When Love Fades: Too Late To Win Her Back

The presidential suite was steeped in silence.

On the bed, the entangled man and woman reached their climax together, their passion culminating in two soft sighs of satisfaction.

Katherine lay with her eyes closed, most of her face buried in the plush pillow, her breathing still uneven.

The man withdrew his hand from where it had rested below her collarbone, brushing aside her silky hair.

Her slender neck was bared to the cool air, and his warm, damp kisses trailed down, sending a shiver through her body that she couldn't suppress.

The room's atmosphere, already charged, began to heat up again.

Suddenly, the phone on the bedside table buzzed, its vibration breaking the spell.

Vincent froze mid-motion, reaching out with his long arm to grab the phone.

Katherine opened her eyes, curiosity flickering in them. Who could be calling him now? He had already moved off her.

Vincent, phone in hand, walked toward the bathroom.

Just as the bathroom door clicked shut, a soft, feminine voice calling "Vincent" drifted clearly into Katherine's ears.

In an instant, the desire in her eyes vanished completely. Her mind echoed with her colleagues' whispers about Vincent's rumored engagement.

Her chest felt heavy and suffocating.

For five years, she had been by Vincent's side as his secretary, and for three of those years, she had been his hidden affair.

Vincent rarely avoided her when taking calls.

She had never seen him interrupt their intimacy for an unanswered phone call-until now.

It was clear that the woman on the other end of the line held a special place in Vincent's heart.

And as for her relationship with Vincent...

The sound of running water came from the bathroom.

Katherine's gaze dimmed as she forced herself to suppress the storm of emotions swirling within her.

She could accept being his lover, but she refused to become the kind of homewrecker she despised.

When Vincent emerged from the bathroom, he was dressed in a bathrobe, droplets of water still clinging to the ends of his hair.

Katherine, now seated on the sofa, was fully dressed and focused on her laptop, reviewing Vincent's upcoming schedule.

Her hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her slightly open collar revealed the faint pink of her neck and the teasing glimpse of a love mark, half-hidden by her shirt.

Vincent's gaze lingered on that mark, his Adam's apple bobbing as the desire he had just doused threatened to reignite.

"Mr. Murphy, you have a dinner meeting with the partners at eight tonight, " Katherine said, her cool, detached voice pulling Vincent back to reality.

Her tone was emotionless, as if they were merely employer and employee.

What Vincent hated most was this side of Katherine-the calm, rational demeanor that drew a clear line between work and personal matters the moment they left the bed.

His brows furrowed, and his voice, still slightly hoarse, carried an inexplicable edge of irritation and coldness. "Arrange for a driver to take me back to Sacford."

Katherine looked up, surprised. "Now?"

"Mm."

Katherine opened her mouth, the impulse to ask if this was because of the woman on the phone bubbling up.

But she swallowed the question, realizing she had no right to challenge his decisions.

To Vincent, she was nothing more than a bed partner, someone he could dismiss with money.

As she hesitated, Vincent had already walked over to her.

She quickly lowered her gaze, redirecting her attention to the laptop screen. "Mr. Murphy, this collaboration is crucial for the company."

Before she could finish, he grabbed her hair, forcing her to tilt her head back.

At the same time, his knee pressed between her legs, parting them roughly.

His commanding presence overwhelmed her, sparking both humiliation and anger. She couldn't understand why Vincent was treating her this way.

In the past, Vincent had been gentle and patient with her.

But in the past six months, he had become unpredictable, finding various ways to humiliate her.

A few droplets of water fell from his hair onto her delicate neck, trickling down into the hollow of her collarbone.

The cool sensation made her shiver, and despite herself, her trembling legs instinctively pressed closer together.

Her reaction only seemed to stoke Vincent's desire.

He had intended to make her kneel before him, but now he couldn't resist pulling her up and crushing her into his arms.

The force of his grip made her arm ache, but her attention was quickly diverted by the intensity of his kiss.

In moments of passion, she and Vincent were perfectly in sync.

She knew his preferences, and he knew her sensitive spots.

His lips trailed down her neck, teasing her skin with gentle bites, making her arch her head back, silently begging for more.

But just as her body surrendered to the moment, he abruptly pushed her away. Confusion flashed through her mind.

Katherine slumped heavily onto the plush sofa, her body sinking into its softness, as if weighed down by an invisible burden.

She looked up, meeting Vincent's gaze, which carried a faint trace of mockery.

"You're in charge of this collaboration," he said coldly.

After a brief pause, he added," If you screw this up, you're done here."

With that, Vincent turned away, shrugging off his bathrobe and getting dressed.

He didn't spare Katherine another glance as he left the presidential suite. ---

At eight in the evening, Katherine arrived at the banquet as scheduled, accompanied by one of Vincent's other male assistants.

"Miss Gill, since Mr. Murphy's not here, does that mean you'll be the one drinking with us tonight?"

Before Katherine could even sit down, a glass of liquor was placed in front of her.

The man who spoke crossed one leg over the other, his intention to make things difficult practically written all over his face.

Because Vincent had failed to show up, the client was clearly displeased. If the collaboration was to proceed, Katherine had no choice but to comply.

She picked up the glass and downed the fiery liquid in one go, feeling it burn its way down her throat and into her stomach.

"Haha, Miss Gill, you're quite bold!" the man exclaimed, laughing as he poured her a second glass and handed it to her.

"I've heard that Mr. Murphy's assistant is a stunning beauty, and now I finally get to see it for myself!"

His face creased with a sly grin, his eyes lingering on her with an unsettling intensity.

Suppressing her disgust, Katherine took the glass from him and forced a polite smile. "You flatter me, Alfred."

With that, she tipped her head back and drained the second glass.

"Haha, I like the way you handle things, Miss Gill! Come, have a seat!" Alfred said, his hand pressing against the small of her back as he guided her to a chair.

He pulled another chair close to hers, sitting so near that their shoulders almost touched. His hand rested on the back of her chair, while under the table, his polished leather shoe brushed suggestively against her calf.

Katherine maintained a composed smile, subtly shifting her leg away while picking up the wine bottle to pour Alfred a drink.

The male assistant who had accompanied her was now relegated to a corner, his face filled with worry.

As the drinks flowed and the evening wore on, the atmosphere in the private room grew increasingly hazy with intoxication.

Katherine, too, appeared slightly tipsy, but her mind remained sharp.

She seized the moment to speak. "Alfred, how about we finalize the contract now?"

"Oh!" Alfred slapped his forehead theatrically. "Miss Gill, my memory is terrible! I left the contract in my room!"

He straightened up, his hand sliding from the back of Katherine's chair to her shoulder, where his fingers began to lightly stroke.

"How about this-you come with me to grab it?"

The room fell silent.

All eyes turned to Katherine, their gazes filled with ill intent as they waited for her response.

After a brief pause, Katherine smiled faintly. "Alright."

Alfred wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close as they left the room together. As soon as the door closed behind them, the room erupted into murmurs and laughter.

"I knew it. She's more than just Mr. Murphy's assistant-looks like he sends her to entertain clients all the time."

"But you've got to admit, she's gorgeous. And that figure-wow."

"So, how long do you think Alfred will take to come back? Haha!"

The male assistant could no longer bear it. Gripping his phone tightly, he stepped out of the room, dialing a number as he walked briskly down the hallway.

It took three attempts before the call finally connected.

"Hello? Mr. Murphy, something's wrong! Katherine's been taken upstairs by Alfred from Evergreen Group!"

He didn't notice the sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line. In a rush, he recounted everything that had happened at the dinner-the forced drinks, the inappropriate advances.

"Mr. Murphy, are you still there? What should I do? Should I call the cops right now?"

There was silence on the other end.

After several seconds, Vincent's voice came through, calm and devoid of emotion. "No. Stay out of it. We can't risk jeopardizing the deal."

The line went dead.

Bryson stared in shock at the phone screen after the call was abruptly disconnected. He hesitated for a few seconds, then dashed toward the front desk.

Katherine had always been kind to him-he couldn't just leave her to fend for herself!

Time dragged on endlessly, heightening the tension, until the blaring sound of an ambulance siren suddenly pierced the air outside the hotel.

Bryson was still at the front desk, trying to coax the receptionist into revealing Alfred's room number.

When he saw paramedics rushing past with a stretcher, his heart sank.

A sense of foreboding gripped him, and he hurried to follow them.

The elevator stopped on the twenty-third floor.

Bryson was the first to step out, and relief washed over him when he saw Katherine standing in the hallway, her clothes impeccably neat, as if nothing had happened.

The paramedics brushed past Bryson, heading straight for Katherine.

She pointed toward the room and said something to them. Without hesitation, they rushed inside.

Moments later, Alfred was carried out on the stretcher. He was clad in a bathrobe, clutching his throat, his face swollen and distorted, struggling to breathe.

As the paramedics hurriedly wheeled Alfred away, Bryson turned to Katherine, wide-eyed. "Katherine, what-what happened?"

"He had a mango allergy, " she replied calmly.

"What? How? Didn't he know he was allergic?"

Katherine lowered her gaze, hiding the fleeting glint of coldness in her eyes. A faint smile tugged at her lips, but she didn't answer. Unbeknownst to anyone, Alfred's allergic reaction was no accident-it was orchestrated by her.

Bryson pressed on, "Did you get the contract signed?"

Katherine raised the document folder in her hand, signaling that the deal was done.

The next day, after arranging for a bouquet to be delivered to the hospital, Katherine and Bryson boarded the car back to the bustling city of Sacford.

"Katherine, last night scared me to death! After you left, I immediately called Mr. Murphy..." Bryson trailed off mid-sentence, realizing he'd said too much.

He glanced nervously at Katherine's expression.

Sure enough, the smile on her face had stiffened.

So Vincent knew Alfred had taken her away?

A wave of bitterness surged through her, spreading like wildfire through her body. Even her fingertips tingled with discomfort.

The alcohol she'd consumed the previous night seemed to churn in her stomach, sending faint pangs of pain through her.

Noticing Katherine's pale complexion, Bryson realized his mistake and quickly turned his head, pretending to sleep.

Though he'd only been working for a few months, he was well aware of the secret relationship between Katherine and Vincent.

It wasn't long before Bryson, feigning sleep, heard the steady tapping of keys on a keyboard beside him.

Katherine was typing her resignation letter.

Her fingers moved across the keys, but her thoughts drifted far away.

Five years ago, she had just become Vincent's personal secretary.

At a business dinner, Vincent had to leave unexpectedly. Left alone, Katherine found herself fending off the unwelcome advances of a business partner, who tried to take advantage of her half-drunken state and drag her to his room.

Vincent had returned just in time, landing a punch that sent the man sprawling. He then carried her out of the room.

That night, overwhelmed by the failure of her younger brother's surgery and a whirlwind of emotions, she gripped the lapels of Vincent's expensive suit with trembling hands and cried in his arms.

She remembered how patient Vincent had been with her, soothing her with gentle words: "It's okay now. Don't be afraid. This won't happen again."

That night marked the beginning of their clandestine relationship-publicly, they were boss and subordinate; privately, they were lovers.

As Katherine typed the final period of her resignation letter, she couldn't tell whether the pain in her stomach or elsewhere hurt more. All she knew was that she felt utterly miserable.

Before returning to the office, she forced herself to stop by the pharmacy near the company building to buy some painkillers.

"One pill at a time. And make sure not to drink alcohol after taking it. Oh, and absolutely avoid this if you're pregnant, " the pharmacist kindly reminded her.

Pregnant?

Katherine's heart skipped a beat. She suddenly realized her period was three days late.

Her fingers tightened around the box of painkillers. "Could I also get a pregnancy test, please?" she asked, her voice barely steady.