Chapter 6
Unable to find me, Mason began questioning people at the company about my whereabouts,
The first person he approached was the VP of Operations, who handled all major personnel changes.
When I resigned, I deliberately concealed it from Mason. The VP had no idea I was doing this behind Mason’s back. So when Mason came asking questions, the VP was terrified, choosing his words
carefully to avoid angering him.
“Mr. Knox, Rowan already resigned. Didn’t you have other arrangements for her?”
“What?” Mason’s voice instantly rose, filled with shock and confusion.
“She resigned? When? Why wasn’t I informed?”
Under Mason’s interrogation, the VP reluctantly explained:
“Three days ago, Miss Irvine suddenly submitted her resignation, saying she needed to return to her
hometown. I assumed it was on your orders.”
Everyone at the company thought Mason and I were a couple. They were all polite to me, the soon–to–be Mrs. Knox, and never interfered with anything I wanted to do.
Before Mason could respond, someone else spoke up.
“Hometown? Huh, she certainly ran away fast!”
Piper’s voice cut in, laced with smugness and contempt.
“What are you doing here?” Mason frowned, seemingly not wanting Piper to know too much.
“What’s wrong? Afraid I’ll interrupt your reunion with your lover?” Piper’s tone was sharp, dripping with jealousy.
“Stop talking nonsense. Did you need something? If not, leave–I’m busy.”
Piper was about to explode at Mason’s dismissal when his assistant called with even more shocking
news.
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“Sir, we’ve… found information about Miss Irvine’s mother.”
“Where is she?” Mason asked urgently, an inexplicable uneasiness rising within him.
“She… she passed away recently.” The assistant struggled to say the words: “My condolences.”
“WHAT?!”
Mason felt dizzy, as if someone had struck him on the head.
He couldn’t believe what he’d heard and asked for confirmation: “What did you say? Repeat that.”
“I’ve verified it, sir. Miss Irvine’s mother has indeed passed away. Her grave is in the cemetery outside the city.”
“Impossible! How could this happen?”
Mason roared, his voice revealing his shock and grief. He couldn’t accept this reality–couldn’t accept
that the kind, warm woman he’d known was gone.
“What happened?” Mason asked, trembling, tears forming in his eyes.
“Suicide…” The assistant’s voice was low, tinged with sympathy.
“Rowan’s mother had a serious illness. She didn’t want to spend money on treatment or burden her
daughter, so she…”
“So she WHAT?” Mason’s emotions completely collapsed.
He couldn’t imagine the pain and desperation of a mother choosing suicide to avoid burdening her daughter, nor could he accept that he was the root cause of it all.
Remembering the thirty thousand dollars I had scraped together, he didn’t dare think about what I must have felt when I gave him that money.
If only he hadn’t deceived me. If only he hadn’t tested me.
Mason sensed that whatever we had between us was likely over forever.
He collapsed to the floor in agony, completely drained:
“How could she be so foolish? How could she do something so stupid?”
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Piper stood nearby, watching Mason’s suffering with jealousy and resentment.
She didn’t know about my mother’s death or what had happened between Mason and me. She only
knew that Mason’s heart still belonged to me.
And I had become a thorn in her side–one she was determined to remove.
“Mason, is this really necessary? Crying like this over some dead old woman?”
“Rowan took your money and ran. Can’t you see that?”
“She even drove her own mother to suicide. What do you even see in a woman like that?”
Piper mocked, trying to erase me completely from Mason’s memory.
“PIPER!” Mason suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with fury and hatred:
“SHUT UP! What do you know? She did everything for me! And you have NO right to even speak her
name!”
“For you? For you she abandoned her own dead mother?”
Piper’s voice was piercing, each word like a knife stabbing into Mason’s heart.
“BULLSHIT!” Mason furiously countered.
“Mason, stop deluding yourself!”
“Rowan is just a money–grabber. She got close to you for your wealth, and now that she’s achieved her goal, of course she ran.” Piper pressed on, her eyes full of triumph and challenge.
“I’m telling you, Mason, stop letting her fool you. She never loved you. NEVER!”
Piper’s voice grew louder and more grating, finally pushing Mason over the edge.
‘SHUT UP!”
Mason roared, slapping Piper hard across the face.
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