"Is that Kaia?" Ione's voice came from the hospital room. Darcy stopped, instinctively glancing back toward the room. "Kaia, come in! I haven't seen you in so long. I missed you so much!" Ione urged. Zane was momentarily confused, then understood. He took Darcy's hand and walked with her into the room. Seeing him, Ione was surprised, then delighted. "Oh, it's Zane! I thought it was Kaia. Darcy, pour Zane some water and wash some fruit for him." Darcy reluctantly poured a glass of water for Zane but ignored the instruction about the fruit. Zane didn't seem to mind. He stood and chatted with Ione for a few minutes about her condition. Ione smiled warmly at him. "Have you sorted everything out with the Vance family for the engagement? How many people will be coming from your side? Our side is simple, just a few of my relatives and Kaia. I'm just worried your family might have a lot of people coming. If we know ahead of time, we can get ready and make sure everything goes smoothly." The engagement... Zane had almost forgotten. The engagement ceremony with Darcy was at the end of next month. How could he have nearly forgotten that? He glanced at Darcy with a trace of guilt, but her expression remained unchanged. Good, she didn't notice. He placed a broad hand on her back in a gesture that felt more compensatory than affectionate. He nodded. "Yes, I've spoken with my family. Both my parents will come. I also plan to invite some business partners. I'll draft a guest list tomorrow at the office and give it to Darcy." Darcy was stunned. She frowned, looking at Zane. His handsome features, sharp outline, his looks and aura—things she had once deeply adored. But after that night, she saw through him. He felt nothing for her. He was just using her. But she didn't understand. Now that she was resigning and would no longer be his resource, why was he still bringing up the engagement? Ah, probably to reassure my sick mother. At least he's maintaining appearances. Darcy moved away from his touch and stepped forward to tuck the blankets tighter around her mother. "Mom, the doctor said you need rest. You should sleep now." Ione glanced at the wall clock and scoffed, "What nonsense are you talking? It's far too early for sleep!" "The doctor said it's better to sleep early than stay up late. The surgery might be moved up."Ione sighed in resignation. She realized her daughter was more insistent than the doctors. "Alright, alright, I'm going to sleep." Once outside the room, they reached the main lobby of the hospital. Zane's phone rang. It was his mother, Olena Vance. He showed Darcy the phone. "I need to take this." Darcy pressed her lips together and nodded. "Okay. I have something to tell you after your call." Olena first asked if Darcy was with him. Zane glanced at Darcy beside him and grunted an affirmation. Olena paused. "Move somewhere private. I need to ask you something." "Okay." Zane moved the phone away and leaned close to Darcy, speaking softly, "It's a business negotiation. I need to step over here to discuss numbers with the client. Wait for me a moment."Once he was in a corner, Zane put the phone back to his ear. "What is it, Mom?" Olena's voice was stern. "I heard you brought Zora into your company. What is the meaning of this?" Zane was surprised by how quickly she'd found out. His expression darkened. "It means nothing. A standard hire. SummitCore needs top talent in economics. Zora just finished her PhD abroad and fits our requirements." "Is that all?" Zane's Adam's apple bobbed. He hesitated. "Yes. That's all." Olena pressed further. "Does Darcy know about your history with Zora?" Zane froze, feeling his chest tighten. "What history? We're just childhood friends." "Zane, you know perfectly well what you feel for Zora. You can lie to others, but not to yourself!"Olena's tone grew more serious. "Have you heard? The Moss family originally planned an alliance marriage with the Blackwoods. For some reason, it was suddenly called off." "What? Called off?" Zane was stunned, his heart beginning to pound. "Yes. The engagement with the Blackwoods is off. I've verified it from multiple sources. It's true." "Why was it called off?" Olena snorted, "Why else? The Blackwoods' second son is a known playboy. The Moss family has outgrown that sort of match now. He doesn't deserve Zora. Of course it makes sense that Zora doesn't want to marry him." She paused, then added, "If you want to be with Zora, it's not too late now. But you must be honest with Darcy and give her generous compensation. I'm very fond of that girl. She's been with you for so long. Part on good terms." "Mom, I don't have those kinds of thoughts..." His mind was in turmoil. He understood his mother's implication, but he had never considered breaking up with Darcy. His eyes instinctively searched the main lobby, but he was surprised to find Darcy was gone. He quickly ended the call. "Mom, I have to go." Zane searched the entire hospital lobby but found no sign of Darcy. He called her phone. It rang for a long time before she answered. "Sorry, something came up. I had to leave." "Okay. By the way, you said you had something to tell me. What was it?" Darcy's knuckles were white around the phone. Sitting in the back of the taxi, her body felt stiff. Even though she had been hurt beyond repair, actually saying the words still made her heart ache. She fought back tears, her voice choked. "Let's talk face-to-face when I'm done here."She would end it in person, with dignity for them both. That was Darcy's way. Zane, unaware of what she intended to say, simply said "Okay" and hung up. ... Darcy arrived at Stratagem Tech. The lights were still on in the R&D office. Jethro was there too. Seeing her, he pulled out a chair, gesturing for her to sit. Darcy scanned the room. Her intuition told her something was wrong; otherwise, they wouldn't have called her here so late. She had only worked with Jethro for a week, but she'd found him very measured. He gave her full rein over her responsibilities without interference. His management style was to trust those he hired."What's going on?" she asked, addressing both Jethro and the head of R&D. Jethro gave a slight, apologetic smile. "A small issue. Sorry to call you here so late, disturbing your rest." "It's fine. Just tell me straight." The head of R&D, Jax Steel, glanced at Cade and blurted out, "We can't build the feature described in the Easemark pre-sales proposal. Personally, I don't endorse overpromising to clients." As soon as he finished, Cade jumped in, frustrated. "Jax, we've been over this! It's just for the pre-sales deck! We're not actually committing to building it! What are you so worried about? "This happens every single time! I don't know why you're being so stubborn!" Hearing this, Jax lost his temper, slamming his book down on the table. It fell to the floor with a sharp clatter. "Yes! Every single time! You pre-sales and sales guys oversell, making the product sound like magic! It makes the client happy now, but when it comes to actual production and we can't deliver, the blame always falls on R&D!" Jax was an engineer, not a debater. After a few sentences, his face was red and his neck was flushed. He unconsciously dismissed Darcy, assuming that with her sales background, she would side with Cade. Privately, he and his R&D colleagues looked down on her. First, she was young and pretty. Second, she came from sales. In his narrow, ugly mind, a woman like her couldn't possibly have real ability. There had to be something behind it. Some unspoken deal.