Chapter 2

The next day, Claire went to work as if nothing had happened last night, then quietly submitted her resignation to HR.

HR required a one-month notice for resignations, meaning she would have to stay by Nathan's side for one final month.

As usual, she made a cup of full-sugar coffee and placed it on Nathan's desk. Just then, the office door behind her swung open. Her heart, heavy with sorrow, began to race with unintended anticipation.

She fought back her mixed emotions and turned around, only to freeze at the sight of the person standing beside Nathan. The sickly pallor she'd concealed with makeup drained from her face in an instant.

Emily's eyes met Claire's. A sarcastic smirk tugged at her lips, quickly followed by a feigned look of surprise. "Claire!"

"What are you doing here?" Claire stared blankly at her. She still couldn't seem to accept that Nathan was married, let alone to Emily, the stepsister whose father had made Miranda abandon her to start a new life.

"Claire, don't you remember me? I'm Emily Chase, your stepfather's daughter. And now I'm also Nathan's..." She paused, glancing at Nathan with a soft smile before continuing, "Nathan's most important client."

Claire forced a weak smile. She had no idea why they were hiding their marriage, but she no longer cared.

She nodded faintly, feeling no desire to catch up with Emily, and turned to leave. But just as she reached the door, she heard Emily call out, "Wait a minute."

Claire spun around, only to have a cup of coffee splashed directly in her face. Instantly, the cloyingly sweet taste from deep in her memories flooded her senses.

She'd once asked Nathan why he liked his coffee so sweet. Claire could barely recall his answer, but she remembered the kisses full of suppressed desire when he'd roughly pressed his coffee-stained lips to hers. They had been surprisingly sweet.

Emily steadied herself, pretending to stumble, and hurried to apologize. "I'm so sorry, Claire! It wasn't on purpose. This coffee is way too sweet. I just wanted you to make a new one."

Her voice sounded so innocent and wronged. "Nathan, I really didn't mean to—"

Nathan watched the scene unfold with a cold, impassive gaze. Yet all he did was ruffle Emily's hair gently and say, "It's fine."

He then turned to Claire. "Didn't you hear her? Emily doesn't like her coffee too sweet. Make another one."

Coffee dripped from Claire's hair, stinging her eyes. She bit her lip hard and walked out of the office like a defeated woman. But just as she was about to pull open the glass door, Nathan grabbed her arm.

His face cold, he shrugged off his suit jacket and tossed it over Claire's head. "Don't embarrass the company."

She pulled the jacket off, only to realize the front of her shirt was completely soaked, the outline of her blue bra faintly visible through the fabric.

When Claire returned with the fresh coffee and gently pushed open the CEO's office door, she froze. There, by the floor-to-ceiling windows, Nathan had Emily pinned against the glass, kissing her fiercely.

Her feet rooted to the spot, Claire felt her blood run cold.

Before she'd mustered the courage to find Nathan again, she'd asked someone to check on him. She'd been told he'd been single all these years. That was what had given her the strength to see him. Now, that information couldn't have been more wrong.

Wendy Chord, Nathan's other secretary, sidled up to Claire and peeked through the crack in the door. "Don't even think about seducing Mr. Sterling," she said with a sneer. "Looks like he already has a girlfriend, and she's way prettier and more elegant than you."

Claire tore her eyes away from the kiss, too humiliated to speak. She stared at her reflection in the glass door. A dying woman with a gaunt, pale, and lifeless face could never be attractive.

Wendy glanced at the suit jacket draped over Claire's shoulders and scoffed, saying no more, as if she'd seen through Claire's little game.

Half an hour later, Nathan and Emily finally emerged, one after the other. Nathan's cheeks still carried the flush of intimacy. He glanced at Claire coldly and ordered, "Emily wants to go shopping. You go with her."

Emily smiled, reaching up to straighten Nathan's askew tie. "Claire, I just asked Nathan to give you the afternoon off. We should celebrate our reunion properly."

Claire didn't move. Watching their easy affection, she felt her heart being squeezed tightly, and she could barely breathe.

Back in school, Emily had been obsessed with Nathan—so obsessed that she'd isolated and bullied Claire. Once, Emily had cornered her in an alley, only for Nathan to find them when he'd come to pick her up during summer vacation.

After that, he'd kept her close, never letting Emily get near her.

But now, the Nathan who had once protected her stood firmly by Emily's side. It only made sense that he'd defend her now.

At the mall, Claire took another handful of paper bags from the salesclerk and jogged to keep up with Emily, who was already boarding an escalator.

But Emily suddenly stopped, turning to look at Claire with a disdainful smirk. "Claire, let's make a bet. Do you think Nathan would still choose you as he used to, or would he choose me?"

Claire stared at Emily's confident, triumphant face, wanting nothing to do with this childish game.

But Emily had never played by the rules. She suddenly grabbed Claire's shirt and leaned backward. Just as both of them were about to tumble down the escalator, a hand shot out and pulled Emily back to safety.

Claire laughed bitterly. In Nathan's heart now, she didn't stand a chance against Emily.

She tumbled down the escalator, her body bouncing off the steps. In her daze, she saw Emily flash her a victorious grin. Shockingly, she also saw Nathan rushing toward her, his face filled with panic.

She tried to open her eyes wide to see if it was an illusion, but the nonstop physical exertion had pushed her already fragile body to its limit. Then, everything went black.