Chapter 3

While the elevator carried Danica up, Callum smoothed out the crumpled family background page on his desk. His gaze moved down from the "Married" box and locked onto the emergency contact and dependents section.

In the small print, a line read: Daughter, Lily Flowers, Age 4. Month of birth: May.

Callum's pupils shrank. He did the math in his head instantly. They had broken up three years ago, and the child was four in nominal age—meaning right after she left him, she had seamlessly gotten pregnant and given birth to another man's child.

He smashed his fist straight down onto the hard mahogany desk. Blood oozed from his split knuckles instantly, but he didn't feel a thing as jealousy burned through his mind.

Hearing the loud crash, Arthur pushed the door open. Seeing the blood on Callum's hand, he gasped.

"Mr. Jimenez, you're bleeding! I'll call the medical team right now!"

Callum snapped his head up, his gray-blue eyes glaring like a cornered beast.

"Get out," Callum rasped, his voice raw. "Nobody comes in."

Arthur stumbled back a step, terrified by the look in his boss's eyes. He hurried out and pulled the heavy mahogany doors shut, locking the tyrant's rage inside.

Callum leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. A low, suffocating laugh tore from his throat, full of bitter mockery and despair.

He remembered acting like a lunatic back then, posting anonymously on the campus forum begging for ways to win her back, staying up all night fixing a sculpture she had dropped. And all that time, she had been in another man's arms, carrying a new life.

A light knock sounded at the door. Danica's cool voice came through the thick wood.

"Mr. Jimenez, it's Danica Flowers. I brought the budget sheet."

Callum pulled a tissue from the box, wiped the blood off his knuckles, and flipped the blue folder face down on the desk.

"Come in."

Danica pushed the door open and immediately spotted the bloodstained tissue tossed on the corner of the desk. Her brows twitched, but she quickly looked away, keeping her face blank.

Walking up to the wide desk, she set the budget folder down at the farthest edge from him.

"Here is the report you wanted. If there's nothing else, I'll head back down."

Callum didn't even glance at the folder. He stood up, his tall shadow swallowing her whole, his voice dripping with malice.

"In such a hurry to clock out and take care of that... sick husband of yours?"

Danica's heart seized. He had definitely read her HR file. She lifted her chin and met his eyes without backing down.

"My private life has nothing to do with my work."

Callum scoffed and walked around the desk, advancing on her step by step until the backs of her legs hit the floor-to-ceiling window.

He planted one hand on the glass beside her head and looked down, his warm breath brushing the tip of her nose.

"Working yourself half to death for a few thousand dollars in overtime pay," Callum mocked. "Is that useless husband of yours too pathetic to even feed you and your daughter?"

Hearing the word "daughter," all the blood drained from Danica's face. Terrified he would dig into Lily's real birth date, her fingertips started to shake.

She shoved hard against his chest, glaring at him like a cornered lioness protecting her cub.

"Keep my family out of your mouth!" she snapped, her voice rising. "He is a thousand times better than a cold-blooded capitalist like you!"

Watching her flare up to defend another man pushed Callum over the edge. He grabbed her wrist, his grip tight enough to crush bone.

He leaned down right against her ear, his voice thick with venom.

"If he's so great, you'd better pray he lives a long life, so you and that bastard don't end up on the streets."

The word "bastard" turned Danica's eyes bright red. She swung her free hand up to slap his face, but Callum caught her wrist mid-air.

Seeing the red rimming her eyes made his chest ache, as if an invisible fist were crushing his ribs. Forcing the feeling down, he twisted both her arms behind her back and pinned her against the glass window.

Trapped against his chest, Danica glared at him with her amber eyes.

"Let go of me. You make me sick."

Those four words hit him like a bucket of freezing water. Callum let go instantly and stepped back twice, acting as if he had just touched something filthy.

He straightened the hem of his suit jacket, putting his untouchable billionaire mask right back on, and pointed toward the door.

"Get out. Starting today, if you don't redraw every single draft ten times, don't expect to see a dime of your performance bonus."

Danica rubbed her red wrists and turned toward the door without a word, keeping her spine ramrod straight.

Just as her hand touched the brass doorknob, Callum's cold voice came from behind her again.

"By the way, I forgot to mention. The company is auditing costs. All overtime pay after midnight is officially canceled."

Danica's shoes froze on the carpet. Losing late-night overtime meant losing her biggest source of extra cash, leaving a massive hole in the fund for Lily's specialty medication next month.

She bit her lip hard, pulled the heavy door open without looking back, and walked out into the hall.