Chapter 5

Philip's tone softened immediately.

"Of course I will. When have I ever missed a holiday with you?"

I thought of every important day he'd skipped this past year and wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth with a bitter smile.

He didn't come home that night. Neither did I.

The next morning, at the Eastwell Group bidding event, Philip spotted me arriving with my wounds bandaged. He stood there with hickeys dotting his neck, a look of smug satisfaction settling across his face.

"I knew it. To win me back, you must've pulled an all-nighter putting together a proposal."

He leaned closer with a theatrical sigh.

"Look, the only reason I didn't come home last night was to calm Winona down after what you did. But you've been a good girl today, so I'll come home tonight. Consider it a bonus. Happy now?"

Winona, on the other hand, glared at me with open resentment the moment she saw me.

"So you still can't let go of Philip. At your age, don't you have any shame?"

The press already knew I'd been trending the day before. Reporters swarmed me instantly, microphones thrust in my face.

"You've been called a slut by the entire industry and you still have the nerve to show up? You'd throw away all your dignity for money?"

"Did your new employer see the livestream yesterday and dump you for being damaged goods? Here trolling for a new man already?"

"Or did you come crawling back to Philip? How pathetic can you get?"

I walked straight through the wall of microphones without a word and handed my proposal to the client.

"Everything you need on the latest technology is in here. You won't find it anywhere else."

The Eastwell Director's eyes went wide. He flipped through a few pages, then seized my hand, barely containing his excitement.

"We knew it. Wherever Ms. Maxwell goes, that company strikes gold!"

Philip immediately pounced on the moment. He turned to the cameras with a deep bow, basking in the flash of every bulb as he shamelessly launched into a speech.

"Taming a woman is no different from training a dog. That's how you unlock her potential."

Then he lifted his chin toward Craig Butler, his biggest rival, with a taunting smirk.

"Next time we're in the running, save yourselves the embarrassment and stay home. Today, we'll show you who really rules this industry!"

Craig smiled faintly and pointed toward the stage.

"Why don't you listen a little longer?"

The next second, the Eastwell Director stepped up to the podium and formally announced the result. The color drained from Philip's face.