Chapter 3

An hour later, Eugene and I stood around Evelyn's hospital bed.

Melissa was sobbing bitterly, her voice trembling with devastation. "Eugene, now you see her true nature? Your secretary is malicious—she's jealous of your relationship with Evelyn, and that's why she did this. You can't keep letting her fool you.

"I've been through more than you have. I'd never steer you wrong."

Eugene frowned with irritation. "Alright, I get it. Selena was the one at fault this time."

I lowered my gaze, refusing to say anything else.

Eugene turned to me, his stare cold as ice. "You really let me down. Evelyn's always been gentle, and I never thought you'd pick on her when I wasn't around. You're fired."

His words made me freeze in place. "Fired?"

He shoved his hands into his pockets, his expression detached. "You hurt Evelyn. Not calling the police is more than generous," he said coldly. "Given your years of service, you'll receive every penny of the compensation you're owed."

Then he turned back to Melissa. "Evelyn's hurt pretty badly. We should postpone the wedding plans. Let's just end this discussion here."

I had no memory of how I made it home. All I could remember was the disdainful looks from Eugene's parents as I left, and the tender way he watched over Evelyn at her bedside. Each of these memories pierced my heart like a sharp blade.

When I finally got home, I was so exhausted that I collapsed onto the sofa and fell fast asleep.

When I woke up some time later, I was surprised to find Eugene opening the door and walking in.

He came over and embraced me, burying his face in the curve of my neck. "I'm sorry you had to endure that," he said softly. "I waited until that fool finally fell asleep so I could come back to make it up to you."

I pushed myself out of his arms with effort. "So you knew all along that I was the one being mistreated. Then why would you do this?"

He rubbed his forehead with a weary sigh. "Selena, if I didn't do this, my mom would never stop pressuring me.

"Just because I'm marrying Evelyn doesn't mean anything has to change between us. Honestly, you leaving the company is for the best. It'd be too hard on you to face them every day.

"You know you're the one I love. If you can just accept this arrangement, we can still be together. Isn't that what really matters?"

As he spoke, Eugene reached for me again, trying to pull me back into his arms.

I shoved him away in disgust, yanking the necklace from my neck and throwing it directly at him.

"I don't like sharing my possessions with other women, and that includes men," I stated coldly. "Eugene, we're done."

With my already packed suitcase in hand, I stormed out and slammed the door behind me.

Eugene stood there completely frozen, unable to process what had just happened.

*****

I spent the night at a hotel.

Throughout the evening, Eugene repeatedly called and texted me, but I ignored all his attempts to reach me and eventually blocked his number entirely.

A few days later, I returned to the office to handle my work handover. The moment I walked in, I found Evelyn sitting on Eugene's lap, her arms wrapped around his neck, while Eugene casually held her by the waist.

As soon as Evelyn noticed me, she quickly got to her feet.

Eugene frowned and asked, "Why didn't you knock?"

"Pretty sure this is my office," I replied.

Eugene had nothing to say in response.

Evelyn chimed in, putting on her sweetest voice. "I asked Eugene to give me a tour around the company. I thought this room looked really nice, so I wanted to have a look. I honestly didn't know it was yours."

Not interested in playing along with Evelyn's little act, I just went over and began gathering my personal things. "It makes no difference to me. I'll be gone soon anyway. Feel free to turn this place into a bathroom if you want," I said coolly.

Just as I was reaching for the photo frame on my desk, Eugene's hand shot out and grabbed it away.

"Didn't you see the message I sent you?" Eugene demanded.

I knew exactly which message he was referring to.

Last night, I got a text from an unfamiliar number.

It read: [Look, I know you're angry about getting fired. I'll handle things with my mom. Just take some time off and come back to me when you've cooled down. But don't bother playing hard to get anymore; it won't work on me.]

I brushed his hand away, my voice cold and detached as I replied, "I saw it. That's why I came here to resign of my own accord."

I had barely stepped out of the building with my things when Eugene rushed out after me and grabbed my hand.

"Just stop this. If you keep it up, you'll just embarrass us both. That little performance in there was just to get me to come after you, wasn't it? Well, you got exactly what you wanted," Eugene said, his tone dripping with self-righteous certainty.

I couldn't be bothered with his wild imagination. I tried to wrench my hand free, but he held on tightly, refusing to let go no matter how hard I struggled.

Just then, his phone rang.

He answered the call without ever taking his eyes off me or loosening his grip.

After listening for a moment, Eugene snapped into the phone, "If your wound has opened, just go to the damn hospital already!"

I shot a cold look at the frantic man in front of me and said, "After all this time acting, it'd be a shame to let your performance go to waste."

With that, I smoothly slipped my hand from his and left the building to which I'd given four years of my life without a backward glance.

As the cab carried me away, a deep sense of peace settled over me. It was as if a great weight on my shoulders had simply vanished.