I Could Hear His Heart Begging While He Cheated On Me Chapter 07

I Could Hear His Heart Begging While He Cheated On Me Chapter 07

I didn’t have time to wallow. Headquarters had transferred me here to take over a new project.

While I was in the hospital, the supplier ran into problems, and the project stalled for nearly two weeks.

By the time it reached my desk, it was a mess.

I researched every option I could find and finally located a better supplier.

The price was higher, but the quality was far more reliable.

After reviewing my revised proposal, the client called back almost immediately.

“Ms. Lindstrom, we’re ready to move on to the next round of negotiations.”

The office went quiet for a second when I ended the call.

Someone glanced at me, then quickly looked away.

At lunch, I went to the breakroom for water.

The door wasn’t fully closed, and hushed voices drifted out.

“She’s not that impressive.”

“Mr. Shaw transferred her here personally. Of course everything she does is automatically right.”

“For all we know, Mr. Shaw found the supplier for her. He might have written the proposal for her too.”

—

I stood outside with my cup and didn’t go in.

In the past, I would have explained myself.

I would have worried that everyone hated me.

Not anymore.

Before the afternoon meeting, I copied my presentation files onto the conference room computer.

I had barely sat down when Zara Brooks suddenly stood.

“Mr. Shaw, I’d like to present my proposal first.”

She turned on the projector.

The moment the screen lit up, I recognized the page.

It was my proposal.

She hadn’t even changed the fine print beneath the title.

I closed my laptop and quietly listened until she finished.

Julian turned to me.

“Lena, where’s your proposal?”

I rose calmly and carried my laptop to the front of the room.

The screen changed.

A completely different proposal appeared.

“What Zara just presented was the first draft I discarded two days ago. It was workable, but the risk was too high.”

—

“So I created a second version. This is the proposal I came here to present today.”

Zara’s face went pale.

I didn’t look at her. I continued with my presentation.

Inside, I let out a quiet sigh.

I had learned the hard way before, so I had made a habit of preparing two versions of every important proposal.

By the end, Marcus Webb, the client’s lead representative, nodded on the spot.

“We’ll move forward with Ms. Lindstrom’s approach.”

After the meeting, Julian asked Zara and me to stay behind.

Zara looked sick with humiliation.

Julian closed the file in front of him and looked at her.

“Competition at work is fine.”

“But don’t waste your energy stealing someone else’s work.”

Zara lowered her head and said nothing.

Only after she left the conference room did Julian turn to me.

“Lena, I was right about you.”

“Transferring you to headquarters was the right decision.”

After that small incident, the rest of the team became much more

—

polite to me.

I couldn’t control what they said behind my back.

But at least no one dared touch my work again.

The project finally began moving forward smoothly.

On the day of the contract signing, I took the stage as project lead.

The seats below were filled with representatives from the client, my department, and the company’s executive team.

I tightened my grip on the microphone and finished the final slide.

The screen went dark, and the room stayed silent for two seconds.

Then the applause began.

At first, only a few people in the front row clapped. Within moments, the entire room joined them.

“Now I understand why Mr. Shaw transferred her here.”

“She really did turn this project around on her own.”

I set down the microphone, bowed, and walked slowly off the stage.

The old injury in my chest no longer hurt. My steps were steady.

The applause was still going when several coworkers surrounded me.

“Lena, the client couldn’t stop praising you.”

“You’d better not skip the celebration dinner tonight.”

I smiled.

—

“I won’t.”

Julian stood a short distance away.

After my coworkers finished, he walked over and handed me a document.

“The post-signing implementation schedule.”

“You’re the project lead, so the next steps are yours to decide.”

I accepted it.

“All right.”

He looked at me with a smile.

“The client asked why I trusted such an important project to someone who had just transferred here.”

I smiled back.

“What did you tell them, Mr. Shaw?”

Julian looked toward the stage.

“I told them they knew the answer now.”

“You did very well today, Lena.”

We talked as we headed toward the exit.

Then I saw the one person who could ruin the moment waiting outside the venue.

Nathaniel had lost a great deal of weight. He was holding a paper bag

—

against his chest.

“Lena.”

He approached me and held it out.

“I repaired the stuffed dog, and I had your diploma reissued.”

“I know none of this matters now.”

His voice was painfully hoarse.

“But I wanted to replace what you lost.”

The stuffed dog’s eye had been sewn back on, and the diploma had a new cover.

Both looked spotless, as if nothing had ever happened.

I didn’t take them.

“Nathaniel, don’t use those things to make me sick again.”

His face went pale.

I walked around him and kept going.

He instinctively followed.

“Lena, listen to me-”

A display stand beside him suddenly toppled.

The glass panel shattered in front of him.

He fell to the floor, and broken glass cut into him.

—

People around us cried out.

“Call a doctor!”

Nathaniel seemed unable to feel the pain.

He struggled to lift his head and looked at me.

“Lena, I’m hurt.”

In the past, even a scraped knee would have made me panic. I would have bought him medicine and covered the cut with a Band-Aid.

Whenever I heard him crying out in his thoughts, I hurt so badly that I cried too.

I stopped and looked at the staff member nearby.

“Don’t let unauthorized people into our events again.”

The paper bag slipped from Nathaniel’s hand.

The stuffed dog rolled out, and a spot of blood stained its fur.

Sweat covered his forehead, and his lips had gone white from pain. Even so, he still reached for the toy with a trembling hand.

I walked past him without another glance.

Julian was waiting for me by the door.

“Still coming to the celebration dinner?”

I smiled and nodded.

“Of course.”

—

I left with my coworkers.

The doctor still hadn’t arrived, and Nathaniel remained on the floor.

He stared after me and heard my thoughts.

[Nathaniel, it’s too late for regret.]

[I don’t want those seven years anymore.]

[From now on, we’re strangers.]

After that, Nathaniel still ran into me on the street from time to time.

Sometimes, he could still hear my thoughts.

But not a single one of them had anything to do with him.