Chapter 1

My boyfriend Edward Quinn's so-called one true love was a world-class drama queen. After he hired her as an intern at our law firm, she either lost key evidence or let a 17 million dollar case miss its deadline.

Whenever a client blew up, her eyes would instantly turn red and she'd look at my boyfriend like some helpless victim.

Mr. Quinn, it wasn't my fault... Summer told me this file wasn't urgent, so that's why it got delayed.'

And every single time, my boyfriend would coldly order me around in front of everyone:

Summer Lynn, you're her supervising attorney. A rookie mistake like that is on you too. Figure out how to fix it before the hearing resumes.'

At midnight, I was alone in the records room, digging through box after box for documents until I was covered in dust. Then I scrolled past Sophie's social media post.

In the photo, my boyfriend had booked out a Michelin-starred restaurant. Surrounded by a sea of gorgeous roses, he was cutting her steak for her with nothing but tenderness in his eyes.

The caption was coy and smug:

I was the one who messed up, but my mentor felt bad that I got scared. He even took me out for a big fancy dinner to cheer me up. Being loved without conditions feels amazing.'

At eight the next morning, burning up with a fever and still covered in dust, I slammed the evidence file I'd pieced together overnight onto Edward Quinn's desk.

He was looking down at his phone, and that soft smile hadn't fully faded from his lips yet. The suit he was wearing was the exact same one from Sophie's post last night.

Hearing the noise, Edward Quinn looked up.

The second he saw how wrecked I looked, his smile vanished and his brows knitted tightly together:

You spent the whole damn night looking for supplemental materials? Summer Lynn, when did your work efficiency get this bad?'

I looked at him coldly.

If your precious intern hadn't treated the client's only original document like trash and shoved it into the bin beside the shredder, I wouldn't have had to spend all night crawling through ten thousand yellowed case files!'

Why are you blaming her?'

Edward Quinn cut me off, clearly annoyed and completely unapologetic.

Sophie already told me. The shredder noise was too harsh, and it gave her temporary ringing in her ears. She was out of it, so she put it in the wrong place.'

I was so mad I laughed.

Temporary tinnitus, my ass.

If she tried that brain-dead excuse in court, even the judge would want her thrown out on the spot.

So that was your excuse for ditching the mess right before trial and taking her out to some Michelin restaurant?'

Edward Quinn's expression stiffened, and a flash of irritation crossed his eyes.

She felt so guilty over the mistake she couldn't even eat dinner. As a partner at the firm, I took her out for a nice meal to calm her down. What's wrong with that?'

Summer Lynn, can you stop acting like some bitter ex and picking on a girl who just graduated?'

The moment he finished speaking, Sophie pushed open the door right on cue.

She was holding two Starbucks coffees. The second she saw me, those carefully made-up innocent eyes of hers turned red.

Summer, don't blame Mr. Quinn. This is all because I'm too stupid...'

She edged over to Edward Quinn with a pitiful look, lightly tugged at the corner of his jacket with two fingers, and let tears pool in her eyes.

I wanted to stay and help you look, but the incandescent light in the records room was too bright. It made my eyes break out and left me dizzy... Mr. Quinn felt bad for me, so he basically dragged me out to eat...'

I looked at her rosy face without a single trace of irritation and rolled my eyes.

Sophie pushed one of the coffees toward me and tried to butter me up.

Summer, you were up all night, so you must be exhausted. I got you an iced Americano on purpose. Have a sip and calm down. The hearing starts in an hour, and we'll still need you to save the day.'

I'd spent the whole night in a pile of dust while running a fever. My lungs felt like I'd swallowed razor blades every time I breathed, and she bought me an iced Americano?

I looked coldly at the hand she held out and didn't take it.

Sophie Sutton, if you spent even half as much effort studying the law as you do playing innocent, yesterday's disaster never would've happened.'

Edward Quinn slammed a hand on the desk, yanked Sophie behind him protectively, and shot me a freezing look.

Summer Lynn, enough already!'

The evidence has been found, so this ends here. You're a senior attorney. Covering for a rookie is part of your job as her mentor. Now take the file to court and get ready for trial. Stop standing here with that face and scaring Sophie.'

I looked at the man in front of me, the one I'd loved for five years, the one who once swore we'd stand side by side and conquer the legal world together.

All of a sudden, he felt like a complete stranger.