Chapter 3

Then Nola's sharp, furious yelling crashed in my ears like thunder.

She screamed, "Winnie! I thought you were my bestie, but I didn't expect you to be so shameless!

"You watched Julian propose to me just now. As my bestie, you couldn't even bother to congratulate me, and now you're flirting with him right in front of me!

"How can you do such a despicable thing? How could you do this to me?"

Julian quickly grabbed her hand and scolded her in a low voice, "Enough, Nola! Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough already?

"Are you crazy? How could you slap Winnie?

"Shut up!"

I covered my face, using every ounce of strength just to keep myself from falling.

The whole story was so ridiculous, it felt like something out of a bad drama.

I never imagined that one day Nola would say those things to me.

Nola was my childhood friend. Her family didn't have much, and she was never the best student.

I had done my best to take care of her, even bringing her into the company and helping her land a job when I got promoted to department manager.

She was always with me, acting cute and clingy.

She'd say, "Winnie, you're always so good to me. Without you, I really don't know what I'd do.

"Winnie, thanks for helping me get this job. You're the only one who thinks about me.

"Winnie, I'm really jealous of you for having such a good boyfriend. If only I could find a guy like Julian someday."

But now, in front of everyone, she kept shouting that I was "shameless" and "despicable," throwing those words at me over and over.

I shook my head with a bitter smile, and when I looked at Nola again, my gaze was icy. Any warmth I once had for her was gone.

I said coldly, "Nola, you'd better watch yourself. You know exactly what you've done. Don't force me to expose you."

A flicker of panic flashed in Nola's eyes, but she still refused to give in.

She snapped, "Winnie, I know you're my leader now, but you don't have to try to intimidate me!

"You wouldn't ruin our love for so many years! You've always had a crush on him.

"And now that we're finally getting married, you can't hold it, so you're throwing yourself at him right in front of me!

"You're really shameless!"

Nola's voice was piercing and loud, her insults echoing through the office. Soon, coworkers started gathering, eager to watch the drama unfold.

Just now, there was a whole proposal scene, and now the "fiancée" was catching them red-handed. Of course, everyone rushed to back the one who looked like the victim.

Someone muttered, "I always thought Winnie and Julian were a bit too close, but I didn't expect her to be such a person."

"Come on, Winnie wouldn't be like this. She's good-looking and super talented. Why would she need to steal someone else's boyfriend?" another chimed in.

"Maybe she was just born shameless. She probably loves snatching her bestie's boyfriend," someone sneered.

"That's so disgusting."

All the gossip and whispers buzzed around me.

My face went pale as I stared at Nola, who was acting all aggressive in front of me.

At this moment, I seriously considered just exposing everything, even if it meant dragging everyone down with me.

Just as I was about to lose control, a warm arm suddenly wrapped around my shoulder gently.

I turned around and saw Kian's face. His expression was forbidding, like a wall no one could cross.

Everyone, including me, gasped in shock.

Someone blurted out, "Damn. What the heck is happening right now?"

"Why did Kian suddenly come, and he's got his arm around Winnie?" another person exclaimed.

Someone else gasped, "This is a total bombshell!"

The moment Kian spoke, everyone went quiet.

He said coolly, "I spent half a year winning Winnie over. You really think she'd ditch me for Julian?"

Nola was totally dumbfounded. Her mouth hung open, trying to speak, but nothing came out.

She stammered, "Mr. Hart, that's not..."

Julian's face instantly turned dark, his eyes locked on me as if I had done something unforgivable.

One of the gutsier coworkers couldn't help but poke their head in, curiosity getting the better of them. "Mr. Hart, does that mean Winnie is your girlfriend?"

Kian shrugged and replied, "Didn't you see her holding my jacket?"

Everyone's eyes shot straight to the jacket in my arms, and another round of shocked gasps rippled through the crowd.

But before anyone could even process what he said, Kian dropped another bombshell that shook everyone.

He said calmly, "Girlfriend is not really accurate."

His hand slid from my shoulder to my waist, and with a gentle pull, he drew me into his arms completely.

He continued, "Winnie is my fiancée now.

"Just now, she finally agreed to my marriage proposal."

"Right, my fiancée?" he added, looking at me with a teasing smile.

All eyes were on me again, but this time, the curious looks and snickers were gone. Now everyone was straight-up jealous, for real.