From Betrayal to Brilliance Her Rise to a New Life novel Chapter 260

260 Misunderstanding

It turned out Zaden still kept an old photo of Maya.

Athena pressed her lips together. Suddenly, she didn’t feel like seeing him anymore.

People’s small, unconscious habits often revealed what they really felt inside. Zaden could say all he wanted about not missing Maya, but his actions said otherwise.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her thoughts. She glanced around the office.

“Is Zaden busy right now?” she asked evenly. “If he is, then I won’t disturb him. I still have to pick up Teri from school.”

Without waiting for an answer, Athena left the building.

Wait–Ms. Hall!” Tommy called after her, but she was already stepping into the elevator. The doors closed. Her figure disappeared as the elevator headed down.

Tommy smacked his forehead. “Oh, no!”

He glanced toward the meeting room, unsure if he should interrupt. But Athena had clearly misunderstood the situation. If he didn’t tell his boss, things could get really bad.

Tommy knew one thing for sure: his boss cared deeply about his wife.

If anything involved her, his boss wouldn’t mind having a meeting interrupted.

Gathering his courage, Tommy knocked on the meeting room door. Inside, Zaden sat at the head of the long table, dressed sharply in a tailored black suit. It was the company quarterly performance meeting. The department managers and a few shareholders filled the room, the atmosphere tense and formal.

Tommy froze. This was a big deal; it was probably not the best time to speak up.

He had a second thought.

After a few seconds of hesitation, he forced a polite smile, stepped inside, and picked up Zaden’s empty coffee cup as if he were just doing his job. Then he quietly backed out.

Forget it. I’ll just wait until Mr. Storm’s meeting is over. Then I’ll tell him what happened.

Tommy had been waiting almost the entire afternoon. The meeting just kept going–no breaks, no pauses. As the hours dragged on, he started to regret not telling Zaden earlier that Athena had come by and that she’d seen Maya’s photo.

He wondered how Athena was doing now.

If his carelessness caused Athena and Zaden to break up, he would never forgive himself.

Just as Tommy was scolding himself for the hundredth time, the conference room doors finally opened.

A group of executives stepped out, all looking exhausted. Zaden came last, his face unreadable.

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Tommy rushed forward and whispered nervously, “Mr. Storm, bad news! Ms. Hall came by this afternoon, and she saw Ms. Rice’s photo!”

Zaden’s expression instantly darkened. “What did you just say?”

Tommy briefly explained everything–how Athena had stopped by, how she’d seen the photo, and how he’d tried to cover for him. “I told Ms. Hall I was a big fan of Ms. Rice, but she didn’t really buy it. She said she had something urgent to do and left right after.”

Zaden glanced at his watch, his brows knitting tighter. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Y–you were in a meeting! I didn’t want to interrupt and mess with company business.”

Zaden exhaled sharply, feeling a dull pulse at his temples.

It was already late at night.

The meeting had dragged on much longer than Zaden expected. He’d thought everything would go smoothly, and he could be home in time to have dinner with Athena.

But now it was almost ten o’clock. Athena had seen that photo at noon, which was hours ago.

Too many hours.

Zaden ignored his exhaustion. He grabbed his coat and strode straight out of the office.

Back at the villa, Athena returned home with Teri, but her mood stayed heavy.

Teri noticed right away. The little girl’s eyes filled with concern.

“Mom, are you upset? Did I do something wrong?” She asked softly, almost afraid of the answer.

Athena snapped out of her thoughts and responded with a gentle smile. “Of course not. You were wonderful today. You started at a new school and made new friends. I’m so proud of you. I’m just a little tired from doing too much today.”

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