Lahat ng Kabanata ng Contract Over: You're Free to Go: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

It was already raining when Silas left the Velloria Hotel. After declining the umbrella offered by the doorman, he climbed straight into a cab.A mix of cheap car air freshener and the faint scent of tobacco permeated the car. Yet, this somewhat murky smell settled the nausea that he felt from the glitz of champagne and hollow pleasantries.When he returned to the apartment, it was so quiet he could hear the faint hum of the humidifier. Instead of turning on the main lights, he only flipped the switch for the small wall lamp by the entryway.He took off the expensive black suit, the one that made him look like a clown standing on that stage for half the night, and threw it over the bench. He didn't even bother to put it away carefully.A suit like that should've been freshened up, put away in a dust bag, and hung up securely in the closet. But tonight, the very fabric itself disgusted him.He opened the glass door in the living room and walked straight out onto the balcony. At 2:0

A person's biological clock could be rather frightening at times. It was like a conditioned reflex so deeply embedded in the nervous system.At 6:30 am, Silas woke up in the guest bedroom. Seemingly running entirely on muscle memory, he pulled the blanket aside to get out of bed. His mind was automatically running through the steps he needed to carry out.He had to chop up some mushrooms and vegetables, make sure the soup didn't bubble over on the stove, and make sure a warm towel was placed on the towel rack by 8:00 am.His toes had just touched the cold wooden floor when he caught himself. He looked at the faint morning light slipping through the gap in the half-drawn curtains and froze dazedly.Then, he slowly stuck his feet back under the blanket and lay back down in bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't have to do those things anymore.The realization cut through him like a pair of scissors, snapping the taut string that had been stretched for three years.First came the em

"What the hell has gotten into you lately?" Teresa continued interrogating Silas. "Ever since the company gala, you've been all sarcastic, neglecting the housework and not even cooking anymore. Is this your way of challenging me?"Silas tossed the pasta noodles in the saucepan, stirring them around to coat them in sauce before turning off the heat. He served it up on a plate, set it on the dining table, and settled into the chair before looking up at Teresa.His gaze was still, without even the slightest stir of emotion."Nothing's gotten into me. I've got an urgent project to work on for my studio, so I've been rather busy," he said calmly, as if he were exchanging empty pleasantries with a stranger."You're busy?" Teresa scoffed and pointed at the plate of pasta. "So busy that you don't even have time to cook an extra serving? Do you know my stomach has been hurting these past few days? Do you know I just almost threw up after eating that takeout?"In moments of extreme grievanc

"In order to secure the investment, Teresa signed an earn-out agreement with extremely harsh terms," William stated. "Once TRS Group fails to meet the profit targets within the stipulated contract duration, Seek Capital will forcibly liquidate Teresa's shares in the company."When the time comes, Carlton won't just receive an astronomical intermediary commission. He can even cooperate with the investors to gobble up TRS Group's core assets at a rock-bottom price."He put out the cigarette in the ashtray and looked at Silas, his voice crisp as he continued, "Carlton didn't come back to rekindle things with an old flame. "He's come back to destroy Teresa."A heavy silence ensued.Silas leaned back into the couch, his gaze resting on the paper envelope on the coffee table. The irony wasn't lost to him.Teresa always said he didn't understand the rules of business. She claimed that he only did trivial things, like cooking at home, and accused him of being unable to focus on the bigg

The light in the living room was like a spotlight, zeroing in on the envelope. Steam was rising from the soup beside it, and the inviting smell filled the air, completely out of place in the tense atmosphere.Teresa's gaze swept past the envelope and locked onto Silas' face."Silas, do you even know what you're saying?"She sat on the couch with her back straight and her brows tightly furrowed. Her tone encapsulated the disbelief and bubbling anger of someone who was used to being in a position of authority.This whole time, Teresa assumed that Silas was just throwing a temper tantrum because he was upset that she neglected their marriage and had been getting too close to Carlton.Never did it ever occur to her that this man, who couldn't even understand TRS Group's financial reports, would pull out a so-called due diligence report and come running to her, accusing her most important investor of being a scammer.This was a direct challenge to her professional competence."The re