Chapter 16

Cedric returned to his desk, his eyes landing on a file at the corner. His expression darkened.

"No, no one was here," Sylvia said, following him. "Though one of the assistants mentioned someone dropped off a file for you. I checked it; it's the documents for this afternoon's press conference. Your mother must have sent one of the staff from the estate. So unprofessional, just leaving it on the desk. What if it had gotten lost?"

So, Liliana was just here to drop off a file.

A surge of rage filled Cedric's chest.

His smug assumptions, his carefully planned power play-it was all a joke.

His jaw tightened. "Extremely unprofessional." he said coldly.

He had married Liliana for one reason: her obedience. But ever since that night, she had done nothing but defy him. She had forgotten her place.

"I'll be with you at the press conference," Sylvia said, opening the file and placing it

in front of him. "As usual, if you get any difficult questions, just pass them to me." She lowered her voice. "Let's have dinner tonight."

Cedric pushed aside his frustration with Liliana. "Alright," he said, his voice softening. "You choose the place."

He was still confident she would come crawling back. But the longer she held out, the more he would make her regret it.

Sylvia smiled, then left to find Timothy. "Mr. Stanton, could you book a table for me and Cedric at that restaurant where he met with Mr. Wheatley?"

Timothy immediately made the reservation.

"Thanks," Sylvia said, leaning against his desk. "You've all been working so hard. Why don't you head home early tonight? Cedric and I can manage on our own."

"Are you sure, Ms. Woods? Did Mr. Forrest approve that?"

"No, I did," she said with a wink. "He's a workaholic. He'll probably drag you back here after dinner. Just go. I'll take the heat if he says anything."

།

Timothy, who hadn't had more than five hours of sleep a night all week, readily agreed thank you Ms. Woods." He knew she had a special relationship with the boss; he was in no position to argue.

The Prestons now lived in a three-story duplex in a respectable, but far less prestigious, part of the city. Liliana arrived feeling numb and detached.

"Liliana," her mother, Vida, said, her voice sharp with disapproval. "Did you have a fight with Cedric?"

"No," she said instinctively.

"Then what's wrong?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"I don't need to understand. But you can't walk around with that long face. Cedric works hard all day. The last thing be needs is to come home to a miserable wife, especially when the problem has nothing to do with him. Don't you dare upset him."

Vida said, snatching the phone from Liliana's hand. "Got it?"