No More Waiting, She Chooses Love
Chapter 686

I gave a noncommittal "Oh," without bothering to inquire further, and headed straight for the conference room.

"Hey, hold on," Grant called out, his tone steady yet tinged with concern. "The male model from yesterday, he wasn't Ernest."

"I know," I replied, my voice slightly muffled as I sipped my coffee, "I was the one who buried him."

Grant gave a solemn nod, acknowledging the weight of my words, and watched as I continued into the conference room. Inside, I met the gaze of the person waiting for me. It was Conrad.

His eyes were fixed on my face, attempting to read my emotions, but today I felt better than I had in a long time. I had taken the time to put on makeup, feeling vibrant as I left home. Also, the injury on my leg seemed to have miraculously improved overnight, making walking much less painful.

"You're late," Conrad noted, breaking the ice with a light comment.

"Yeah, well, my boss is lenient and doesn't dock my pay," I retorted, which caused a brief flicker of tension on Conrad's face.

Back when I was at the Wagner Group, any tardiness or early departure meant fines, just like everyone else. There were no perks, even as the CEO's fiancée.

"I tried calling you yesterday, and when I stopped by your place, the lights were off. I was worried," Conrad expressed his concern openly.

"I just went to bed early," I replied tersely.

Conrad's lips curled into a sardonic smile, "Thought you'd be up all night, restless."

"Why would I be? Because of Phipps?" I knew Conrad wanted to talk about Phipps.

"He's not Ernest, I've had him checked out," Conrad said, pulling out his phone. After a few taps, I felt my own phone vibrate in my pocket.

"I had my team investigate him overnight. I've sent all the information to your phone. Go through it at your own pace," Conrad paused, then added, "Felicia, Ernest is gone. You saw it happen."

I clutched my coffee tighter, "I know Ernest is gone. I'm not confusing Phipps with him."

Conrad seemed to relax slightly at my words, but I continued, "Phipps is Phipps."

His eyes narrowed sharply, "What do you mean by that?"

I took a sip of my coffee, offering no response.

his frustration evident. "Felicia, please don't delude yourself. Ernest

A vein throbbed in Conradia net

is no longer alive. You loved him, not

juste

face."

"I fell in love with his face first, though," I said with a light laugh, which seemed to catch Conrad off guard.

"Are you saying... you want to treat Phipps as Ernest? Have him fill Ernest's role in your life?" Conrad's voice trembled with anger and disbelief.

"A stand-in?" I shook my head, "I'm not that callous."

"Then what are you saying?" Conrad seemed on the verge of breaking.

I placed my coffee on the table between us, "What I mean, Mr. Wagner, is none of your concern anymore, is it?"

Conrad's face turned ashen, "Felicia..."

"Conrad, we've been over for a long time. You really don't have the right to be asking these questions," khad reminded Fanny just yesterday not to target Conrad.

But it seems, I couldn't truly put the past behind me either.

Conrad looked defeated, his gaze dropping, "I know I don't have that right anymore. But... I don't want to see you fall into another pit of despair."

He took a deep breath, reaching for

my hand, "Felicia, I've already received the harshest punishment from you for my mistakes, and I deserved every bit of it. All I ask now is for a chance to start over. Can you pretend we're just meeting for the first time?"

He was asking for a fresh start.