Chapter 2

At the hospital, I was told all the doctors were busy. After waiting for ages, an intern nurse finally came.

"Your allergy is quite severe. I'll arrange an IV drip for you right away."

Bored, I pulled out my phone and saw a SnapChat story Tiffany had posted five minutes ago.

“OMG! Boss spends ten grand on high-concentration, colorless, odorless creamer just to get back at an employee!”

The comments below were all praising her.

"Director Stone, you should have seen Maya, she looked like a giant lobster."

"Director Stone, Mr. Hayes spoils you so much, are you two getting serious?"

My heart gave a sharp pang, and my eyes welled up with tears.

Brandon was strictly against office romance. Outside of work hours or official business, I was never allowed to even set foot in his office. If we met in the hallway, I had to stay at least three feet away.

Once, eager to share some good news with him, I accidentally smiled and looked at him. He deleted and blocked all my contacts, and even changed the locks on our apartment. I had to live in a hotel for a month before he finally forgave me.

"Don't do that again. I don't like it."

So I tried my best to become the person he wanted, becoming the "ice queen of the office" that colleagues secretly joked about.

However, ever since Tiffany arrived, all his so-called principles vanished overnight. They were inseparable, having afternoon tea and watching movies in his office, laughing and chatting. They even orchestrated a poll that named them the most compatible couple in the office building.

Five years of my life meant nothing compared to three months with her.

He wasn't against office romance; he just hated me getting too close.

While I was on the IV, I overheard a few nurses talking.

"Is that Mr. Hayes' girlfriend? She cried until her eyes were red, and he booked every doctor in the hospital to be on standby. Oh my god! It's like a romance novel CEO coming to life, so dramatic!"

I stared at the dripping IV, suddenly remembering a stormy night a year ago. I'd been hit by an electric scooter while delivering documents to Brandon, scraping my face. When I finally limped to him, he just pressed a napkin to my wound, his brows furrowed.

"Go home quickly. Don't scare anyone."

Since then, no matter how badly I was hurt, I'd hide it well. The physical pain was nothing compared to the agony of his indifference.

Back home, I started packing. While sifting through some books in his study, a yellowed drawing slipped out and fluttered to the floor. The background was an amusement park, and the figures were two children. A wave of familiarity washed over me. Before I could think about it further, an angry shout came from the doorway.

"Who told you to touch my things!"

Brandon slammed into me, sending books tumbling from the shelves, raining down on my head with heavy thuds. My vision blurred, streaks of black dancing before my eyes.

Along with it, a memory from my childhood flickered into focus.

Brandon's eyes were red-rimmed as he made sure the painting wasn't damaged, then finally let out a sigh of relief.

"This painting..."

I started to speak, but he cut me off.

"Tiffany gave this to me when she was a kid. It's priceless. You couldn't repay that, not in a hundred lifetimes."

Standing behind him, a flicker of guilt crossed Tiffany's eyes. She tugged at Brandon's sleeve, urging him. "Brandon, let's just grab your things and go. Mr. Davies is waiting for us for dinner."

As they turned to leave, I called out to Brandon.

"Are you sure that painting is Tiffany's?"