Whispers of Destiny: His Belated Love

Maxwell was furrowing his brows, staring hard at the document in his hands, "What identity?"

"She's that Rose." Because there was some similarity in “Rosemary” the name, thinking he might not understand, she emphasized, "The one who fixed that antique painting for me."

She'd planned to use that painting to butter up Pearl and surprise Maxwell as well, hence why she hadn't mentioned it beforehand. But then, the drama that unfolded at the birthday bash put Rose, who was supposed to be just a behind-the-scenes player, right under the spotlight.

Rose? Maxwell's fingers, which had been flipping through the pages, suddenly paused, and his gaze lifted from the document. It took him a while before he just hummed in acknowledgment. Rose? Rosemary?

As Victoria heard his nonchalant response, her breath hitched, and she asked in disbelief, "You knew about this already?"

Not a clue. He recalled someone named Hans calling Rosemary “Rose”, but he had just thought it was a coincidence, and since he didn't really care about it, he hadn't given it much thought.

Now facing Victoria's interrogation, he didn't bother to explain, nor did he think it was necessary to justify anything to her.

Victoria's voice rose, "And what about her conning me? Did you know about that too? Or were you in on it?"

"What did she con you out of?"

Silence. The moment the question left her lips, she realized she'd made a fool of herself. True, Rosemary had charged her a hefty sum, but she had quoted the price upfront, and Victoria had agreed to it, so it wasn't really a con, just a bit of a rip-off.

But considering that the two of them weren't exactly bosom buddies, it wasn't beyond the bounds of reason that she'd refuse.

On the other end, Maxwell remained silent. Victoria wasn't sure if he was still waiting for her to answer, but after what felt like an eternity, she managed to squeeze out a reason she didn't even believe herself, "The money, sure the painting was a bit banged up, but it wouldn't cost an arm and a leg to fix it based on market rates."

Maxwell replied, "If it's about the cash, why wouldn’t she come sucking up to me? She'd make a killing without having to hustle from dawn till dusk."

Victoria knew Maxwell's comment wasn't a dig at her. He was too above that. He was just stating the facts.

She stood by the window in the hallway, the cold wind blowing in, making her cheeks feel stiff and sore.

"I'd tried to get a hold of her through so many contacts, and then not long after I bumped into her at Oswald's office, suddenly someone called up out of the blue saying they got her. Plus, the whole birthday party fiasco, don't you think it's a bit too coincidental?" Victoria mocked, "She's deliberately trying to humiliate me."

Maxwell, rubbing his temples, leaned back in his chair tiredly, "How did you find out she's Rose?"

"She accepted Director Madden's invite to go on the show, promoting it under her stage name; looks like she wants to..."

She couldn't finish her sentence before the call cut off. Victoria was stunned, staring at her phone as it automatically went back to the call log. She watched it for a full five minutes, but Maxwell didn't call back.

During the wait, she bit her lip so hard it left deep teeth marks. She thought about calling him back, but ultimately, she nixed the idea.

In the president's office of the Templeton Group, Maxwell’s phone was slowly twisted and bent in his bare hands, the screen shattering into fragments, pieces of broken glass piercing his palm, slowly oozing droplets of crimson.

The moment Christ pushed the door open, his skin crawled, and every instinct screamed danger! But looking closely, everything seemed business as usual, with Mr. Templeton impassively reviewing documents.

"Mr. Templeton, you wanted to see me?"

"Christ, what do you think of the Summit City branch?"

Maxwell didn't even look up, his tone casual, but Christ felt like he was choking, even breathing was hard, "Uh, it's great, the growth has been strong these past few years, with annual sales going up and up."

"Since it's going so well, you're heading over there."

Christ was on the verge of tears; this was like a bolt from the blue, "Mr. Templeton, did I mess up somewhere?"

"Did you know Rosemary is Rose?"

The name was confusing, but Christ got it immediately, "Sorry, Mr. Templeton, I overlooked that. I'll look into it right away."

"No need, pack your stuff, you're going to Summit City tomorrow. You'll get the transfer notice in a bit." Maxwell wasn't in the mood for more talk, "Now get out."Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Rosemary was blissfully unaware of Christ's tragic fate, just finished taping a show, removed her makeup and was ready to head back.

She had expected Victoria and Tracy to continue causing trouble, but when she left the studio, they were nowhere to be seen.

She was just so tired; all she wanted was to get back, order some takeout, and take a relaxing bath.

Rosemary moved her stiff neck, pondering what to eat later, but right as she reached the building's lobby, her mood, which had just brightened, vanished at the sight of the man standing at the entrance.

The man walked straight toward her. The unpleasant memories made Rosemary instinctively take a step back, but realizing this was a public place with people coming and going, she steadied herself and said evenly, "Victoria's already left."

"I'm here for you. Let's go eat." Maxwell reached out, pulling her close, his words blocking any protest, "Or would you prefer I carry you there?"

To anyone watching, they looked like lovers in an embrace. There were still people around, sneaking glances at them.

The restaurant wasn't far, a posh diner. Rosemary hadn't been for ages and found her appetite whetted by the pretty pictures on the menu.

But she only ordered for herself. Maxwell barely glanced at the menu before picking a few signature dishes.

After ordering, Rosemary pulled out her phone and started playing a single-player game, making it crystal clear, “I'm just here to eat; let's wrap this up quickly and bounce!”

Maxwell was watching the woman across from him, totally engrossed in her game. She had just removed her makeup, her face fresh and clean without a smear of anything on it, her fair skin barely showing any pores. Her eyelashes were curled and thick, her lips a rosy red, looking as delicate as a pretty doll.

He loosened the tie around his neck a bit and asked, "Thinking of making a splash in showbiz?"

Rosemary glanced up at him and then looked down again. She didn't want to deal with him, let alone chat. But Maxwell kept staring at her, giving her the creeps, so she humored him with a noncommittal, "Mm-hmm."

The corners of Maxwell's mouth curled up in a cool, mocking smile, "If that's the case, why don't you sweet-talk me? I'll throw some resources your way."

Rosemary choked on her own saliva. She looked up at him, somewhat in disbelief, "How exactly? Sleep with you?"

"Do you think you have anything else worth offering? Or are you planning to impress me with your artifact restoration skills?" The man chuckled lightly, but his eyes were filled with a chilly hardness, not a trace of real humor, "Rose?"