who had bumped into her raised his voice when he saw the ruined drafts in her hands. This isn''t my fault you weren''t paying attention!" Themotion caught the attention of the entire office. Jack, the designer working with Maeve, immediately rushed over.


    "What happened? Why are the design drafts ruined?" he demanded, panic rising in his voice. "My designs were in there, weren''t they?"


    Maeve bit her lip and nodded. Tm sorry, they''re all ruined."


    Sorry


    Isn''tContent protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    "


    Andy say to one to the this week was furious, West your health any lodea what heat oven backed them up yet. Some of these designs were addedst minute and aren''tful in my head. Even if I redraw them, they won''t have the same feel! ''re due for Mr. Brown''s review tomorrow-do means?" sanger attracted the attention of Leah.


    She snatched the ruined designs from Maeve''s hands, frowning. How could you be so careless? These designs are crucial! "I... Maeve started to exin, but the male designer who had bumped into her smirked. "That''s what you get with people who got in through connections-they''re only good at dragging everyone else down." Maeve''s


    eyes shed with cold anger. "Watch your mouth. Don''t forget it was you who spilled coffee on our designs." The male designer shrugged. "me me all you want, but it''s still your fault." Leah cut them off sharply. "Enough. Everyone, quiet. Maeve, the designs were in your care, so you''re responsible."


    "Ms. Mason..."


    "If you can''t find a solution, I''ll have to report this to Mr. Brown, and we''ll have to let you go, Leah said, her expression icy.