Whispers of Destiny: His Belated Love

Oswald let out a couple of awkward chuckles, "Nah, you're just trippin'. What's got into you? Just seen you busting your butt recently, shooting documentaries and hustling at expos, pulling all- nighters one after another. Thought of giving you some time off to recharge your batteries. You young folks shouldn't go too hard, gotta take care of yourself."

Hearing that, Rosemary didn't press on. Even without Oswald spelling it out for her, she could read between the lines.

With two incidents back to back, in addition to what Maxwell had said before he stormed off this morning, she'd be a total dunce if she still didn't get the hint!

After hanging up the phone, Rosemary puffed her cheeks and let out a long sigh. So annoying!

Stacey, ever the snarky presence, couldn't help but chime in, "Whoa, got the boot, did ya? Serves you right!"

Rosemary frowned, turned her head, and gave her an annoyed look, "Why are you still here?"

"This is a public place, can I not be here,"

Unless you say so?

But without sticking around to hear her finish, Rosemary just walked off. To Stacey, it felt like throwing a punch into a pillow - harsh words were said, but it left her feeling even more frustrated!

Once in the cab, Rosemary tried calling Maxwell. It rang for over a minute with no answer.

She didn't bother calling again. The guy had left in such a huff this morning, and it'd be a wonder if he picked up!

Screw it, a break's a break. She could use the time to go car shopping; getting around without one was a hassle.

She should've taken her usual ride when she moved out last time, which would've saved her the trouble.

She planned to hit the dealership the next day, but things took a turn that evening.

Rosemary had just ordered some takeout when she heard a knock at the door, along with the landlord's voice, "Rosemary, you in there? Open up if you are, got something to discuss."

A wave of unease washed over her as she went to open the door, "What's up, ma'am?"

It wasn't just the landlord standing there, but two men as well.

The landlord had an apologetic grin, "The thing is, Rosemary, I ran into some financial trouble and gotta sell the place. Can't rent it to you anymore."

Her confidence waned as she spoke while avoiding Rosemary's gaze - they had a two-year lease, after all.

Rosemary kept her cool, "When do you plan to sell it?"

The landlord pointed to one of the middle-aged men, "Just showing the place to a potential buyer. If he likes it, we could close the deal tonight."

So they were pushing her out?

With a cold face, Rosemary refused, "Sorry, but it's not cool for me to let strange men into my place. Knock again and I'll call the cops."

Then she slammed the door shut.

Back in the living room, she quickly grabbed the phone off the couch and dialed Maxwell.

This time someone picked up but didn't speak; it seemed he was waiting for her to break the silence.

Rosemary didn't mince her words, and let loose, "Maxwell, you call yourself a man? Just 'cause I slapped you this morning, you gotta sabotage my job and now you're stirring the pot with my landlord to sell the place? I used to just think you were a sleazebag who juggled one girl in your heart and another on your family registry, but it turned out you're not just trash in character but also a backstabbing pro, you bloody bastard!"

She went off without pausing, and finally couldn't help let out a curse.

The landlord, who was shut out outside, knocked a few more times. When Rosemary stood her ground, the landlord started spewing all sorts of filth.

In an average neighborhood, raising your voice could alert the neighbors, let alone hurling insults like a fishwife.

Rosemary directed all her rage at Maxwell, "Push me any further, and I'll just cheat with some random guy, making sure the whole world knows Mr. Templeton's got a green, green grassland on his head!"

She was so pissed that her words came out in a jumble, "Bothered by me fancying your brother, huh? You make my life miserable, and I'll go seduce Archer and parade around with him right in front of you."

That must've hit a nerve with Maxwell, who'd been silently listening to her, and he suddenly spoke coldly, "Archer wouldn't even glance at you."

"Pfft! You didn't react this much when I mentioned Victoria; you must be bent, actually pining for your brother!"

After venting her last bit of anger, Rosemary slammed the phone down.

On the other end, at the Templeton Group CEO's office.

When had the untouchable Maxwell ever been cussed out like that?

Christ didn't need to look up to feel the chilling aura enveloping Mr. Templeton, which spread through the deathly quiet office and sent shivers down his spine.

Slapped, sleazebag, rotten character, cheating, green grassland.

None of these were words should have been heard by him, a mere assistant; he felt as if his life were hanging by a thread!

Luckily, the office wasn't just occupied by him and Mr. Templeton.

But also the woman curled up on the couch, coiled like a quail.

She was the waitress from the tearoom where Rosemary and Martin had their conversation, the one whose audio had gone viral online and sparked a frenzy among netizens; her personal info had also been posted online.

Afraid of getting dragged into the mess, she quit her job, and with nothing happening for three years, she'd almost forgotten about it. Then out of the blue, someone came looking to get the scoop on that incident, and next thing she knew, she was brought here.

The news from back then had been huge; even though she hadn't met Maxwell in real life, she recognized him with just one look at his face - the other male lead of that fiasco.

"Speak," said Maxwell, his handsome, flaw-free face showing nothing but indifference, as if the earful from that recent call hadn't fazed him one bit.

The woman took a moment to realize that he was addressing her.

She met his gaze, which felt as if he was staring at a dead person; it caused her scalp to tingle, and she instinctively denied, "I don't know anything. I was just a server, and I was responsible for the first floor that day. I had no idea what was happening in the private rooms."

Without needing a prompt from Maxwell, Christ dumped a stack of printed documents in front of her.

Having glanced down, the woman had her face changed; beads of cold sweat kept breaking out on her forehead, and her body shook uncontrollably.

Maxwell said coolly, "Think it through before you speak."

She was like a chicken getting its neck wrung, feeling all those words of defense stuck in her throat. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen, and I didn't realize things would get so out of hand."

The stack of documents displayed her chat history with a few friends.

Back then, she happened to peek at the store's surveillance when she was board, and caught Rosemary on her knees proposing to Martin. At that moment, she thought, how can a woman be so subservient? It's such a face-losing act for the sisterhood. So, she recorded a clip to vent with her besties, not expecting it to get out and eventually wind up online.

Now, she was gauging Maxwell's expression; seeing his stern gaze not softening one bit, she hurriedly explained, "I swear I didn't leak it to the media. I just sent it to a few friends, and you can check if you don't believe me."

Maxwell's gaze was dark as ink, "A few friends?"

The woman kept nodding, and she nearly cried from the fear of the menacing man before her. ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Without bothering with her anymore, the man turned to look out the window at the sky shifting from sunny to cloudy, and he got lost in thought.