Chapter 15

Race-bound—it was ridiculous. She didn’t even bother responding and moved to walk away. But he suddenly grabbed her wrist and pinned her against the wall. “Or, are you trying to drive a wedge between me and Alice?”

Grace felt an intense itch in her palm. She really wanted to slap him right then and there.

Just then, the door of the CEO’s personal elevator slid open. It was the first time she saw Echan in his wheelchair. He wore a dark suit, and his posture was regal even while seated. He exuded a cold presence that seemed to keep others away. His face looked as striking as ever; flawless, it was almost intimidating.

Nicht now, Grace and Tancey were far too close, their bodies overlapping in a way that could be easily misunderstood. She was about to shove him away when Ethan’s key, detached voice rang out, “Henderson Group Employee Handbook, Section 41. No office romance.”

A chill ran down Grace’s spine—it seemed the misunderstanding was only being reinforced. And Yancey, instead of stepping away, made things worse.

“Ethan, Grace is just throwing a tantrum. I was calming her down. After all, she’s my fiancée. Can’t just let her sulk because she followed me here for work, right? She’s never been good at housework, and she has no experience handling business affairs. She’s not cut out for this place.”

Grace felt a tick. It was funny how he never remembered she was his fiancée when he was in bed with Alice. She needed to end this engagement right now, or this would disgust her to no end.

Before she could speak, Ethan’s gaze landed on her. Something about the way he looked at her made her entire body freeze—his sharp gaze seemed to pierce right through her. The atmosphere in the hallway grew tense, and everyone seemed to be suffocating under the weight of his presence. Yancey’s face had gone pale, his hand on her shaking slightly. She noticed and scolded internally, “Coward.”

Ethan maneuvered his wheelchair and headed toward another corridor. The moment he left, the air around them seemed to lighten immediately. Tanor let out a sigh of relief and muttered, “Eikun hasn’t been to the office since returning to the country. Why did he suddenly come in today?”

Grace shoved him off. “Yancey, didn’t you want to break off the engagement? Let’s set a date, inform both families, and get it done over a meal.”

Yancey thought he was hearing things. All these years, he had been convinced that Grace would never suggest breaking off the engagement. And yet, she did just that, disdainfully. A flicker of something welled up inside him. He grabbed her by the throat. “What did you say? Say that again?”

Yancey had grown up in the Henderson family and was treated like royalty. He got whatever he wanted. No one had ever dared to reject him. He thought Grace, a renowned beauty who had chased after him relentlessly for five years, was merely annoying. And now, she was saying she wanted to break things off?

“Grace, I’ll admit, this ‘tie trick’ of yours has piqued my interest. Are you trying to provoke me because I’ve been ignoring you? Up. Only I get to decide when this engagement ends. You don’t get a say.”

“Don’t forget, the last time I brought up breaking it off, you threw yourself off a bridge. If you hadn’t done that, we would’ve been over a long time ago.”

Grace’s neck hurt, and her cheeks were flushed red from his grip. She raised her hand to slap him, but he caught her wrist. His expression darkened. “Tonight, I’ll take you to dinner. Stop making a scene.”

The moment he finished speaking, Grace’s knee shot up and hit him square in the groin. Yancey instantly doubled over, breaking into a cold sweat. She adjusted her wrinkled blouse. The cheap fabric was already creased from his rough grip, and one of the buttons had even popped off; it made it look like she had just done something indomitable.

“No thanks, Vanery. I wouldn’t be able to eat sitting across from you. Go find Alice instead. And just so we’re clear, I meant what I said. I’m breaking off the engagement. I’ll let our families know when there’s time. I’m sure they’ll fully support it.”

After all, the Landest family had always sided with Alice.

“You woulda’i date!”

She absolutely would dare. A strange sadness swelled up inside her, and she let out a long sigh. Maybe she had really loved Yancey once. But after losing her memories, all she could think about was how utterly blind she must have been.

She turned and walked down the corridor, wanting to familiarize herself with her new workplace. And then, at the corner, she ran straight into Ethan again. His gaze landed on her disheveled shirt and faint red marks on her neck. At a glance, it didn’t look like she had been choked; it looked like something much more intimate had just happened. Ethan narrowed his eyes at her.