Chapter 2

Jonathan furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes at me, his impatience obvious.

"If you hadn't pushed her away back then, she wouldn't have ended up working there, and none of that mess would've happened," Jonathan said.

That was when it hit me that I'd missed something important.

How did Jonathan even know where she worked?

According to the GPS, his car had been parked in that underground garage quite often over the past year.

I'd always assumed he was there for business meetings with some important clients he was close to.

But now it looked like he was the one who got Wanda the job, and all that talk about cutting ties was just a lie.

I never really moved on from that chapter, and Jonathan never got over Wanda either.

I held back the bitterness, forcing a smile.

"If that's what you think, then I'll take Biscuit and leave," I said.

Jonathan froze for a moment, and then his expression softened.

"Alright. Biscuit can't be without you. Once Wanda's healed up, I'll have you both come back," he said.

I didn't say anything but just watched him quietly.

Maybe I was being too understanding, because Jonathan actually seemed a bit awkward.

To lighten the mood, he actually reached out to hug me. It was something he rarely did.

He'd barely ever made the first move in the past year, and now he was doing it because of someone else.

But before he could, Wanda's startled cry from inside the room cut him off.

Jonathan didn't even spare me a glance. He rushed over to Wanda, worry written all over his face.

Through the crack in the door, I saw him kneeling beside Wanda, gently blowing on her arm.

"It hurts, doesn't it? Make sure you don't get it wet," he said softly.

"But I need to wash my hair," Wanda said.

"I'll wash it for you. Be careful, alright?" Jonathan said.

Watching his back, my eyes burned, but the tears just wouldn't fall.

Maybe I'd run out of tears.

Our love started back in school, and I always thought we'd go from school straight to our wedding.

I stood by Jonathan's side as he matured, from the campus heartthrob and top student to the chief investment officer at a top investment bank.

He was still incredible, and my heart still skipped a beat for him every single day.

At this moment, my heart was shattered bit by bit by Jonathan, and it just couldn't bring itself to beat for him anymore.

Jonathan, I'd never come back.

I moved out to a cozy little apartment in the suburbs.

My parents bought it for me before I got married. It was a backup plan, just in case I ever needed a way out.

I took a couple of days off to get myself together.

When I got back to the office, everyone was sneaking glances at me.

I asked my assistant what happened, and she hesitated before answering. "Ms. Lane, that intern Mr. Reed used to mentor is back," she said.

Just then, Jonathan walked by with Wanda right beside him.

At 6'2", he deliberately slowed his pace so Wanda could keep up.

It was just like when things were at their best between us. He was as gentle and considerate with her as he used to be with me.

My assistant said, "Everyone in the office is talking about how Mr. Reed treats her differently, but you shouldn't take it seriously. I've worked with you for years, and I know how close you and Mr. Reed are."

We really were close, once.

Jonathan's open, passionate love for me made him the ideal boyfriend in the eyes of many of our colleagues.

When it came to the hot topic of "You don't love me anymore", I was definitely qualified to speak on it.

"We've broken up," I said.

That one sentence set off a storm in the office.

Everyone traded glances, their eyes full of complicated sympathy for me.

Jonathan and I worked in separate departments, so we barely saw each other.

The only time we were guaranteed to cross paths was during the weekly meetings between the investment and operations departments.

Normally, interns didn't get to join, but Jonathan was determined to give Wanda a shot and made sure she was included, despite all the objections from the others.

That really rubbed my team the wrong way.

Before Jonathan even showed up, the tension in the room was really thick.

"Since the intern's allowed to join the meeting, I guess she's got what it takes to handle the next quarter's economic analysis report, right? Mr. Reed's people must be pretty impressive," one of my team members said.

"Oh, she's definitely got skills. Just not sure what kind of skills we're talking about," another chimed in.

"Yeah, she's hardworking. Working all day, and maybe even 'working' overtime at night," someone else snickered.

I kept it classy and spoke up to shut them down.

After all, we were just the support crew, and Jonathan was way above me in the pecking order. If I got on his bad side, there was no guarantee I could keep my people safe.

Wanda bit her lip so hard, and her eyes were shining with unshed tears.

Jonathan spotted her distress the moment he walked into the meeting room.

"What's wrong? Did someone give you a hard time?" he asked.

"No, it's nothing. Maybe Sophia's people misunderstood me, that's all," Wanda replied.

Jonathan comforted her gently, and then turned to look at me.

He didn't even ask. He just gave me a glare so icy that it cut right through me.

"Bringing your personal feelings into the office and leading the team to ostracize a new hire? Edith, you should apologize," he said.