Chapter 1

Jacqueline once again missed my birthday party for assistant Eric Burch, which led me, Lawrence Gentry, to voluntarily apply for a three-year overseas assignment.

She casually came across the application form and scoffed at it without much thought.

"Trying to make me jealous with these tricks again? Can you stop acting like a child? You're an adult, for heaven's sake.

"I've told you before, we have nothing between us. I'm just worried that Eric, a fresh graduate, might feel out of place, so I'm going to keep him company.

"I'll come and keep you company in a few days."

She tore the application form up and tossed it in the trash, then suggested that we take wedding photos as compensation for her absence.

But it was already too late.

On the day of the shoot, I was already sitting on a plane heading abroad.

However, I heard that Jacqueline, usually cold and distant, went a little crazy. Dressed in a wedding gown, she hysterically screamed my name over and over at the airport.

"Lawrence, I can't believe you're still playing these petty tricks. If it weren't for Debra Hanna from HR telling me about this, I might have actually believed it.

"Don't you know? Someone who really wants to leave wouldn't make it such a public spectacle."

Jacqueline snorted, then tore up the overseas assignment application form in a few quick moves and threw it into the trash without even blinking.

I remained silent, but inwardly, I found it a bit amusing.

Tearing it up didn't matter to me. It had already been submitted.

She had signed it herself last night.

But at the time, she had been out dining with Eric, probably not paying attention.

When she was with Eric, she was always completely absorbed in him.

Debra from HR was just a kind soul, and she was probably trying to help by informing her of this.

She probably thought I was trying to threaten her, but that wasn't the case.

At the time, she wanted me to stay in the city with her, so I missed out on many overseas opportunities. Now that her heart belonged to someone else, I wasn't planning to waste away by her side anymore.

Just as I was about to speak, there was a knock on the door.

Jacqueline ignored me and turned to open it.

"Jacqueline."

Eric smiled, standing in the doorway, and greeted her.

Then his gaze shifted to me, and his smile grew wider. "Oh, Lawrence is here too. Sorry, I would've stayed downstairs if I'd known. Didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

His tone seemed sincere, but I could hear the underlying provocation.

After all, once I discovered the unusual relationship between Jacqueline and him, I confronted her many times. But every time, she shrugged it off and continued as if nothing had happened.

The worst incident was when she spent the night with Eric. I couldn't take it anymore and asked her about it. Jacqueline slapped me hard and called me dirty-minded, demanding that I publicly apologize to both her and Eric.

That was the moment I finally gave up on her. I stopped caring, but she and Eric thought I had just matured and treated the whole thing as a rebellious phase of mine.

I ignored them and turned to go back to my room.

But Jacqueline, unusually, stopped me and softly said,

"Eric's parents are coming in a couple of days. He's worried his room might be too shabby, so I'm going to help him get it ready.

"You know, these young guys can't take care of themselves. If I can help, I will."

I was a bit surprised.

It took me a moment to realize that Jacqueline was trying to explain herself to me.

She used to never do that. I would always have to ask her, and she'd get annoyed with me for being so curious.

But now, I no longer cared about what they were going to do.

"Oh." I nodded.

I originally wanted to remind her to stay safe, but then I realized she wouldn't listen even if I did. So, I swallowed the words back down.

"Lawrence, why don't you come with us? It'd make us feel better."

Eric spoke up at that moment.

I looked at the smile on his face, clearly knowing he was doing it on purpose.

He had suggested this before.

But every time he did, it only made Jacqueline dislike me more.

Even though I didn't care about her opinion anymore, I wasn't going to make things uncomfortable for myself before leaving.

Just as I was about to refuse, unexpectedly, Jacqueline paused for a while and nodded.

Eric's smile faltered for a moment.

But it didn't last long. His smile returned, even brighter than before.

"Alright then," Jacqueline said.

"At least you can help carry some things. We bought so much. Eric might not be able to carry it all."

I found it amusing, with a sense of realization.

"No, I have things to do later. You guys go ahead."

I answered softly, my tone devoid of any emotion.

Jacqueline didn't care, giving me a disdainful glance before saying, "I gave you a chance, but you disappointed me," then she left with Eric.

Eric looked smug, waving at me as he left. "Lawrence, I'll leave with Jacqueline."

His words were clearly annoying to me.

But Jacqueline seemed completely unaware, resting her arm on his shoulder.

She laughed lightly with him, asking how he was going to take her out for a meal after she had helped him so much.

Their closeness no longer stirred anything in me.

I had known since Eric joined the company that this day would eventually come.

Back then, Jacqueline made an exception to hire him and brought him as her assistant.

Over the past two years, he had made many mistakes and caused the company to lose millions of dollars, yet every time, Jacqueline would point the blame at me without hesitation.

I couldn't hold back any longer and argued with her, but she remained unshaken.

"Lawrence, don't you think he's a lot like the old you?

"You worked so hard to get to your position, now that you see a young guy just like you, shouldn't you help him out?"

It wasn't until later that I realized, after that moment, that no matter what I said, it was all in vain.

Jacqueline's heart had already changed.

My phone rang. I checked it and saw a message from HR.

[The list for overseas assignments is confirmed. Please come to your post in three days.]