Chapter 5
That day, Ip
Í my personal stuff from his place a
I handed the work over to Mr. Anderson on time ||
When my y nem found out I had a lever, she led to check om min ||
“Londly, I can’t make it hack right now, and Mrs. Thompson is out of town ton.“[]
“Ask Lucas to take care of you. His mom taught him how to cook:“[]
“It’s a good chance for you to try his rocking.
Her kind words hit a nerve[]
Tears streamed down my fare.||
“Mom, he’ll be rooking for someone else now.”||
“I don’t want his food anymore.“||
Hearing me cry, my mum panicked.||
“What’s wrong, sweetie? Did he upset you’r“]]
“Your aunt mentioned you two haven’t been going to work together lately:”||
“Bid lie do something to hurt you’r
I couldn’t stop crying
“Mom, after this project, there’s a chance for me to transfer to the headquarters“]
“It’s in Chicago, where you are?
1
My mom’s been building her career in Chicago, the economie Jodi,“[]
“The headquarters is based there, and moving would be a huge boost for my career ||
But it’s far from here[]
I used to stay close because of Lucas, never even considering a transfer.||
Now
There’s nothing left tying me lure
I went back to work as usual)
Ju without waiting for Lucas anymore ||
Mr. Anderson pulled me aside.
“Tinally decided to focus on your career, budo“||
“I’m working on my future, but what do you mean?“]]
He pointed to the couple in the corner
While everyone else was grinding away on the same project, those two were in their own world]
Holding hands, pinching cheeks.
Surrounded by heart–eyed emojis
Tcouldn’t even look. “He’s practically my criminal record now.“]]
Mr. Anderson nodded, looking pleased
During our chat, a group of women stormed in.[]
They were carrying bats and shouting
“Which one’s that homewrecker, Sophia?
She seduced my husband, and now he wants a divorce.“[]
“He’s 40, and you still went after him? How desperate are you?!“[]
The office was filled with curses and scandalous accusations
It was obvious they moant business.]]
But Sophia pointed in my direction. “She’s in that room”
The women turned to me.
Their shouting drowned out my coworkers‘ protests.
They charged at me with bats in hand
Mr. Anderson immediately called security
I bolted around the desks.
They chased after me, yelling
I snapped back, “If you’re looking for the other woman, at least bring a photo!“[]
“Do I look anything like her?!”
When security finally showed up and got them under control, I turned to look for Sophia
But she and Lucas had already slipped out in the chaos
Seeing their empty seats, I felt uneasy
Sure enough, Lucas cornered me at the office entrance after work
Heyelled, “Why did you spread rumors about these women’s husbands?“||
*Can’t stand to see anyone happy?”
His irrational words stabbed at my heart.
In front of Mr. Anderson’s stunned expression, I grabbed a decorative vase from the front desk and smashed it over his head
“Lucas, have you lost all sense of right and wrong?”
“Whatever she says, you just believe it?”
A coworker stepped in to pull us apart. []
“Lucas, you’ve gone too far this time.“[
“If Emily hadn’t run fast enough, you’d be visiting her in the hospital right now.”
Lucas shoved the coworker aside.
“Who asked you?!“[]
“If she got hit, she deserved it“]
“Spreading lies means you get what’s coming.“||
I was shaking with anger []
1 grabbed anything within reach and hurled it at him.]
Lucas dodged awkwardly, snarling, “Don’t expect me to ever talk to you again!“]]
After his empty threat, he strutted off like he’d won some battle
Mr. Anderson v
was still processing what happened []
A crowd had gathered at the office entrance, watching the drama]
Even though I was the victim, I felt humiliated
克
Chapter 6
The next day, Laras sirutted back into the office with a teary–eyed Sophia in tow, acting like nothing happened.]
He muttered under his breath, “Next time someone tries to mess with you, don’t he stared. Just go off on them.”
“You’re too nice, that’s why people take advantage of you.
Sophia nodded weakly, her eyes flicking toward me.[]
I’d had enough
I grabbed a cup of hot water from my desk and walked straight up to Lacas
1poured the entire cup over his head.
“Wake up yet?”
They were both caught off guard []
Sophia let out a squeak and ducked behind Latas.
Lucas shot up, glaring at me. “Don’t think I won’t hit a woman ”
“Someone like you-
Slap!
I cut him off with a sharp slap across the face
Lucas’s head snapped to the side.
The entire office went sllent, everyone either sneaking glances or staring outright.
Iyanked off the gold necklace I’d worn for years and throw it at him.]
The pendant hit the flour with a sharp clink
“Here’s your necklace back
1 spoke slowly, deliberately.
“You’re right. Childhood promises don’t mean anything“]
“I’m telling you now, we’re done. Forever. Get out of my life.”
Something flickered in Lucas’s eyes–maybe regret–but he still squared his shoulders and shot back, “Remember what you said
“Don’t come crying to me later.”
He stomped on the necklace, grinding it under his shoe
I turned and walked away.
The office buzzed with whispers
The project was almost over, and it was time to start packing []
After work, I went home and began sorting through my things|||
I called a moving company to help
The movers looked at the little trinkets scattered around my place and asked. “You keeping these?”
“If so, you’ll need to box them up yoursel[“||
I glanced at the small gifts Lucas had given me over the years.]]
Closed my eyes.
“No. Leave them.”
The movers worked fast
I climbed into the moving truck and left.||
I gave the landlord some extra cash to deal with whatever was left behind
The memories of the past faded like the empty apartment I left behind.
After settling into my new place, Lucas called
He acted casual like nothing had happened
“I went to your place. Why’d you change the locks?“||
“Do you need something?
He was silent for a long time.
I was losing patience.
*If not, I’m hanging up. If it’s work–related, tag me in the group chat.”
“Wait!”
He paused, then said lightly, I learned a few new recipes”
“My mom told me to cook for you.”
“Don’t read into it. Just following orders
Back when I used to ask him to cook, he’d always brush me off
“Real men don’t cook,” he’d say, as if it were a woman’s job.||
So I’d never tasted his cooking.
I laughed bitterly.
AND
“No thanks. I’ve already eaten.”
Before he could say more, 1 hung up ||
The project was nearing its end
The day it wrapped up would be the day I cut ties for good
When I got to the office, there were a few flowers on my desk
Still damp with dew.
Looked like they were picked from the side of the road.]
Thorns and all
I carefully picked them up and tossed them onto Sophia’s desk||
Lucas, who’d been watching, turned dark
Tignored him and went back to polishing the project proposal
I wasn’t some prodigy.
Every bit of success 1 had came from hard work and sweat.
If I wanted to move up, I couldn’t afford any mistakes.
Lucas hesitated then grabbed the flowers back
A thorn pricked his finger
The winced, pulling it out.
“Endly, I brought those flowers for you this morning.“]
1 didn’t respond, just kept working
Lucas, embarrassed by my silence, finally tossed the flowers into the trash
I glanced over.
The petals were crushed, their beauty gone.]
