Maeve nearly choked on Byron''s words, her eyes widening slighty as she turned to him. "What do you mean?


    "Literally," Byron said, looking directly into her eyes, a smirk ying at the corners of his lips.


    The atmosphere in the restaurant was tense for a moment.


    Maeve''s gaze shifted to the ck card. She suddenly grasped the real meaning behind his words andughed out loud


    "So in your eyes, marital rtionships can be bought with money, she mocked. "And you might be mistaken about one thing. I''m short on cash, but I won''t sell myself for it."


    Byron raised an eyebrow. "Isn''t it just a matter of mutual benefit


    "But I don''t really need your card" Maeve shrugged. "I can earn money if I need it."


    You''d rather take from others than ept mine?" Byron''s gaze tired icy. "Should Imend you for your integrity?"


    Byron thought. Or did she think that using my mother''s card was less burdensome than taking mine?"


    Maeve met his gaze fearlessly and said, "At least what I earn is rightfully mine."


    She nced at the white roses in the vase, continuing, "And if you really wanted to take our rtionship to the next level, what''s in front of me, even just a rose, is better than that card." She wouldn''t be anyone''s outlet for their desires.


    Byron''s lips pressed together, his eyes sullen as he looked at her


    The dinner ended on a sour note.


    Maeve returned to her room, grumbling about how Byron was utterly ridiculous.


    Maeve thought, I earn my living through hard work, never stealing or robbing, so why is he so angry?"


    He offered her a ck card to buy her, and she wasn''t even mad about it.


    Macve thought, "What did "mutual benefit even mean? If he was so unsatisfied, why not go find Karen?"


    Just then, her phone chimed


    She opened it to find a text from her assistant, saying that the remaining fabric had been procured and asking if she was free for a call to discuss it.


    If it hadn''t been for the constant glitches in Maeve''s chat app, which kept crashing unexpectedly, a video call would have been much better.


    Maeve replied with a simple "Okay" and walked over to the window seat with her phone.


    Meanwhile, in the study across the house, the glow from theputer illuminated the man''s cold, handsome face, highlighting his sharp features and the thin silver sses perched on his high nose, while his lips were barely tinted. To an outsider, it might seem he was busy handling some important international affairs.


    But the screen disyed a search interface.


    The search bar read, "What does it mean if a woman won''t take your money but epts someone else''s?


    There were likely thousands of replies under this question.


    [She doesn''t love you. Move on.]


    [Is your rtionship so clear-cut? She probably doesn''t love you at all.]


    [Have you considered that what you offered isn''t as good as what others give?]


    [Hey there, you might need to consider finding a new girlfriend


    As he read the top-voted replies, Byron''s face darkened.


    Byron thought, ''Have these people ever seen how devoted Maeve was to me? What bullshit are they talking about!"


    Byron coldly closed the search interface, pressing his fingers against his temples, suddenly recalling Maeve''s words, "Even just a rose." He picked up his phone and sent her a message,


    Byron: [Do you like roses?]


    Maeve was probably looking at her phone at that moment, as her reply came quickly.


    But after he read her response, Byron''s expression turned icy.


    Magve: [I like the roses Alex gave


    me.]


    The mouse in Byron''s right hand cracked, the sharp edge digging into his palm. Blood seeped out and dripped onto the dark red desk. Behind the thin lenses, his dark eyes were clouded with an inescapable gloom.


    He thought, ''Did she really mean it?


    A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts..


    Byron casually tossed the broken mouse into the trash bin, his voice cold as he replied, "Come in."


    Archer entered, noticing the boss was wiping blood from his palm with a handkerchief. He paused and asked, "Mr. Mcdaniel, are you hurt? Do you need me to call a doctor?"


    "What is it?" Byron asked.


    "You asked me to investigate something, and we have results." Archer ced a folder on the desk. "The investigation. materials regarding the first kidnapping case were destroyed, not by ident, but by your father. I wasn''t sure how to handle it, so I came to ask you first."


    At this, Byron''s gaze sharpened slightly. "Go on."


    Archer nodded. "The kidnapper in the first case insisted that Ms. Reese hired them to harm Ms. Booth, but the recordings: and records he provided have all been verified as fakes.


    "We used a polygraph on him, and oddly enough, he didn''t lie."


    Byron squinted and asked, "Why was he locked in the basement with Maeve?"


    "He believes he was retaliated against by the victim, which is why he dragged Ms. Reese into this..." As he spoke, Archer suddenly understood. "The victim'' the kidnapper referred to could only be Ms. Booth." 08:19


    Wed, Oct


    It was self-incrimination:


    Byron slowly wiped the blood from his hands, speaking slowly. Tomorrow night, bring Karen to that abandoned vi."


    "Understood," Archer said..


    The next day, after Maeve came downstairs, she noticed the atmosphere in the vi felt strange.


    The fresh roses that had adorned various cornersst night were nowhere to be seen.


    The original spots hadn''t even been reced with new vases, making everything feel a bit empty.


    Maeve felt puzzled, but since she was in a silent treatment with Byron, she held back from asking. Breakfast went on in silence.


    After breakfast, Byron stood up, picked up his coat, and as he walked out, coldly instructed the butler, "Remove all the roses from the house. I don''t want to see any of them tonight."This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "Yes, I''ll take care of it right away," the butler replied respectfully,


    Holding hef ss of milk, Maeve was taken aback, unable to help but mutter softly. "Did the roses offend you?"


    Thankfully, she wasn''t a rose fanatic. She preferred peonies.


    When he heard her muttering, Byron''s expression grew even colder as he strode out of the dining room.


    After he left, Maeve remembered she needed to go to work and hurried to catch up.


    By the time she reached the door, Byron''s car was just passing by, without even stopping.


    Maeve stood there, watching the ck car disappear into the distance, feeling an inexplicable sense of loneliness.


    She thought, ''Did he just leave me behind like that? Wasn''t he the one who wanted to bring me back? What did this mean now!


    "Ms. Reese, you have a phone call. The butler stepped out, handing her the phone she had left on the dining table. "Thank you." Maeve managed a weak smile at him and took the ringing phone. "Hello? Alex?" "Maeve, I''m sorry." Alex''s voice sounded unusually serious. "It seems we won''t be able to continue investigating the kidnapping case.


    Maeve froze. "What happened?"


    "My friend just told me that the evidence was destroyed, and Karen''s release was all orchestrated by the Medaniel-family," Alex said.


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