After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 244

“I haven't met them, but their story is kind of well-known in our circle, Jessica said, picking up on the fact that

Rebecca wasn’t big on gossip and deciding to give her the scoop. “They tried to mess with the relationship

between Charlotte and her brother, but it totally blew up in their faces.

Rebecca nodded, signaling that she got the gist.

She'd heard snippets about the Pierce family from her mom before.

There are only two kids in the younger generation of the Pierce family: the older brother and the younger sister.

Everyone in their circle knows that Ms. Jensen and her brother don’t really get along.

Brian and Jasmine were probably hoping to get on William's good side by bringing Charlotte down a notch.

After all, compared to Charlotte, who hardly ever bothers showing up at work, William-the CEO of Pierce Group-is

the real asset here.

But what they didn’t see coming was that, while Charlotte and William seem at odds on the surface, when

outsiders cpoking around, those siblings always team up together.

“Just keep an eye on those two from now on,” Jessica said, giving her a heads-up. “I'm not always around, so

stay wary, and steer clear of them whenever you can.”

Rebecca nodded. “Okay.”

“Let's move somewhere more private so we won't be bothered,” Jessica said, knowing Rebecca liked a quieter

vibe.

Rebecca was just about to say yes when a stylish woman in a crisp white suit, high heels, and sleek long hair

walked up to them. She called out, “Rebecca?”

Rebecca nodded. “Yeah.”

She recognized her immediately.

According to the Quinn family files, Max Quinn, CEO of the Quinn Group, had a personal assistant named

Winston-a woman whose reputation for efficiency was well-known.

“Mr. Quinn would like to see you,” Winston said, all business and keeping a professional distance. “He has

something important to discuss.”

Rebecca nodded. “Okay.”

She'd barely taken two steps with Jessica when Winston spoke up again. “Mr. Quinn wants you to calone.”

Jessica’s brows knitted with concern.

Rebecca shot her a reassuring look. “It’s fine.”

11:44 Tue, Oct 7

Chapter 244

67

365 vouchers

Rebecca and Winston made their way over to Max Quinn's table, where there was an impressive spread of top-

shelf wine and snacks laid out for the three of them-clearly the hotel had set it up special.

Winston, acting the consummate assistant, brought her over and announced, “Mr. Quinn, she’s here.”

Max told Winston, “You can go.”

“Okay,” Winston replied.

Once Winston left, Rebecca found herself standing there alone.

Three pairs of eyes focused on Rebecca-scurious, sappraising, and sopenly intrigued.

Max reached out his long, pale fingers, gripped the chair back, and pulled it out for her. His deep voice, cool and

slightly detached, said, “Sit.”

“Thank you,” Rebecca replied politely.

“Letintroduce you: this is Rebecca, my aunt’s daughter and my cousin,” Max said, his tone still as frosty as

ever.

The two people across from her nodded in turn and greeted, “Hello.”

Max turned to the two guys and introduced, “William Pierce, Eric Shea.”

Rebecca played along and greeted them, “Hello.”

“See how polite she is,” William quipped, his tone totally clashing with his refined trust-fund kid vibe. “Unlike

you-always sitting there with that ‘the world owesbillions’ expression.”

Eric nodded, “Preach.”

Max completely ignored their banter, keeping it cool and distant as he asked Rebecca, “What would you like to

drink?”

Rebecca gave the table a quick scan.

It was all booze.

She hesitated, unsure how to politely pass on the alcohol, but Max immediately picked up on it. He called over

the waiter: “Bring us sjuice and champagne.”

“Yes, sir,” the waiter replied.

Seeing how thoughtful and well-bred Max had been since she’d sat down, Rebecca found herself feeling a rare

flicker of doubt.

‘Did Max really take part in Mom's accident, along with his father and brother?’ Rebecca couldn't help but

question in her heart.

“Cousin? Cousin!” William grinned, saying it like he'd known her forever.

11:44 Tue, Oct 7

Chapter 244

Rebecca deliberately avoided his gaze. “Mr. Pierce.”

5/55 vouchers

“What ‘Mr. Pierce? If you don’t mind, just callWilliam-or William bro, whatever works. If you're not

comfortable with that, straight up William is fine too,” William teased, acting nothing like he did around his own

sister. “You know, I'm actually best buds with your brother.”

Eric, rocking a sharp gray suit and nerdy glasses, chuckled, “Don’t bother with him, he’s just a flashy peacock,

always needing to be the center of attention.”

William scoffed, “Who are you calling a peacock, you undercover show-off?”

Eric just shot him a look, keeping silent.

To William, that glare was pure provocation-he looked ready to throw down right then and there.

“Are you settling in okay here in Honnala?” Max asked, glancing over and striking up a conversation.

“I'm doing alright,” Rebecca answered, returning his courtesy with her own.

“You should bring your mom back for a visit sometime,” Max said, his tone still gentle but distant. “No matter

what happened back then, the Quinn family will always be your home.”

Rebecca chose not to answer.

“The Quinn family could never be my home,’ Rebecca thought, but with Max being so courteous, she couldn't

bring herself to snap back. She just dealt with it by keeping quiet and flashing a polite smile, letting the topic

drift away.

Soon enough, the waiter arrived with juice and champagne, placing them right in front of her within easy reach.

As Rebecca reached for a glass to smooth things over, William suddenly piped up, “Little sis.”

Rebecca immediately corrected him, “Rebecca will do.”

“Word in Jelasburg is, you're engaged to Jeffrey?” William asked, his tone nosy but casual. Though he was based

in Honnala, as CEO of Pierce Group, he clearly kept up with the public gossip from Jelasburg.

Rebecca's hand froze around her glass.

Max shot William a frosty glance. “Isn’t all this booze enough to keep you quiet?”

“Hey, I'm just curious,” William said, coughing to hide his embarrassment. “Everyone’s been spreading rumors

about you and Jeffrey getting divorced, so | wanted to see if the gossip is real or not.”

Max instinctively glanced at Rebecca, surprise flickering in his eyes.

‘Divorced?’ Max wondered to himself.

William raised his glass and tapped it gently against Rebecca's juice. “Sorry for being nosy, Rebecca. I'll punish

myself and drink to that.”

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Chapter 244

“It's fine,” Rebecca replied, purposely ignoring his question.

Even with all the mess between her and Jeffrey, Rebecca refused to let their story turn into everyone he’s gossip.

Whatever happened between them was their own business-and nobody else's

“You and Jeffrey?” Max finally asked after hesitating for a long moment, breaking the silence.

Rebecca switched gears instantly, making it clear she wasn’t up for small talk about that. “Didn't Winston say

you needed to talk toabout something important?*

Her simple answer made it obvious she didn’t want to go there. “Yeah,” Max replied.

Rebecca kept her guard up, asking, “So, what do you want?”

Max glanced at William and Eric, clearly wanting sprivacy. “We'll talk about it later?

Rebecca just answered with a nod and didn’t say anything else. Her phone buzzed with notifications-Jessica was

blowing up her messages again.

Jessica: [What's Max saying to you??]

Jessica: [Is he threatening you?! ]

Jessica: [You haven't moved much since you sat down. Did they just leave you hanging there?]

After reading that last message, Rebecca instinctively looked toward the hotel, scanning for Jessica's face in the

crowd-but didn’t spot her anywhere. What she did notice was Max's eyes lingering on her phone.

She tapped the lock button on her screen without a second thought.

Honestly, she had no clue why she suddenly felt so guilty inside.

“I've got something to discuss with Rebecca,” Max said, still distracted by the texts he'd glimpsed on her phone.

He shot William and Eric a look, then added, “Why don’t you two take a lap and give us sspace?”

“Got it,” William and Eric said in unison, getting to their feet.

As soon as they left, the chill in the air got palpable-the easygoing mood instantly replaced by an awkward, icy

silence.

Rebecca just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, so she cut straight to the chase. “What did you want

to talk about?”

Max's dark eyes pinned her in place; after a long, heavy pause, his voice cout cold and pressing. “I want

you to give up your shares in the Quinn Group.”

1:45 Tue, Oct 7

Chapter 245

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