“Don’t even think about putting on that pathetic little face in front of me.”

Huo Xianchi raised a hand and gently brushed the loose strand of hair away from my ear. The gesture looked almost tender, but his eyes were filled with teasing annoyance.

“Don’t cry. I have no idea how to comfort women.”

I took a step back, keeping as much distance between us as possible. I blinked several times, forcing all the hurt and resentment threatening to surface back down into the depths of my heart.

“Mr. Huo, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

By the time I turned around and walked out of the building, the last light of sunset had completely faded. Thick black clouds had gathered overhead, swallowing the entire sky.

For a moment, I felt as though my life had become a dark, endless maze with no way out. The harder I tried to move forward, the more suffocating it became.

The man I had secretly fallen for and loved from afar for years was the “real” Huo Xianchi—cold, rational, composed, the picture-perfect CEO who always seemed to stand high above everyone else.

Yet the man who had locked me away and used every extreme method imaginable to control and possess my life…

Had been a twisted, obsessive second personality of his.

A love this distorted, this fundamentally wrong…

Maybe it really was time to let it end.

With pressure from Huo Sui behind the scenes, HR finally approved my resignation.

Before I could officially sign the paperwork, Huo Xianchi summoned me to his private office.

He lazily flipped through my résumé and asked without much interest, “Found somewhere better to jump ship to?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

I lowered my eyes and lied without blinking.

“I’m going back to my hometown to go on a blind date. I’m getting married.”

Huo Xianchi’s fingers stopped for half a beat as he turned the page.

But almost immediately, his expression returned to its usual cool indifference.

“Whatever.”

He signed his name on the document without hesitation and pushed the file aside.

“But if you’re choosing a husband, raise your standards a little. Don’t pick some dirt-poor man. If you can’t find anyone decent back home, I can introduce you to a few good prospects out of consideration for our past.”

I gave him a perfectly professional smile.

“Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Huo.”

He leaned back in his executive chair.

“Let me know when you’re flying out. You’ve worked here for years, after all. I’ll see you off at the airport.”

“There’s no need to trouble yourself. Someone will be picking me up that day.”

“Who?”

The question slipped out before he could stop himself.

Then, apparently realizing he had pried too deeply into a subordinate’s personal life, he fell silent for a moment before giving a cold, dismissive hum.

“Fine, then. Good luck.”

From that moment on, it seemed there was no longer any connection between us.

Even though I was preparing to leave, it was the end of the month, which meant an enormous backlog of work.

And Huo Xianchi still hadn’t changed one bit.

He continued sending me out to buy…

His private “personal protection supplies.”

I stared at the shopping list in my hand and could only laugh bitterly to myself.

The exhaustion of pregnancy, combined with my overloaded schedule, had left my complexion increasingly pale—white as a sheet of paper.

He noticed and immediately mocked me.

“Secretary Shen, you look like you’re about to pass out. Are you really that stubborn? You still refuse to go to the hospital?”

The company car was comfortably heated, and I was so exhausted that I fell asleep without even realizing it.

When I jolted awake, I was horrified to discover that I had used his expensive suit jacket as a pillow and wrinkled an entire section of it.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Huo. Let me fix your jacket…”

I had barely lifted a hand toward his shoulder when Huo Xianchi immediately recoiled as though he’d been struck by a thousand-volt electric shock.

“Stay away from me.”

His voice was stiff, filled with unmistakable rejection.

I immediately knew better and pressed myself against the far corner of the car.

“Yes. Understood.”

He rubbed his temples and frowned at me.

“Why have you been sleeping so much lately?”

“I… I’ve been staying up late watching dramas.”

He let out a quiet, mocking laugh.

“You’re a grown woman. You still don’t know how to take care of yourself.”

I silently turned toward the window, watching the traffic stream past.

But inside, I couldn’t help thinking—

If it were that obsessive second personality, with his twisted sensitivity, he would have realized I was pregnant a long time ago.

But the rational man sitting beside me?

He was completely oblivious.

Oblivious to a terrifying degree.

The car stopped in front of the grand entrance to the venue hosting the commercial banquet.

I followed him inside, performing my duties as both secretary and representative, presenting the terms of the partnership agreement to the major business partners.

“…The detailed handover terms are as follows. If construction falls behind schedule, the breaching party will be subject to a penalty of 0.05% of the total contract value for each day of delay…”

I read the terms in an even, professional voice—the unmistakable cadence of corporate speak.

But when I deliberately skipped a secondary clause, I immediately noticed Huo Xianchi’s eyelid twitch.

I stopped at once and smiled politely.

“Please sign here to confirm your agreement.”

The signing process went remarkably smoothly.

On the drive back, he leaned wearily against the leather seat and asked coldly,

“Why did you deliberately leave out the additional penalty clause at the banquet?”

I sat up straight and glanced at the time.

“Those provisions were included in the documents sent to all parties for review last week. I simply condensed the presentation to save everyone some time.”

“Read the entire thing back to me.”

His voice carried the unmistakable authority of a command.

I turned and met his eyes directly.

“Mr. Huo, my working hours ended ten minutes ago.”

He gave a cold, mocking smile.

“Oh? You’re counting every minute of your workday now, even in front of me?”

Screech—

The car suddenly pulled over and came to a complete stop.

The atmosphere inside the vehicle changed instantly, becoming so tense and suffocating that it was almost unbearable.

Huo Xianchi’s voice turned icy.

“What exactly are you hiding from me?”

I bit down hard on my lip.

I absolutely could not tell him.

Because those additional clauses I had deliberately skipped were directly connected to the wild, forbidden games that had taken place between me and his second personality in the bedroom all those years.

“Those penalty clauses…”

He stared at me intently, his eyes so deep they seemed capable of seeing straight through my soul.

“I used to make you kneel beside me and read them over and over, didn’t I?”

His voice dropped.

“Tell me. What are you hiding?”

I drew a deep breath, forcing myself to regain my composure.

Then I decided to lay everything on the table.

“Mr. Huo, it’s true that you and I have had a physical relationship.”

His brows drew together tightly.

“What are you saying?”

I looked straight into the cold eyes of the man sitting across from me.

“But the person I willingly stayed with—the person I was intimate with for those three years…”

I paused.

“Was not the man you are now.”

The air inside the car seemed to freeze.

The temperature dropped to absolute zero.

After a long silence, he finally asked in a hoarse voice,

“He… That second personality… was he the one who pursued you?”

I laughed.

“No.”

I looked him straight in the eye.

“I was the one who seduced him and pursued him.”

He gave a contemptuous scoff.

“Figures. That second personality was childish and shallow. No wonder you could lure him in with nothing but a little beauty.”

I shook my head, looking at him with something close to pity.

“Mr. Huo, you’ve got it wrong.”

With that, I deliberately leaned closer.

Close enough that I could catch the familiar scent of his skin.

He seemed startled and instinctively tried to move back.

But I was faster.

I reached out and firmly caught his wrist.

A precise pressure point.

A slight squeeze.

A familiar movement—the one his second personality had loved more than anything.

The man who had been so rational and cold only a moment ago suddenly recoiled, his entire body trembling violently in rejection.

Huo Xianchi’s breath caught in his throat.

A low, involuntary sound slipped from his lips.

“Mm…”

He was completely stunned.

His expression shifted from cold indifference to utter confusion.

Then the composure began to crack.

Something inside him was slipping out of control.

I leaned close to his ear, letting a warm breath brush against his skin, and smiled seductively.

“Mr. Huo, your body’s conditioned responses are remarkably honest.”

My fingers tightened slightly around his wrist.

“Would you like to try a few other kinds of stimuli?”