Married To My Ex's Brother, Reborn Miraculously-Chapter 18: I don’t believe your love for me is over.

Later that day...

Anne received a call from Augustine. His name on the screen was a welcoming distraction. As soon as she answered the call, she heard him ask, "Is your boss troubling you?"

Anne let out a soft chuckle. "He can’t trouble me. If anything, I’m troubling him."

Denis needed a report for the project development meeting, but she hadn’t even checked the file. In a few minutes, the meeting would be starting. Without it, Denis would have nothing to present. Would he still want to keep her after this?

"He refused to approve my resignation," she continued. "But I’ll make him regret it."

"Be careful. If you need help, don’t hesitate to call me."

Before she could respond, a sharp knock on her desk made her snap her head up. Denis stood before her, his expression unreadable but the tension in his eyes unmistakable.

The playfulness in Anne’s expression vanished instantly. Without a word, she ended the call and set the phone down.

Denis’s voice was clipped, colder than he likely intended. "Have you finished the report?"

"No," she said flatly. "I need more time."

A flicker of disbelief crossed Denis’s face. He had never seen her slack off before. She had always been reliable, efficient—but now, she was deliberately stalling, and he knew it.

He had already postponed the meeting, planning to take her out for dinner as a way to make up for last night. But when he saw her speaking on the phone with someone else, smiling and carefree, his chest tightened with irritation.

That smile used to be his. That attention had once belonged to him alone. Now, she looked at him with nothing but cold indifference, maybe even disgust. It unsettled him more than he cared to admit, darkening his mood instantly.

"You had time to gossip on the phone but not to do your work? Do you have any idea how important this report is for the meeting?"

The rising tension drew the attention of the surrounding staff. Heads lifted, eyes darting toward them, curiosity flickering in their expressions.

Anne didn’t flinch. She met his fury with a steady voice. "You know why I’m slacking. I don’t want to work for you anymore. Just let me go."

Anger simmered beneath his controlled expression, but when he caught the watchful stares of his employees, he swallowed it back. This wasn’t the place.

"Come to my office," he ordered through gritted teeth before turning on his heel and striding away.

Anne exhaled slowly, smoothing down her skirt before following him.

The moment the door clicked shut behind them, Denis grabbed Anne’s arm, pulling her close. His face hovered inches from hers. His dark eyes burned with frustration.

"Can you stop throwing tantrums?" he hissed.

Anne didn’t push him away this time. She stood her ground, staring up at him with unwavering defiance. "What if I don’t?" she challenged.

Denis let out a sharp sigh, running a hand through his hair. His anger flickered into exhaustion. "This is getting tiring now. Can you stop fighting with me? I know I shouldn’t have left you alone in the middle of the road. But you angered me. You forced me to make that decision."

Anne’s lips curled into a bitter smirk. ’Still blaming me.’ She rolled her eyes.

He didn’t regret it. He wasn’t even acknowledging his mistake. Because of him, she had ended up in a terrible situation, yet he acted like it was her fault.

She had tried explaining what had happened that night, but he had refused to listen. So what was the point of repeating it?

"I told you already—I don’t want to work here anymore. But you forced me to stay against my will. Fine. Keep me here. But I won’t work. And as long as you keep me trapped, I’ll make you regret every minute."

With a sharp shove, she pushed him away and turned to leave.

Denis warned, "If you don’t follow my orders, I’ll cancel your pay for this month."

Anne froze. Her hands clenched into trembling fists at her sides.

His next words sent a chill down her spine. "Don’t forget your father’s medical bills," he reminded her ruthlessly. "If you can’t pay, he’ll be thrown out of the hospital."

A heavy silence fell between them. Anne’s shoulders tense as she whirled around, her glare sharp enough to cut through steel. Fury, helplessness, and anguish churned inside her. She couldn’t believe he was using her father’s medical bills to trap her, to force her to stay.

Her entire life, she had fought for everything she had. Nothing had ever come easy. She had burned countless nights over books, pushing herself to the limits just to earn a scholarship—just to make it to the same prestigious college Denis had attended. She had excelled in her studies, proved her worth, and secured a place at the Beaumont Group through sheer determination.

And then, when Denis had asked her to be his secretary—his secret lover—she had thought she had finally won. She had believed that this was her chance to make him love her back.

But love had never been part of the equation for him.

All her dreams, all the nights spent hoping, had shattered into dust. No matter how much she gave, no matter how hard she tried, she was never enough.

She had never been Anne to him—only a shadow of Tania. A substitute for his first love. Had he imagined Tania while he slept with her?

A wave of disgust rolled through her, twisting her features.

"I don’t need your mercy," she spat. "I am more than qualified to get a job at any top company. Your threats don’t scare me."

She took a step closer, her eyes blazing. "You want me to work for you? I don’t. I’m done. If you refuse to pay me, then why should I stay? In that case, I don’t need your approval to resign, Denis. So go ahead—cancel my pay."

"You..." Denis clenched his fingers into balls. His threat had backfired on him. This was not the way to keep her tied with him. He had to find some other way.

"You want to leave me that badly?" He studied her, searching for something—hesitation, regret, anything that suggested she didn’t truly mean it. But all he saw was determination, a cold fire in her eyes that unsettled him.

Anne—the woman who once clung to him so desperately, who had always been there, always waiting—was now eager to walk away. It made no sense. It was wrong.

Denis couldn’t accept it.

He didn’t love her, but she was his – his to keep, his to control. He wouldn’t let her slip through his fingers so easily.

"What happened to your love?" he sneered. "Is it gone just like that?"

Anne let out a sharp snort. "Love? I was foolish to believe my love was enough. I was willing to love you until my last breath. But you disrespected that love the moment you betrayed me. You destroyed the bond between us." Her eyes burned with contempt. "So who are you to question me?"

Denis shook his head, stepping closer. "I don’t believe it," he snapped. "I don’t believe your love for me is over."

His voice rose with growing desperation. "You were obsessed with me—stalking me, chasing after me. You agreed to be my secret lover without a second thought. You took care of me, obeyed me without question. How could all of that just vanish?"