"…It's gone. Someone else gave it to me. I'll give it to you next time," Mrs. He said casually, her voice a bit flat.
"Oh."
Hailey noticed the sudden dip in her mood and wisely chose not to pry any further.
After breakfast, Mrs. He quietly summoned one of the housekeepers to ask a simple but urgent question:
"How have Hailey and Ethan been getting along lately?"
The answer came without hesitation—and not just from one person, but from every staff member she spoke to.
"Not well, ma'am."
"Mr. Ethan is still distant."
"Miss Hailey has changed too. She doesn't revolve around him anymore."
"They've been sleeping in separate rooms lately…"
Mrs. He's expression grew heavier with every word.
Not good. Not good at all.
Even Hailey had changed.
That girl used to follow Ethan around like a little puppy. Now she barely looked in his direction.
Which could only mean one thing:
Their marriage was in serious trouble.
And last night?
The fact that her son had resisted temptation for an entire night while sleeping next to such a beautiful woman only confirmed it.
By lunchtime, Mrs. He had come up with a solution.
She personally cooked several of Ethan's favorite dishes—sweet and sour pork, braised ribs, stir-fried shrimp with scallions, all the classics.
Then she handed the lunchbox over to Hailey. "Bring this to Ethan at the office, would you?"
Hailey blinked. "Me?"
"Yes. I want my son to taste my cooking while it's still warm. And you're the perfect person to deliver it."
"But—"
She opened her mouth to object, but Mrs. He cut her off with a smile that left no room for refusal.
Besides, Hailey was supposed to be pretending to still love Ethan, right?
Which meant she had no excuse to say no.
The old Hailey wouldn't have missed any opportunity to see Ethan—even if it meant delivering lunch like a takeout girl.
And now?
Well, she didn't care one way or the other. If Mrs. He wanted her to act, she'd act. No big deal.
A short while later, Hailey was riding in the backseat of the black luxury car headed straight for the Yu Group headquarters.
Wearing oversized sunglasses, she stepped out of the car with effortless elegance and walked briskly toward the elevator.
The place was painfully familiar.
In her previous life, she'd visited Ethan's office countless times. She could probably navigate the building with her eyes closed.
She didn't take the executive-only elevator—too conspicuous. Instead, she blended in by using a regular staff elevator that only went up to the 50th floor.
From there, she'd have to transfer elevators to reach the top.
At first, she was alone in the elevator.
Then two female employees entered on the 28th floor, chatting animatedly without sparing her a glance.
"This year's design competition is brutal," said one. "I was planning to enter, but the competition's too fierce. I backed out."
"Yeah, I wonder who'll make it to the top five. Do you think Lin Xinyue will be on the list again?"
Lin Xinyue? Hailey's ears perked up.
"She probably will," the other woman replied. "She's insanely talented. Didn't she win the grand prize in her first year?"
"Not to mention, she got promoted to executive assistant within two years."
"True, she got demoted later, but she's still one of the best in the design department. People either admire her or hate her."
"I heard she's already working on a new design for this year's competition. Probably gunning for another grand prize."
"If she wins again, she'll officially become the company's top designer."
The two women sighed in unison.
"Ugh, how are people like that even real?" one of them groaned.
"Seriously. Smart, beautiful, and apparently the CEO treats her differently too. It's like, what's left for the rest of us?"
Standing silently behind them, Hailey nodded along.
They weren't wrong.
Lin Xinyue was a walking bundle of excellence. Gorgeous, gifted, and dangerously charming. A deadly combo.
In her last life, Lin Xinyue had practically cornered her into ruin.
No one else even came close.
But this time?
Hailey smirked behind her sunglasses.
She didn't care how amazing Lin Xinyue was. As far as she was concerned, that woman was just another background character in her story now.
A talented NPC, sure—but still just an NPC!