“I understand,” he answered.
“Where’s Khloe, anyway?” Stella asked then, irritation curling through the question. “I heard she moved out.”
Her voice carried a dozen accusations: why had Khloe stormed off and left the family and company a mess, allowing Angela to slip in? No one likes a vacuum; someone will always rush to fill it.
“You share some responsibility in this, Mom,” Trey said, “but I’ll handle Khloe.”
He didn’t want his mom to involve herself any further, so he kept the details to himself.
Stella fumed. “She’s using me and Alicia to throw a tantrum to get her way. Don’t you dare indulge her. If she leaves, let her. She’ll come crawling back.”
Fuming but powerless in the face of Trey’s clear missteps regarding Angela, Stella had no choice but to vent her anger while he took it in silence.
She stayed until nearly midnight, leaving only after Arthur called to urge her home. But before stepping out, she issued one final warning: he was not to see Angela again.
The moment she was gone, Trey immediately tried calling Angela.
When she didn’t answer, he called her close friend Kirsten-but she didn’t pick up either.
Desperate, he finally had Pete try.
This time, Angela answered. Yet the moment she heard Trey’s voice, she broke down sobbing, each breath catching in her throat.
Whatever composure he had left dissolved on the spot.
He rushed to where she was staying-a cheap hotel near Kirsten’s bar. Angela had nowhere else to go. To have his child, she had cut ties with her own parents, burning every bridge behind her.
“Trey, this is too much!” Kirsten confronted him, her voice shaking with rage. “Angela risked everything for you. When her parents found out about you two, they took back the apartment and savings under her name. But she never gave up on you. How could you let your mother throw her out like that?”
She was seething-ready to strike him if she could. But before she could go on, Angela stopped her. Tears streaked Angela’s face, yet she refused to let anyone speak ill of him.
Seeing her friend’s unshakable loyalty, Kirsten could only walk away in frustrated silence.
Left alone with Angela, Trey looked at her and felt his heart twist into knots. In that moment, he felt his heart torn to pieces.
Trey knew he’d been selfish-always blind to Angela’s struggles, always letting her bend and compromise while he followed his own whims.
“I’m sorry.” The words felt empty, almost meaningless, yet they were all he could offer.
Trey pulled her into his arms.
The past few days, with one setback after another, had made him weary of their relationship, the closeness between them dulled by fatigue.
But after today’s chaos with Stella, something in him surged back-ten years of shared history, unspoken promises, and a love neither time nor circumstance had erased. After all this, he couldn’t just give up.
Angela said nothing. She pressed herself against him, letting the warmth of his body hold her as soft, shaky sobs escaped. She knew the only anchor she had now was his heart. Even for Pete, she had to win-had to hold on.
Early the next morning, unwilling to see Angela suffer another day, Trey arranged through an agent for Angela to rent a luxurious flat near the Fox residence.
He spent the entire morning helping her move, carrying boxes and unpacking alongside her.
She wanted to see their son, but to avoid drawing attention, they decided it would be safer to wait a little while before Pete came to visit.
The rare peace, however, didn’t last long. By afternoon, a call from HR brought troubling news: all five members of Khloe’s team had submitted resignations. The company was in sudden turmoil, and even leaders from other departments were taking leave.
Trey and Angela rushed straight to the office. Khloe’s former team was at their desks, packing their things.
“What’s going on? Collective resignation? Who taught you to ignore reporting procedures and just quit?” Angela stormed forward.
One of the younger colleagues-whose computer had been smashed just yesterday-looked up coldly. “Miss Thompson, we submitted our requests according to the company proc?dure. You can approve them slowly, but we’re taking our annual leave these past few days.”
“Yes,” another piped in. “Back when Khloe was here, we didn’t like taking leave, so we have alot of them saved up.
Angela’s face went pale with rage. She didn’t even know what to say.
These people were insane. Just yesterday, she’d reprimanded them lightly, and now this? Were Khloe’s prot?g?s all this difficult?
“Everyone, come to my office,” Trey’s voice cut sharply from behind her. Without waiting for a reply, he led the way to the executive office.
The resignations weren’t technically his concern, but the employees in question were Khloe’s most capable proteges. He couldn’t simply ignore the situation.
Angela froze, eyes darting between the five, ready to scold-but none of them looked at her. They followed Trey silently.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.