Chapter 17
Julian knew Autumn had been in a bad mood these past few days.
Since it was the weekend, and their wedding anniversary, he cleared his schedule and came home to spend time
with her.
He hadn’t expected her to be so ungrateful, still trying to pick a fight.
Whatever patience he had left was wearing thin.
“I’m not the one picking a fight…” Autumn’s gaze was calm, her heart already cold.
She stood up and smiled faintly. “I’m allergic to mango, and not only did you forget that, you brought home a mango cake for our anniversary p>
Julian froze for a moment, then said in a low voice, “It’s just a cake. If you don’t like it, I’ll get another one p>
Autumn pulled at the corner of her lips.
She should’ve known better than to expect reason from someone like him.
The saying that small details revealed true character was indeed true.
How could she still expect someone who had fallen out of love to remember what she liked?
She had been far too naive.
She didn’t bother arguing with him.
Without another word, she turned and headed upstairs.
There was nothing left to say to someone this shameless.
Julian watched her walk away, completely losing his appetite.
He threw the cake into the trash and called Zoe to clean up the mess.
The meal he’d prepared all afternoon, and the carefully arranged candlelight dinner all ended in silence and disappointment.
Zoe came out and froze.
She had thought the surprise he’d prepared might help the two of them reconcile.
But what just happened?
Because of the house’s soundproofing, she hadn’t heard what they’d said outside and had no idea what went wrong.
Glancing at the untouched food and the cake now sitting in the trash, Zoe asked in confusion, “Sir, did you and Mrs. Carter argue again p>
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Julian rubbed his temples, looking exhausted. “No p>
Oh.
“Then Mrs. Carter must’ve lost her temper again,” Zoe thought.
Lately, her moods had been getting worse–she was picking fights every few days.
It was really starting to become a headache.
After her shower, Autumn came downstairs to get some water.
The table had already been cleared.
She filled a glass, took a few sips, then walked to the coffee table and tore off the page marked “7 ” from the calendar.
She tossed it into the trash.
Then she refilled her glass, headed back upstairs, and got to work on her speech draft.
The next day was Thursday.
Autumn got up early and went to the kitchen to make herself some stomach–soothing oatmeal.
Zoe assumed Autumn was up so early because of what happened the night before and was making this breakfast to apologize to Julian.
So, she didn’t think much of it and, seeing Autumn busy in the kitchen, left early to shop for groceries.
Autumn, still yawning, looked like she hadn’t fully woken up.
She’d been up late finishing her speech draft.
Her stomach pain had been acting up more frequently, so she figured it was time to start eating more carefully.
That was why she was up early cooking oatmeal.
Just as she brought the steaming bowl to the table, Julian came downstairs.
Seeing her with the bowl in hand, he assumed she had woken up early to make it for him, trying to smooth things over after last night.
But as soon as Autumn set the bowl down, she sat down at the table, blew on it gently, and began eating small spoonfuls.
Julian’s gaze darkened.
He turned and went back upstairs, only to come down again a few minutes later with his briefcase in hand.
The whole time, Autumn didn’t look at him once.
It was as if he were invisible.
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She had clearly decided to stay mad forever.
He was probably the only one patient enough to tolerate her dramatic moods. 1
Julian left the house, face stormy, briefcase in hand.
After finishing her breakfast, Autumn grabbed her car keys and headed out too.
Work at the beginning of the week was always heavier, and once she arrived at the office, she threw herself into
Aside from a quick lunch and break, she worked non–stop until the end of the day.
Rubbing her sore temples, Autumn let out a breath, shut her laptop, picked up her bag, and got ready to leave.
Thinking of tomorrow’s seminar, Autumn wrote up a leave request and knocked on Frank’s office door.
“Come in,” came Frank’s voice from inside.
Autumn opened the door and stepped in, handing over the leave slip with a polite smile.
“Mr. Miller, I need to take the day off tomorrow. Hope you’ll approve it p>
Frank glanced at the note, assumed it was a sick leave, and signed it without much thought.
After leaving the office, Autumn felt in good spirits.
She grabbed her bag and clocked out for the day.
She hadn’t finished her speech draft the night before, so she planned to work on it after getting home, while refining some new ideas that had come to mind.
In the underground parking garage, the elevator doors had just opened when she saw Alex leaning against her car, smoking.
As she approached, she also noticed Julian’s car parked nearby.
He was in the back seat, seemingly resting.
Alex saw Autumn and quickly stubbed out the cigarette, tossing it into a nearby trash bin.
Then he stepped forward, blocking her path.
“Ma’am, there’s been an issue with a project these past few days. Mr. Carter has been working non–stop and only just got a chance to rest. Please don’t disturb him p>
He truly believed Julian had enough on his plate with the company and now had to deal with the ever- troublesome Autumn.
She never helped, only stirred up drama,
The boss really had it rough.
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Chapter 17
Autumn gave Alex a glance, not even interested in arguing with him.
She moved to step around him and get to her car.
+25 BONUS
But Alex blocked her again. “Ma’am, please don’t make this difficult. I’m asking you to leave. Don’t interrupt
Mr. Carter’s rest p>
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