We Will Love Again – Episode 11
By midnight, most of Crazy Maple Studio had gone dark. Alaina remained beneath the harsh light above her desk, moving from one project file to the next while cold coffee gathered beside her keyboard.
Noah’s deadline was unreasonable, and they both knew it. Yet refusing would give Joey another reason to blame her if the acquisition failed. She organized budgets, audience data, and story notes until the words blurred.
Abigale and Evonne paused on their way out. “Still working on your special assignment?” Abigale asked sweetly. “Knowing a billionaire must have its disadvantages.”
Alaina ignored the bait. Their sabotage had already cost her enough. She would not give them the satisfaction of learning that Noah had once planned an entire life with her.
“Maybe she knew him before he got rich,” Evonne joked. “Imagine fumbling that badly.” Their laughter followed them to the elevator, repeating the same judgment Alaina had heard after Noah’s interview.
Alone again, she touched the bare place on her finger where his ring had once rested. She had never replaced it. There had been no Peter, no wealthy romance, and no second proposal waiting after Noah left.
The next morning, Noah arrived expecting evidence that Alaina could not meet his demand. Instead, a carefully indexed report waited in his inbox seven minutes before eight.
He read the first pages in silence. Her analysis was sharper than the presentation had suggested, identifying weak projects without cruelty and rescuing promising ones with precise revisions. Triple AI consultants charged fortunes for work less useful than this.
“She stayed all night,” Aaron observed from the doorway. He had returned late for a charger and seen Alaina working alone. “Whatever you’re trying to prove, boss, I don’t think laziness is the answer.”
Noah closed the document. “I didn’t ask for your opinion.” The rebuke came quickly because Aaron had touched the contradiction Noah did not want to examine.
When Alaina arrived, exhaustion shadowed her eyes. Noah summoned her to the conference room before she could sit. “Your report is thorough,” he said, offering no praise beyond the fact.
“You asked for it by eight.” She remained standing, unwilling to mistake his acknowledgment for kindness.
“I also asked for honesty yesterday.” Noah slid the report aside. “You claimed you were told to arrive at ten. Your coworkers say otherwise.”
Alaina met his stare. “Then you’ve already decided whom to believe.” Five years earlier, she had lied convincingly enough to destroy his faith in her. She could hardly resent him for distrusting her now.
Noah heard resignation instead of guilt. “You always did know how to make yourself sound like the victim.” The accusation hurt them both, though neither showed it.
“And you always believed you could solve everything if you worked hard enough.” Her answer escaped before caution stopped it. “Congratulations. It appears you were right.”
The reference to their past broke through his professional restraint. “Was that the lesson you wanted me to learn when you threw my ring in the street?”
Alaina looked toward the glass wall, terrified someone might overhear. “Please keep your voice down.”
“Why?” Noah asked. “Afraid they’ll learn you dumped me when I had nothing?” His smile held no warmth. “Or afraid they’ll discover what kind of woman their senior writer really is?”
The door opened before she could answer. Abigale stood outside with barely concealed curiosity, and Noah made a sudden decision. “Ms. Campbell will work from the desk outside my temporary office,” he announced. “I want her available whenever I call.”
