Chapter 26: Please support my wife
Mark blinked, then looked back at his boss with undisguised skepticism.
"Boss... are you seriously planning to print these templates and distribute them throughout the office?"
Without even looking up from the document in his hand, Dominic answered calmly.
"Yes."
Mark stared at him for several long seconds, waiting for the word no to magically appear.
It never did.
"...Boss."
Dominic finally lifted his eyes.
"What?"
Mark held up one of the templates with two fingers as though it were evidence in a criminal investigation.
"Have you actually looked at this?"
"Yes."
"It doesn’t look like a company brochure."
Dominic remained silent.
"It looks like an invitation to a five-year-old’s birthday party." Mark pointed at the tiny flowers decorating the corners. "All it’s missing is balloons, a unicorn, and ’Cake will be served at 5 p.m.’"
Dominic glanced at the template again.
"It looks fine."
Mark nearly choked.
"Fine? Boss, your reputation is built on terrifying people with a single glance. Employees literally stop breathing when you walk past them. And now you’re handing them..." He waved the paper dramatically. "...this adorable little masterpiece?"
Dominic’s expression remained unchanged.
"It promotes my wife’s business."
Mark pressed a hand against his forehead.
There it was.
His boss had become hopeless.
For years, Mark had believed Dominic Sterling was incapable of displaying ordinary human emotions. The man was practically made of ice. Mark had even comforted himself with the thought that if rumors ever linked Dominic to a woman, his boss would simply stare at the reporters until they apologized for existing.
Instead...
The impossible had happened.
Not only had Dominic found a woman he wanted to marry, but he had somehow transformed into the kind of husband who shamelessly promoted his wife’s business.
If this continued, Mark wouldn’t be surprised if Dominic personally stood outside the company gates, handing out flyers while saying, "Please support my wife."
The thought alone nearly gave him a heart attack.
"Boss..." Mark said weakly, "you’re setting a dangerous precedent."
Dominic raised an eyebrow.
"How?"
"The single employees in this company are going to demand paid leave to find spouses. They’ll say it’s part of career development."
For the first time, Dominic actually considered it.
"...Denied."
Mark let out a dramatic sigh.
Thank goodness.
At least the boss hadn’t lost all his common sense.
Mark quickly cleared his throat, forcing down his amusement.
"Oh, right. Here’s Mr. Eric Swan’s schedule for the week."
He placed the file on Dominic’s desk.
As Dominic opened it, Mark hesitated before asking carefully, "Boss... do you believe Madam?"
Dominic didn’t answer immediately.
Silence settled over the office as his eyes scanned the neatly organized schedule.
Mark already knew the contents by heart. Eric had no business trips, no client meetings outside the city, and no official engagements that would have placed him anywhere near the location Clara had mentioned.
Which was exactly why Clara’s words continued to linger in his mind.
She had insisted she saw Eric with another woman.
At the time, Mark had dismissed it as a misunderstanding.
Now...
It didn’t seem so simple.
Dominic closed the file, his expression growing noticeably colder.
It wasn’t that he distrusted Eric.
Eric had been a close family friend for years. More importantly, he was Hannah’s fiancé. Dominic had never had a reason to question his character.
But Clara wasn’t the type to make accusations without reason.
She had confidently claimed that the man she saw was Eric.
And now, the schedule confirmed that Eric had indeed been free that entire day.
Dominic slowly leaned back in his chair.
"I don’t like making judgments based on assumptions."
Mark nodded.
"I know, Boss."
"But I dislike unanswered questions even more."
Mark immediately straightened.
"What are your orders?"
"Have someone look into Eric."
Mark blinked.
"A full investigation?"
"A discreet one," Dominic corrected. "I don’t want rumors reaching Hannah or anyone else."
"Understood."
"I want to know where he has been over the past month. Verify his movements, review any hotel records, restaurant reservations, flight bookings, and financial transactions that can be legally accessed. If he’s meeting someone regularly, I want a name."
Mark’s expression turned serious.
"Yes, Boss."
Dominic’s gaze remained fixed on the file in front of him.
"I’m not investigating him because I think he’s guilty."
He paused for a brief moment before adding,
"I’m investigating because Clara has never looked me in the eye and lied."
Mark understood exactly what Dominic meant.
Whether Eric was innocent or not, Dominic wasn’t willing to dismiss his wife’s words without finding the truth for himself.
***
The entire day passed in the blink of an eye.
Clara spent hours waiting for candidates to walk through the door, but as evening approached and no one showed up, she finally accepted that it simply wasn’t going to happen today.
After stepping out shop, she headed toward the car with Silvia and Lily following closely behind.
The moment they settled into their seats, Silvia couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer.
"Madam, are you really going to let that girl stay at the house?"
Clara looked at her through the rearview mirror.
"Yes. Didn’t I already make that clear?"
Silvia exchanged a worried glance with Lily.
"But, Madam..." Lily spoke up softly for the first time that day. "What if she’s a thief? We barely know anything about her."
Clara smiled faintly and shook her head.
"She isn’t."
"But how can you be so sure?" Silvia asked.
"Because I trust my judgment."
She fastened her seatbelt before continuing calmly,
"I wouldn’t have brought her home if I thought she posed any danger."
Silvia still looked unconvinced.
"People can be deceiving, Madam."
"They can," Clara agreed. "But Gen isn’t one of them."
There was an unmistakable certainty in her voice.
"I can guarantee that she won’t cause any trouble."
Seeing how confident Clara sounded, Silvia and Lily exchanged another glance before falling silent.
Although they still had their doubts, neither of them questioned her decision any further.
However, Clara’s thoughts drifted back to a rainy evening years ago.
She remembered sitting alone in the pouring rain, refusing to leave the cemetery where her mother was buried. Her clothes had been soaked through, and countless people had passed by without sparing her a second glance.
Back then, everyone had judged her by her appearance—a drenched, exhausted young woman sitting beside a grave. No one had cared to ask why she was there or what she had been through.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Appearances can be deceiving," she said softly. "If someone genuinely wants to start over, I believe they deserve the chance to do so."
Neither Silvia nor Lily spoke again.
Although they still had their reservations, they could hear the conviction in Clara’s voice and knew her decision had already been made.