Chapter 2

Cecil snorted, his gaze cold and fixed on me.

He sneered, "Why are you acting like you're the victim? I just spoke the truth. Seriously, you're gonna cry over that?"

Back then, when Cecil had collapsed in the snow, begging me not to break up, I hadn't shed a single tear.

Now, looking at him in his sharp suit, all pride and coldness, I couldn't see a trace of the man I once knew.

I could tell he remembered me. The hatred and disgust in his eyes were so obvious, there was no way I could ignore it.

He clearly wanted nothing to do with me anymore. I figured I'd do one last good deed before I died.

"Sorry. I'll stay out of your way from now on," I said.

I stepped aside and walked away.

When I came back with my cup of hot water, Linda was already back from the restroom.

"Where did you go? I came back and you were nowhere to be seen. You scared me to death," she said.

"I went to get some hot water," I replied.

Running into Cecil was a total fluke. No point bringing it up.

I thought once I handed in the script, my job was done.

But the next day, Linda called me in a panic.

"Cleo, the investors sent the script back. You need to get to the office right now," she said.

When I got to the office, Linda and the investor rep were already in the conference room.

I was invited in, and Linda was sitting there, looking pretty upset, staring at the guy sitting with his back to us.

"Is there a part of the script you're not happy with?" I asked.

I figured this had to be the big shot Linda mentioned, so I went ahead and asked him directly.

After what felt like forever, Cecil's familiar voice finally broke the silence.

"The ending," he said coldly.

Cecil spun around in his chair, his face as icy as ever.

So he was the big investor.

He looked up and met my eyes, like he'd expected it all along.

I held back, but Linda spoke up before I could.

"Mr. Duncan, audiences these days love happy endings. It's what the market wants," she said.

Cecil nodded, and Linda looked relieved, thinking he was finally listening. But then he spoke up, his tone soft but chilly.

"But I don't like this ending. Change it," he ordered.

Domineering CEOs always got their way, never caring if they were actually right or not.

"If you want a different ending, find someone else. I'm not doing it," I said.

I'd bent over backwards for money before, but this project was different. I wasn't about to compromise on this one.

Cecil looked at me, a cold, indifferent smile tugging at his lips.

"Suit yourself. Can't write it? Then pay the penalty, like the contract says," he said.

Linda's face instantly drained of color. I shot her a look, and she secretly scribbled a number on a slip of paper.

It read: [25 million dollars]

Honestly, even if they sold me or the whole company, there was no way we'd ever come up with 25 million dollars.

I let out a quiet sigh and gave a self-mocking smile.

Forget it. I was dying soon anyway. What was the point of holding onto pride now?

"Fine, I'll change it," I said.

By the time the meeting wrapped up, the investors were all grinning, while I was left feeling like their overworked wage slave.

But apparently, the universe decided I wasn't miserable enough yet.

Cecil's assistant, Finn Pierce, rushed over and stopped me. "Miss Kendrick, for easier communication about the script, we'd like you to clock in at our office for the next few days."

I shot a frown at Cecil standing behind Finn, barely acknowledging the others around him.

Wasn't he supposed to hate me? So why did he want me working right under his watch?

I couldn't make sense of it, and my stomach, empty from skipping breakfast, started to protest. So I just nodded and hurried out of there.

In the break room, I'd pulled out my meds when someone pushed the door open.

"What are you doing?" Cecil's voice cut through the silence.

I jumped, and the pills spilled all over the floor. I didn't bother answering him. I just scrambled to pick them up, my heart aching as I stuffed them back into the bottle.

These weren't painkillers anymore. They were my lifeline.

Cecil stood silently, watching me kneeling there, picking up each pill off the floor.

When I was about to toss the last three straight into my mouth, he grabbed my hand to stop me.

"They fell on the floor. You're seriously gonna take them?" Cecil sounded incredulous.

Annoyed, I shoved his hand away.

Eight years had changed him a lot, but his neat freak habits never went away.

"None of your business," I snapped.

I quickly swallowed the pills, and Cecil's frown deepened.

After I finished my water, I was about to leave, but he spoke up again.

"What kind of meds are you taking?" he asked.

I stopped in my tracks and shot him a puzzled look.

Seeing my confused gaze, Cecil gave a mocking laugh.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just curious. Did you finally get what you deserve after all the shady things you did?" he sneered.

I couldn't help but smile bitterly to myself. Yeah, it was karma.

I broke the heart of a naive eighteen-year-old kid, slept with him, and then tossed him aside like it was nothing.

Now, with stage-four stomach cancer, I guess this was what I got for being so cruel.

But I wasn't about to let him see me fall apart. I pulled my lips into a reckless, almost daring smile.

"Hate to let you down, but it's nothing serious. Just haven't been eating much fruit lately, so I'm popping some vitamin C," I replied.