Miles Sherman reached out and wrapped his arms around Zoe Pierce.

Her tears dampened his clothes.

This was perhaps the first time in all these years that he was unwilling to give up his place to someone else on the team.

His large hand gently smoothed her hair, stroking it slowly downward.

Zoe Pierce unconsciously clutched the hem of his shirt. Her tears, no longer held back, soaked the fabric.

"In the future, you’ll have a new family, new friends, a brand-new everything," Miles Sherman said softly. "It’s okay for now. You’re just feeling sad for a little while."

His words were gentle and steady.

He held nothing back, softly catching her.

Her heart, which had been aching to the point of suffocation, slowly began to regain its strength.

When she finally lifted her face, Zoe Pierce had stopped crying.

It was as if, just as Miles Sherman had said, her sadness had only been for a moment.

As she looked up, the first thing Zoe Pierce noticed was the dark patch on Miles Sherman’s shirt. "I’m sorry..." she said immediately.

Miles Sherman looked down at her face. The tip of her nose and the rims of her eyes were still red, but that earlier, heart-wrenching feeling was gone. She was in much better spirits.

"It’s nothing." He gently rubbed the back of her head. "Don’t worry about it. It’ll be dry in a little while."

Zoe Pierce hummed in response and noticed the other three, who had been standing silently to the side, watching her.

"I’m fine. I just lost control of my emotions for a moment." Zoe Pierce found it hard to describe the feeling that had welled up inside her when she saw Damien Pierce walk out the door. It was as if her body’s innate emotions were resurfacing, mingling with her own complex feelings.

Chase Shaw lowered his head, scratching at the hair above his ear. "You just... you scared me to death."

He’d been a step too slow, and he had to admit, he couldn’t have found the right words to comfort her the way Miles Sherman did.

So he had willingly stepped back, letting Miles Sherman be the one to hold and comfort her in her most vulnerable moment—even though he’d wished he could be in Miles’s place countless times.

Erin Xavier reached out and wiped away a lingering tear from the corner of Zoe Pierce’s eye. "Don’t cry anymore. You’re driving us all crazy."

Her tears were more agonizing to watch than any physical injury.

"Didn’t I tell you to learn from me? How to deal with your brother? Why’d you end up crying instead?" Erin Xavier asked, her fingers carefully wiping away the last of Zoe Pierce’s tear tracks.

Zoe Pierce didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at Erin Xavier’s words.

Miles Sherman stepped aside, and Nathan Lockwood crouched down to look her in the eye. "From now on, we’re your family."

"So, don’t cry anymore."

’We’ll really go crazy.’

’Your vulnerability and your pain make it impossible for us to think straight.’

"If you’re going to cry, let them be happy tears," Nathan Lockwood said.

They were all comforting her.

Zoe Pierce laughed, feigning a scolding tone. "Nathan Lockwood, you’re so bossy. Are you going to control how I cry, too?"

’Yeah, I want to.’

’I want to take care of all your emotions. I want you to never cry again. I want you to go back to being as happy and carefree as you used to be.’

Nathan Lockwood smiled slightly and said nothing.

After confirming that Zoe Pierce’s mood had completely stabilized, Nathan Lockwood finally asked, "What should we do about Damien Pierce?"

They had already reached an unspoken agreement that Damien Pierce couldn’t stay.

But Zoe Pierce said, "Don’t do anything for now. Let’s see what he does."

She was always too soft-hearted. Nathan Lockwood frowned immediately.

Zoe Pierce emphasized again, "Really, don’t do anything. I want to see how far he’ll go before I decide what to do."

Getting her heart broken once was enough. Zoe Pierce no longer held any expectations for Damien Pierce—she meant exactly what she said.

’I’ll see how far he goes, and then I’ll decide whether or not to make a move against him.’

Her attitude was firm, so Nathan Lockwood and the others dropped the matter.

For the following month, Zoe Pierce lived in the old manor. Chase Shaw brought back all the staff Damien Pierce had previously dismissed. Several of them wept with joy upon seeing Zoe Pierce. When they heard she’d had a falling out with Damien Pierce, they couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow.

But overall, they were thrilled. After all, they had been bewildered when they suddenly lost their jobs, not even knowing what they had done wrong.

Now they had their jobs back, and their employer was Zoe Pierce. Everyone knew she generally wasn’t one to fuss over things. As long as they did their work within reason and didn’t cause trouble, everything would be fine.

Meanwhile, thanks to the surveillance by Nathan Lockwood and the others, they had a general idea of what Damien Pierce was up to.

Damien Pierce had left all his documents at the company, taking nothing. He simply bought a single ticket for a Starship and left the Capital Star.

"At least he knows his place," Erin Xavier commented with a purse of her lips. She was helping Nathan Lockwood sort through the Pierce Family’s assets and saw that Damien Pierce had taken nothing.

She was the one most sensitive about matters of inheritance. After all, with Sheldon Xavier in the picture, there were some things Erin Xavier would never concede.

Nathan Lockwood was the one helping Zoe Pierce the most with these matters. He had examined the Pierce Family’s recent cash flow in detail. The family’s income had been hovering at a low level, but after their victory, it had seen massive growth.

It was exceptionally high.

Even now, it was still maintaining a steady rise, a trend that was expected to continue until after their friendship match against the Empire.

If they won, Zoe Pierce would be set for life.

Nathan Lockwood told Zoe Pierce about Damien Pierce’s destination. Zoe thought for a long time before it suddenly occurred to her: that was the planet where Damien and their father used to live.

Deep down, she still felt a sense of loss, but the feeling was fleeting.

She was soon too preoccupied by the complicated accounts to dwell on it.

Most of the employees at the company were old-timers, but Damien Pierce had replaced people in some positions. Zoe Pierce had to find new staff, but thankfully Nathan Lockwood and Chase Shaw were a huge help, filling the vacancies in just a few weeks.

"You guys are doing everything to help me. I feel like I’m not helping at all."

At the villa, Zoe Pierce looked at the recent hires and gave a wry smile.

"This isn’t your main focus right now—the friendship match is," Chase Shaw said. "You can take your time finding people for these roles later. We’ve helped you for now, but the friendship match... that’s all on you."

The answer they had come to after discussing it was to keep Zoe Pierce busy. Only by being busy could she avoid overthinking.

The Pierce Family’s affairs were simple for them.

But Zoe Pierce’s emotions were a complex matter.

They knew she might look fine, but what if she was just putting on a brave face?

None of them ever wanted to witness her crying like that again.

So, it was time to get back to training. Keep her so busy she’d pass out the moment her head hit the pillow, with no time left to dwell on her sadness. Time would wear away those sorrowful feelings. Then, once new things entered her life, she would finally be free of this mire.