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Zachary’s arrival indeed stirred up a small wave.
His actions–booking the top hotel, coming and going in luxury cars, and attempting to poach the core members of Alexander’s team with high offers–all exuded an air of overwhelming wealth and determination to win.
However, after several days, he still hadn’t even caught a glimpse of Braelynn.
The expensive gifts and flowers he sent to her apartment were left untouched, piled up next to the trash bin in the hallway.
He tried to exert pressure through the senior members of the branch office, only to find that those people had long since been brought to heel by Alexander, or had simply been marginalized and had no say at all.
He even tried to run into her at public events, but found that Braelynn’s whereabouts were extremely well protected–Alexander’s people always managed to keep him away at the first sign of his approach.
This feeling of having strength but nowhere to use it, of being completely excluded from her world, made Zachary’s anxiety grow with each passing day.
He had never suffered such a defeat, nor had he ever so clearly realized that Braelynn was determined to draw a clear line between them.
But he was unwilling to accept it.
A burning mix of immense regret and an obsession with regaining what he had lost consumed him, making it impossible for him to think rationally.
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At last, he stopped beating around the bush and drove straight to block the entrance of the dock warehouse project.
When he saw Braelynn and Alexander coming out together in a somewhat old pickup truck, Zachary’s pupils contracted sharply.
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He saw Braelynn dressed simply in work clothes, her hair neatly tied back, turning to say something to Alexander, who was driving, with even a hint of a relaxed smile at the corner of her lips.
It was an expression he hadn’t seen on her face for a long time.
A sharp surge of jealousy and anger instantly overwhelmed his reason.
He suddenly flung open his car door and blocked the pickup truck’s path.
Alexander slammed on the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a halt.
His brows furrowed instantly, his gaze turned cold, and he instinctively shielded Braelynn with his arm.
The smile on Braelynn’s face vanished in an instant. Looking at the man haunting her outside the car, all that remained was exhaustion and
annoyance.
Zachary strode to the passenger window, rapping on the glass, his voice simmering with suppressed fury: “Braelynn! Get out! We need to talk!”
Braelynn took a deep breath, rolled down the window, and looked at him with calm, unruffled eyes: “Mr. Fidgett, I don’t think there’s anything left for us to discuss. Please step aside and don’t interfere with our work.”
“Mr. Fidgett?” The title stabbed Zachary like a needle. He shot a sharp look at Alexander in the driver’s seat, his tone biting: “Is it because of him? Braelynn, are you really refusing to even talk to me for the sake of some rude, penniless kid like him?”
At these words, Alexander’s eyes turned steely. He pushed open the door,
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ready to get out.
Braelynn held his arm and shook her head at him.
She didn’t want to make a scene.
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She opened the door herself and got out, standing in front of Zachary, trying her best to remain calm: “Zachary, this has nothing to do with anyone else. What was between us ended long ago. Please leave and stop disturbing my life.”
“Ended? Did I say it was over?” Seeing her calm and distant demeanor, Zachary grew even more panicked, blurting out, “Braelynn, I know I was wrong! I misunderstood you, I regret it! Come back with me! Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you! The Aidley family, the Fidgett family,
everything you used to have, I can give you double! Far more than he ever could!”
He pointed at Alexander in the car, his tone full of contempt and unwillingness.
Looking at him, Braelynn suddenly found it a little ridiculous.
Even now, he still thought the problem was with a third person.
“Zachary, don’t you get it yet?” Her voice was soft, but carried a sense of utter disappointment. “I don’t want the title of Mrs. Fidgett, I don’t want the protection of the Aidley family, and I certainly don’t want the riches you throw at me. I left you because I no longer wanted a relationship filled only with calculation, misunderstanding, and humiliation.”
She glanced at Alexander in the car, her eyes softening for a moment: “What I have now may not be much, but every bit of it I earned myself- clean and honest, with a clear conscience. That’s what I want.”
“So please, go back. Let’s not waste each other’s time anymore.”
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With that, she turned to get back in the car.
“Braelynn!” Zachary suddenly grabbed her wrist with frightening force, his eyes bloodshot, like a trapped beast fighting for its life. “I won’t allow it! I won’t let you leave me! You used to love me!”
“Let her go.” Alexander’s icy voice rang out. He had already gotten out of the car, standing beside Braelynn, his gaze as sharp as a blade fixed on Zachary’s hand.
“This is between us–it’s none of your business!” Zachary roared.
“Her business is my business.” Alexander’s voice was not loud, but carried an undeniable force.
He moved like lightning, grabbing Zachary’s wrist with a precise and ruthless grip. Zachary winced in pain and instinctively let go.
Alexander shielded Braelynn behind him, facing Zachary head–on.
The two men—one a scion blinded by jealousy and regret, the other a calm, unyielding protector–stood locked in a tense standoff, the atmosphere ready to explode at any moment.
“Zachary,” Alexander stared at him, enunciating each word, “she said she doesn’t want to see you. Can’t you understand plain English?”
“Who do you think you are?! You think you can compete with me?” Zachary shouted in exasperation.
“I don’t need to compete with you.” Alexander’s tone was calm, but carried immense power. “Can’t you see who she chooses to stand beside?”
These words were like a sharp knife, stabbing straight into Zachary’s heart. His face instantly turned deathly pale.
At that moment, Zachary’s phone began to ring frantically.
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He didn’t want to answer at first, but the ringtone persisted relentlessly.
Annoyed, he picked up, only to hear his assistant’s anxious voice on the other end: “Mr. Fidgett! Something terrible has happened in America! The overseas energy project we invested a huge amount in has suddenly been exposed for serious violations, the stock price is plummeting, and the board is in chaos! You must come back immediately to take charge!”
Zachary’s mind buzzed, going almost completely blank.
That project was the one he had pushed for, pouring massive funds and resources from the Fidgett Group into it. If something went wrong, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Clutching his phone, his knuckles white, Zachary looked at the cold, indifferent Braelynn and the protective Alexander, then thought of the precarious situation in America. An unprecedented sense of helplessness and rage nearly drowned him.
Both his career and his love seemed to be slipping away from him at this
very moment.
“Zachary, now you know how it feels.” Alexander threw out the words coldly, no longer sparing him a glance, and turned to help Braelynn into the car.
The pickup started and drove away without a trace of hesitation, leaving Zachary frozen in place, listening to the stream of bad news from his assistant on the phone, his face ashen, like a trapped beast.
