Ditching Me for His 'Soulmate'? His Loss. Next Stop: My New Life novel Chapter 112

Chapter 4

The following morning, I arrived at the office promptly at 9 AM, only to find that neither Lukas Clark nor Farah White had shown up. It seemed the confrontation from the previous night had taken such a toll on them that they were both still confined to their beds, unable to face the day.

I settled into Lukas’s executive chair, the leather cool beneath me, and began making a few casual phone calls to pass the time. The office was unusually quiet, the early morning light filtering softly through the tall windows, casting long shadows across the polished floor.

About thirty minutes later, key figures from both the Davis and Clark families started to file into the conference room, their faces a mix of concern and curiosity. Only then did I deliberately pick up my phone and dial Lukas.

“Hey, darling,” I said with a teasing edge, “you told me you’d be working late last night, but I came in this morning and you were nowhere to be found. Where are you?”

There was a brief pause on the other end, and I could hear Lukas stirring, his voice thick with sleep but quickly sharpening. “I stayed up all night working, so this morning I was too exhausted. I went to a nearby hotel to catch up on some rest.”

His excuse sounded plausible, but I could detect a hint of defensiveness in his tone. “So, why are you not here now?” he asked quickly.

I smiled, though it was a cold one. “Our families are gathered for a reconciliation meeting. There are some issues with a few contracts that need addressing. Everyone’s waiting in the conference room.”

“Alright, I’m on my way,” Lukas replied, urgency creeping into his voice.

True to his word, he arrived shortly after we ended the call. As he approached, he slipped an arm around my shoulders, his touch warm and seemingly affectionate. Yet, I noticed he was subtly positioning himself to block my view of the outside world, as if hiding something.

Not long after Lukas’s arrival, Farah White quietly slipped in behind him, lowering her head to her desk, hoping to avoid attention. I chose not to confront her directly but instead pointed toward the contract lying on my desk.

“There’s a discrepancy here with the project and payment details. Take a look.”

Before their arrival, the finance manager had already informed me that Farah White had drafted and signed off on these contracts. The most critical error was glaring: she had misplaced the decimal point in the payment figures by an entire digit.

This seemingly minor mistake meant that if our company proceeded with the project, not only would we fail to make any profit, but we would also be liable for over a hundred million in additional payments. Even canceling the contract would cost us tens of millions in penalties.

This was the very “achievement” Lukas had proudly boasted about during the annual meeting — all thanks to Farah White’s work.

Lukas leaned over to examine the contract, his face darkening instantly. Without thinking, he muttered, “Who drafted this? Bring them in here to explain!”

The finance manager glanced nervously at Lukas before speaking hesitantly, “It was Assistant White. She handled everything—from negotiations to signing. You gave her full authority, and no one else was involved.”

I pressed my temples gently, the tension mounting. “No wonder. She’s just an intern, yet the other party was willing to sign directly with her. She was probably looking for an opportunity to take advantage of us.”

Lukas shot me a quick, subtle look before stepping closer and pinching my shoulder lightly. “Darling, this business partner has a longstanding relationship with the Davis family. Can you ask my parents to help smooth things over? Let’s just pretend this never happened.”

The senior executives in the room exchanged incredulous glances, clearly unimpressed by Lukas’s suggestion. I couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh.

The very next day, Lukas transferred the full 80 million into my private account, right on time.

Meanwhile, I made a single call to Mr. Wilson, the chairman of our business partner company, and canceled the contract.

“Urja, I’ve watched you grow up. I wouldn’t have done this to anyone else,” Mr. Wilson said sincerely over the phone. “The problem was that my subordinates didn’t report this to me in time. I owe you an apology.”

Mr. Wilson had built his business from the ground up, and my father had been instrumental in supporting him. Their bond was more than just business—it was a brotherhood forged through years of loyalty.

Because of this close relationship, our families had always remained tightly connected. At one point, they even considered arranging a marriage between me and Mr. Wilson’s only son, Cabot Wilson. But since Cabot was studying abroad and I was already captivated by Lukas, the plan never materialized.

That afternoon, during the quarterly board meeting, both my parents and the Clarks were present. Lukas and I delivered our reports as usual; nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Then, halfway through the meeting, every phone in the room buzzed simultaneously.

A video had been sent company-wide, showing Lukas Clark and Farah White kissing inside a convenience store, then entering and leaving a hotel together.

The atmosphere shifted instantly. The expressions on everyone’s faces—both families included—darkened with shock and disbelief.