Unfortunately, while lost in his thoughts, one of the representatives from Emaar interrupted Edward, who had abruptly stopped the meeting.
“Mr. Edward? Is something bad happening to you?”
Edward took a slow breath before answering his client’s question. “There is an issue with my laptop. It seems to need some repairs.”
“Why not use another laptop to continue the meeting immediately?” the man suggested.
Edward shook his head slightly. “The bad news is that all the master files for the presentation are on this laptop. The copies are still in raw form.”
The man fell silent for a moment, seemingly discussing with the person next to him. Soon, they reached a decision.
“Alright, because we believe Quantum is a competent and professional company, we’ll give you two days to fix everything. If there’s no progress within the given time frame, unfortunately, Emaar will have to replace you with another construction company.”
“But, Mister —”
The man raised his hand, cutting off any protest from Edward. “Remember, if you fail to meet the deadline, Quantum will face a penalty.”
After the conversation, all meeting participants left the room. Edward remained silent, trying to think of a solution for the situation.
“Nic, call all the division heads. We need to discuss all of this.”
Nicholas rushed out of the room to gather all the department heads for an emergency meeting.
During the lengthy discussion, Edward tried to find a middle ground to address the issue at hand.
“Mister, it’ll take at least seven days to finish all of this. Just yesterday, it took us two weeks to get the final result,” one of the planning staff said.
Edward massaged his temples gently. He couldn’t force the workers to do the impossible. In this emergency situation, he had to remain clear-headed to avoid any missteps.
“While waiting for my laptop to be repaired, let’s work on what’s available to us to the best of our abilities. Gather the expert staff to finalize the drawings, designs, material calculations, and everything else you need. Whatever you require, ask Nicholas to fulfill it,” Edward instructed. “I believe we can get this done on time.”
“Mister…” Nicholas spoke up. “What if the worst-case scenario happens? The penalty fee is quite substantial. It could jeopardize your position as the new CEO.”
Edward tried to maintain a smile. He couldn’t appear weak in front of his team. “It’s alright, I will take full responsibility. The most important thing is that we do our best to resolve all these issues.”
Edward then got up and left the meeting room.
****
Edward focused his attention on examining some building design drawings that had just been handed to him. He tried to match the data to avoid any mistakes in the future.
Engrossed in his work, his phone started ringing repeatedly with an unknown number. Thinking it might be an emergency call, he finally answered it.
“Hello…”
“How’s it going? Did your meeting go as planned?”
Edward recognized the owner of the voice. Nonchalant, he replied, “Damian Dimitri, for heaven’s sake, you’re the one behind all this?” He was confident in his guess this time.
Laughter was heard so loudly from across there.
“Don’t just accuse. I haven’t even done anything.”
“Don’t lie!” Edward shouted loudly, responding with a bit of emotion to his cousin’s rant.
“Yes, God, I’m telling the truth, Ed. It wasn’t me who ruined your meeting this morning. Maybe you should ask your wife, maybe she knows who did it. Or perhaps that woman did all this.”
“You—”
“Ssshh…” Damian quickly cut in. “I warned you. Be careful with the people around you. Those you trust might be the ones who’ve been slowly trying to destroy you.”
Damian hung up the phone immediately, leaving Edward overwhelmed with anger. With emotions soaring high, he grabbed his car keys, intending to go home to meet his wife. He needed to clarify all of this.
Meanwhile, at home, Chloe looked relaxed, reading a book in her room. When Edward arrived and entered, she stood up, smiling, and walked over.
“You’re back? How was your meeting today?”
Chloe wrapped her hands around Edward’s neck, preparing to plant a kiss.
Instead, Edward pushed away Chloe’s hands, asking her to keep her distance.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Chloe furrowed her brow.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, come on, Chloe. I’ve been a complete idiot. Too blind, even too trusting of you.”
Chloe became even more puzzled about the direction of her husband’s conversation.
“Ed, what are you talking about?”
“Stop it!” Edward yelled again, his voice getting louder. “I don’t want to hear anything more from you.”
Edward left, heading towards the walk-in closet, taking out a suitcase, and starting to pack some of his clothes.
“Edward, where are you going?”
“This is what you want, isn’t it?” While packing his clothes, Edward responded to Chloe’s question. “You want to leave me?” He looked up and nodded. “I’ll grant your wish. No need to bother destroying my company, like you’re doing now.”
After finishing packing his clothes, Edward took his suitcase. Ready to leave the house. But before completely going out, he extended his hand, taking off the wedding ring that was on his ring finger and placed it on the dressing table.
“You don’t have to wait three months to separate from me,” he said with emphasis. “Our marriage is over now.”
“EDWARD!” Now it was Chloe’s turn to shout loudly. “Listen to my explanation.”
Edward clenched his jaw tightly, holding back from exploding with more emotion.
“There’s nothing left to explain. And you should know, Chloe. I’m not the man you’ve accused me of being all this time. By God, you’ve got the wrong person!”
Chloe widened her eyes, trying to process Edward’s words. She even wondered if he suddenly knew that she had been suspicious all this time.
However, before Chloe could respond, Edward spoke up again, this time loudly. The gentle and calm demeanor she had often seen seemed to vanish, replaced by a man full of emotions.
“It’s up to you whether you believe what I say or not. I don’t care anymore. Again, our marriage is over!”
Edward left, leaving Chloe initially silent but gradually falling to the floor. This time, tears couldn’t be held back. Confused about what to do, she wondered whether she should feel happy or regretful about everything that now seemed too late.”