CHAPTER 98: CHAPTER 98- IVANKA

"What’s going on? Did you have a fight with Janet?" Shaun asked as he arrived, noticing Charles had already knocked back several drinks. He sat across from him, watching the exhaustion behind Charles’s serious expression, his usual careless demeanor completely gone.

"Tell me—what exactly is a woman’s heart made of?" Charles traced the rim of his glass, as if trying to see through the clear liquid to understand something deeper.

"Honestly, I don’t know!" Shaun admitted. He’d never seen Charles look so broken before. Looks like Janet really changed him.

"Charles, Janet is someone who needs protecting. Don’t push her away now, or you’ll lose her for good!" Shaun felt there was no deep, soul-stirring love between them—at least not yet. He thought back to the pain of losing Angela. Only after experiencing it once did he realize he could give up everything in life, except her.

That kind of love that sinks into your bones doesn’t fade with time—it only grows stronger. So strong that even a moment apart feels unbearable.

"I really want to understand what’s going on inside her. She stays by my side, but her heart seems to be somewhere else—another man maybe? Does that mean she doesn’t love me enough?" Charles’s voice was low, tinged with confusion and hurt.

Janet wasn’t like Angela, whose feelings were always written plainly on her face. Janet was a woman plagued by insecurity—probably because of the loneliness she endured as a child. After meeting Charles, she clung to him desperately, letting him love and spoil her. But was that really love? Could Charles call it that?

He was sure he loved her. But did she love him?

Janet never said those three words to him. Even their marriage felt like a natural outcome rather than a romantic journey. There was no sweet courtship, not even a proper proposal. Maybe, just like Shaun suspected, their feelings for each other weren’t that deep yet.

"Then you’ve got to love her more—love her so much she can’t help but feel it," Shaun said. Just like with Angela—she didn’t love him when they got married, but one second was enough to change everything forever.

Charles didn’t come home all night. Janet waited for him, pacing nervously, rushing downstairs at every little noise—only to find nothing. For the first time, she spent a whole night alone in the endless darkness, awake until dawn, but surprisingly, without fear.

Where was he? He didn’t even answer her calls. Janet knew he had other places, but he had told her—their home was where she was. Now, this was their home together, yet he didn’t come back.

The next morning, Janet arrived early at the company, hoping to see him there. Even when their relationship had been awkward before, he never avoided her like this. But today, he wasn’t there either.

She kept calling his phone, only to get the same message—he had turned it off.

Janet had been waiting all morning, but by noon, Charles was still nowhere to be seen. Then, her phone rang—it was Angela. She told Janet that Charles had spent the night with Shaun and was now staying at the Aisen Hotel, a property under Black Rock Co. Maybe worried Janet would be uneasy, Angela gave her the information just in case. Janet thanked her and immediately hung up. Without even taking a day off, she rushed straight to the hotel.

Was he deliberately hiding this from her?

But now, she was his wife—didn’t he care if she was worried?

Janet didn’t know which room he was in. Upon entering the lavish hotel, she politely asked the front desk to check for her. The receptionist paused slightly when she heard the name "Charles." The hotel belonged to Black Rock Co., and Charles had long-term exclusivity over the presidential suite on the thirty-sixth floor.

The receptionist seemed to recognize Janet too. After Charles’s grand wedding not long ago, Janet’s face was no stranger.

"Madam, the boss currently has a guest. Would you like to wait in the lounge? I can notify him for you," the attentive receptionist said with a gentle smile, clearly trying to be tactful.

"No need. I’ll go up and find him myself," Janet replied with a calm smile, politely declining the offer. She stepped into the elevator, though a small doubt lingered in her mind—why had the receptionist’s eyes flashed with a hint of panic?

Everything became clear the moment Janet rang the doorbell and saw a familiar woman’s silhouette inside the suite.

Ivanka?

Of course, Janet remembered her. When she first became Charles’s secretary, she knew how close he was with that actress. Ivanka and Janet shared a similar aura—both fresh and natural, like a blooming jasmine. Janet had almost forgotten that, back then, she’d thought they were the perfect match.

A charged, ambiguous tension floated quietly in the room. Ivanka must have thought Janet was a staff member. When the door opened and she saw Janet’s anxious face, she awkwardly nodded and smiled, "Miss Louis? Is that you?"

Janet’s eyes followed the woman’s body as it turned away, revealing a tall man changing clothes with his back to her. That strong, sculpted physique—the chest only Janet had ever leaned against. If she hadn’t accidentally walked in on this scene, would he treat Ivanka the same way he treated her?

A sharp pang twisted in Janet’s chest. She stared unblinkingly at the woman before her. With her current status, she could have loudly demanded why this woman was in her husband’s room.

But Janet wasn’t the kind to lose her composure. It was she who had pushed Charles away. And she hadn’t forgotten her purpose for coming here. She had imagined his reaction when they met—maybe anger, maybe silence—but never that there would be another woman by his side.

"Miss Louis?" Ivanka clearly knew Janet was Charles’s wife but still addressed her like that?

Janet smiled faintly, about to speak when Charles suddenly turned around. Fully dressed now, he walked over to Ivanka and fixed her with a burning gaze. "What are you doing here?"

Janet felt a pang of hurt. She had already humbled herself to come find him, yet he offered no explanation.

"You didn’t come home, nor to the company. I was worried about you." Janet’s fingers nervously twisted at the hem of her clothes under his scorching stare, silently waiting for his reply.

"I still have a shoot to attend. Charles, I’ll go now. Call me if you need anything," Ivanka said, sensing the unspoken tension between them. Her bright eyes lingered on Charles for a moment before she left.

"Let’s go." Charles didn’t invite Janet inside. His tall figure strode ahead. Seeing the watery depth in her eyes—like springs—he quickened his pace in front of her. He almost reached out to hold her hand but stopped himself at the last second.

Janet followed him absentmindedly, her mind stuck on Ivanka’s last words—that he’d call her if anything came up. What could there possibly be between them?