This had taken Vanessa by surprise. Marcus was notorious for being the most difficult person to deal with in the business world. She had never thought the day would come when she would see desperation on his proud face. It was quite a refreshing sight.

Vanessa smiled in greeting. "Mr. Fowler."

Marcus came back to his senses, his expression turning more complicated when he saw Vanessa. Melissa's identity had not been made public, but the Fowlers and the Smiths both knew.

Vanessa, however, clearly didn't know about it.

Marcus just coldly nodded his head in answer. Turning to her husband, Vanessa said, "I'm a little tired. Let's go downstairs."

With that, the two of them left.

Marcus stood quietly at the entrance of the elevator alone, uncaring about the gazes of the people coming and going. He remained still and motionless as a familiar scent wafted through the air.

It was the distinct scent of a hand cream.

He had bought it himself for Melissa and rubbed it on her hands. He wouldn't mistake the scent for anything else.

Marcus took a deep breath and greedily inhaled the remaining traces.

He took in Lungfuls of air, his feelings slowly cooling until they died down. There was no Longer any burning from hearing her name, and he convinced himself not to look for her.

After what had seemed an eternity, Marcus stepped inside the elevator.

He went downstairs to retrieve his broken phone, absentmindedly looking at the pieces.

There was only one photo of Melissa in it.

And now even that was gone. He couldn't piece it back to the way it was before.

Above him, a figure stood on the second floor near the corner of the elevator. Melissa stared at Marcus from the shadows.

He had lost a lot of weight.

He seemed different from how he used to be. Somehow, he carried himself with more seriousness, but she felt no fear toward him.

Perhaps her own affection had been the reason why she used to be afraid of him.

But things might be different now.