Breaking Free, Loving Again -The Flash Marriage with Mr. CEO novel Chapter 173

At Foster Ventures,

Ryan sat behind his desk, trying to focus on his work. No matter how hard he tried, his mind refused to cooperate. The past few nights had been sleepless, leaving him with a pounding headache that seemed to worsen with each passing hour.

Not able to bear the pain any longer, he massaged his temples briefly before picking up the phone receiver from his desk. "Send me a cup of coffee," he ordered curtly.

And right after a few minutes, there was a knock at the door. "Come in, Zenith," he called out, without masking the irritation in his voice.

The door of his cabin opened to reveal a young woman dressed in professional attire. Her brows were furrowed in concern. "Mr. Foster, this is your sixth cup. If your headache is getting worse, why don’t you take a day off today? You could head home and rest —you will get better."

Ryan shook his head, brushing off her concern. "I will get fine. There is too much work pending here," he replied, taking the coffee from her hands.

Zenith hesitated, then cautiously asked, "Mr. Foster, can we not consider bringing Mr. Evans back?" She was Ryan’s assistant and maybe others haven’t noticed but she did. It had barely been two days since Daniel had left, and things had become unseemly tougher for her boss.

Ryan’s hand holding the cup halted midair. Zenith noticed the way his grip tightened on the handle, his knuckles turning white. Realizing she might have overstepped, she immediately backtracked.

"I am sorry," she said hurriedly, lowering her gaze. "I didn’t mean to cross the boundaries. Please forgive me if I have something out of the line."

Ryan’s jaws clenched. "Zenith, you can leave. If I need something else, I will let you know."

Zenith didn’t dare to say another word. Giving a polite nod, she turned to leave. But reaching the door, she looked back. Her gaze held the concern that could warm anyone’s heart, healing any lace of self-doubt.

Walking out, she closed the door softly behind her, leaving Ryan alone in the suffocating silence of his office. The silence was deafening, screaming at him and forcing him to confront the wrong decisions made all over again.

Feeling immensely burdened under the weight of the regrets, he snatched up his from the desk, dialling Daniel’s number on it. It looked like he was lost in a momentary trance because the moment he heard the ringing tone echoing in his ears, he abruptly hung up as if it was some mistake.

His grip on the device tightened as if he might crush it in his hand. His eyes fixated on the screen, hoping for something —anything —to appear. But, when nothing came even after a minute, his frustration boiled over. Raising the phone, he was prepared to hurl it across the room.

However, at that very moment, the phone rang. Hearing it, Ryan’s expression softened slightly. He glanced at the screen, expecting Daniel’s name. But when he realized it wasn’t him, the small flicker of hope extinguished immediately, making his expression go all dark again.

"Hello," he answered the call, asking, "Did you find out what I asked you for?"