Standing before Love - Season 2 Episode 2

She uttered the word ‘hospital’ in a hushed and awkward tone, seeming as though she wasn’t hoping to be heard by the man in front of her.

“What happened? It’s an emergency! Myra, hurry over to Chase Group and tell Sean that I’m on my way back from Springdale City. I’m getting off the freeway soon and I’ll be stopping by Chase Group.”

Eve’s voice was filled with urgency, and Myra’s brows knitted in confusion.

Is it because of what happened at the construction site last night?

She regained her composure. “I’m okay, Mom. Those people yesterday… They weren’t able to hurt me much. The police are also investigating it, so it should be fine.”

“What are you talking about, Myra?!” Eve exclaimed, her tone laced with slight irritation. “What do you mean it’s fine? Sean told me about the incident where confidential information about the Hilliville Project had been stolen. Now that the company’s funding chains have been cut and properties are left barren, business can’t go on as usual at all. Did you look at the stock market this morning? Chase Group’s financial stocks fell by 7 percent today, and it’s still dropping as of now…”

“What?” Myra was shocked. How did such a small matter escalate overnight to something as huge as this?!

“What on earth happened? How did the top secret information get stolen? What was inside of it, anyway?” Myra couldn’t help but ask.

She turned to the side in an attempt to get off the bed, but the sudden movement made her head spin and she almost fell head-first onto the ground.

A pair of hands came forward swiftly and steadied her arm, preventing the fall.

Myra lifted her head and her eyes met with Tony’s, which were cold and unbothered as usual. She looked away immediately.

Her ongoing phone call with Eve conveniently reminded her that she was still a married woman—for now. She wasn’t in the place to think about such distractions.

She nibbled on her bottom lip and eventually decided to stay quiet, walking past Tony toward the outside of the room.

Tony stared at her from behind as she slowly strolled out, his hostile eyes narrowing.

The line went silent after Myra’s three burning questions. After a long pause which lasted enough for Myra to be sure that Eve had ended the call, she finally replied softly with another question, “Myra… Are you sure you don’t know what happened?”

Myra could tell right away that her question had a suspicious undertone. With a heavy heart, she asked, “Am I supposed to know?”

“Uhh…” Eve seemed to be troubled. “I heard from Sean that the confidential information seemed to have gone missing because of you… You should head over to Chase Group as soon as possible and have a talk with him. I really don’t know how it happened, Myra…”

Eve continued, but Myra was already lost in her own mind.

Hilliville’s top secret information… had been stolen by me?

How could I steal something like that and be completely unaware of it?

Suddenly, a flash of bright light sent a sharp pain up her eyes as Myra squinted. Looking around, nothing seemed out of the usual.

She wasn’t at the hospital; she was on the top floor of Hart Group’s 48-storey office building. In other words, it meant that Myra had spent the night at the lounge inside Tony’s office.

Just then, her phone came to life with another call—it was from Sean. Myra stared at his name on her phone screen, nervously biting her lip. She eventually switched her phone to silent mode and headed toward the elevator.

I don’t know what happened, but don’t you dare blame me for something that I didn’t do!

Myra’s car was left at the construction site, so she hailed a cab to Chase Group.

The cab driver slammed the gas mercilessly and sped toward their destination; the usual one-hour journey only took less than an hour this time.

Myra got off the cab and paid the driver before entering the building. As she headed inside, she could feel that the atmosphere was off.

Stepping foot through the entrance, employees started pointing judgmental fingers at her while whispering among themselves.

“Look—how dare she still show up at Chase Group? I heard that this woman is a corporate spy. That’s how she easily got her hands on Hart Group’s Sunny Bay Project!”

“Rumor has it that she’s having a fling with Director Hart! He was the one who saved her from the incident at the construction site last night! She used to have her eyes on Director Chase, but it turns out that she has been two-timing him. It’s my first time seeing a woman as shameless as her!”

“I can’t believe she betrayed him like that after the Director put so much trust in her! Thank goodness for the witnesses and proof. Otherwise, she’d be getting away again this time!”

Hearing the employees exchange gossip about her, Myra’s lips curved into a sarcastic smirk.

Chase Group was the company that she had put years of painstaking effort in and worked tirelessly for. It wasn’t an understatement to say that she had sacrificed her youth and passion for the company, but after many years of hard work, it was the same company that stabbed her in the back.

Myra shut her eyes and stepped inside an elevator. With the push of a button, the murmurs outside faded together with the view of the lobby as the doors closed slowly.

All that had happened recently flashed across her mind, but she still didn’t quite understand what was going on.

The elevator arrived at the floor of Sean’s office swiftly, and Myra got off it.

The outside of the elevator was quiet—in fact, it was so quiet that it was a little intimidating.

She only understood the reason behind the still atmosphere as she approached Sean’s office. Everyone was gathered inside—there were managers from every department and even all of Sean’s secretaries and assistants who worked on this floor. It looked like a serious and important occasion for all of them to be gathered there.

Myra entered the office calmly.

She had on a set of normal office wear, which somehow wasn’t the outfit she was wearing yesterday night; someone seemed to have changed her into a new set of clothes. Still, she was certain that she wasn’t looking very presentable at the moment.

Noticing her arrival, Richard’s gaze sharpened, but his voice remained dull. “Greetings, Miss Stark.”

Sean had also noticed Myra’s arrival. She didn’t look too good. For some reason, she was covered in cuts and her left cheek was badly swollen, not to mention that she was also bandaged on her forehead.

He clutched a document in his left hand tightly. As he looked at her face and remembered what she’d done, he couldn’t help but fling the file straight in her direction. “Look at the mess you’ve made!”

Lyla’s brows instinctively relaxed at the sight of his act of aggression. She knew that Eve didn’t wish for Sean and Myra to divorce, but she couldn’t drag on any longer.

Myra felt it when the file hit her head with a thud, but she didn’t try to dodge or flinch.

It wasn’t her first time being publicly humiliated by this man; what else did she expect?

“Since Miss Stark is here, we can discuss the matter regarding the leakage of private company information by Miss Stark, the leader of Team A in the Design Department—”

“Shouldn’t we first discuss what happened to me last night?”

Myra looked around the room, expressionless.

When she was faced with danger at the construction site the night before, she had dialed every one of their numbers, but none of them answered at all.

Yet, as soon as there was a breach in private company information, her phone was bombarded with countless calls from the same people!

Myra studied the people present one by one—starting from the Project Department Manager, to the Design Department Director, to even Richard and Sean… Her face was calm with indifference the entire time. “There was a riot at the construction site last night. I’d really like to know… Why did none of you pick up my calls?”

Loud silence filled the office.

At long last, the Design Department Director uttered dryly, “Miss Stark, we’re discussing the fact that you leaked our company’s private information, not some insignificant construction site riot.”

“In other words, are you saying that it’s my fault for being beaten up because of the company, Mr. Xavier? Is it because nobody cares anyway?” Myra’s gaze fell on Mr. Xavier before it shifted lazily to Sean. “Or is this how Director Chase prefers his employees to act?”

Sean’s face darkened at her words.