Chapter17 What had he done ? Pain and remorse swarmed him , gnawing at his heart until he could barely breathe . He lurched out the door with a single thought in his head- Find Grace . He waited downstairs at Grace Studio in Northbridge . He waited outside her new apartment . The immaculate , untouchable titan of Stone Group had stubble shadowing his jaw , hollows under his eyes , and a suit wrinkled to ruin . Only his bloodshot gaze stayed sharp , fixed on every doorway she might use . When that lean , luminous figure finally appeared , his heart almost burst . He staggered into her path , voice ragged from fever and desperation . " Grace ... Grace Miller . I'm sorry - God , I'm sorry . I was wrong . I know everything now ... " He reached for her hand . She slipped aside - quiet , firm , out of reach . " I know it's too late ... It's pathetic . I was blind . I trusted Bella . You saved me and I- " Grace listened without a flicker . It was the calm of someone hearing a story that had nothing to do with her . Only when he ran out of air and hope did she speak - her voice cool and steady as still water . " Alexander Stone . " She used his full name , distant and polite . " I've heard the truth . Thank clearing up a few questions I had . " you for She paused . There was no hatred in her eyes , no pleading , no heat at all - only a clean , frozen release and the faintest thread of pity . " But it doesn't change anything . Our ending was set the moment you left me over and over - for her , the moment you chose to hurt me . Your love and your fury were built on a ridiculous mistake . That ' s ... sad . I don't hate you anymore ; hate takes energy , and I won't spend another drop of it on you . But I will never love you again . We're over . Completely . " A final verdict - cold , precise , leaving nowhere to stand . Each word drove in like an ice pick , shattering the last brittle shard of hope in Alexander's chest . Chapter17 80.95 % Wanna watch the rest of " Office Girl " ? Download Drama Pops and watch the re ... Download He watched her walk away - tall , sure , never once looking back . He reached out and caught only cold air . From that day on , Alexander lived like a penitent . Over the board's outrage and the Stone Group directors ' alarm , he forced through a massive partnership - structured so lopsidedly it was practically a gift - and put Grace Studio in Northbridge in charge , fully aware it would cost his company dearly . Quietly , invisibly , he cleared every obstacle from her path . He squeezed out predatory competitors , smoothed snarled approvals , and slid dream collaborations within her reach - under a strict order that no one breathe a word of his involvement . He even guarded her like a ghost . When a cyclist lost control and veered toward her on her walk home , Alexander didn't think he just lunged , shoving her hard out of the way . The bike tangled with him instead , grinding his elbow and knee across raw concrete . Grace , - still shaking , saw it was him . Surprise flickered ; composure returned . " Mr. Stone , are you alright ? Do you need me to call an ambulance ? " He swallowed the burn in his skin and pushed upright , dazed , eyes clinging to her . " As long as you ' re okay ... " Her brow creased . " Thank you for pulling me back . But you don't have to do this . Between us - it's settled . " Settled . The single word dropped him back into the abyss . She would rather be hit than owe him anything . All his amends , all his effort - noise , at best . At worst , an intrusion . He stood there as she walked away without a backward glance , blood stinging down his arm . The pain was nothing compared to the cold wasteland in his chest . After that , Alexander went silent . Stonecrest Estate , once a monument to power - and to every injury he had dealt her - became a gilded mausoleum , burying his late - blooming regret and his endless solitude . Chapter17 D Wanna watch the rest of " Office Girl " ? Download Drama Pops and watch the re ... Download 80.95 % He stopped calling . Stopped showing up anywhere she might be . He even declined business where their paths might cross . At meetings he barely spoke , staring through the glass at nothing until executives forgot to breathe . The old , decisive edge had been replaced by a depthless fatigue . Only his chief secretary knew he hadn't gone empty . In the back of his study , an encrypted server held a single private folder - every public article on Grace , every industry interview , every project image her team released , all meticulously filed . He watched her work rack up international accolades . Watched her name appear more and more in top design journals . Watched her shed the brand of " Alexander Stone ' s ex " and rise , step by step , as the respected designer known to the world as Jiang Wei , And he watched from very far away .