Chapter 2

It turned out Melissa had been beaten by her alcoholic father as a child. So now she'd freeze up whenever there was booze at work events and no way she could touch a drop.

But the client got drunk and tried to force her.

Edward, always composed, just snapped and started throwing punches at the client.

I didn't overthink it, and I understood why she was scared.

So the next day, I went to her, planning to transfer her to another department.

But she just quit on the spot.

I approved it.

Then, Edward stormed into my office, accusing me of driving Melissa away.

I was completely baffled. "Sales has to deal with dinners and drinking. She has trauma around alcohol. Maybe she just wasn't cut out for the sales department.

"I only planned to transfer her. She was the one who didn't want it and resigned on her own."

Edward tugged at his tie, annoyed. "Then just don't make her attend those dinners. Problem solved, isn't it?"

I frowned slightly, unable to believe Edward, who was always rational, would say something like that.

"But entertaining clients comes with the job. If we start giving Melissa special treatment, what are the other salespeople supposed to think?" I replied.

Edward rubbed between the eyebrows, exhausted. His tone carried a trace of impatience. "Her dad used to beat her when he was drunk, so now she's scared to death of alcohol. She just can't handle drinking with clients. Are we really gonna make her go through that just to close a deal?

"Lauren, she's not you. She's not as tough as you are. You can't expect her to be."

It felt like a giant hand clenched around my throat, choking the breath out of me.

Edward knew better than anyone that I'd earned my toughness through every drink I swallowed.

Because of what I'd been through, I was just as scared of alcohol.

But in the early days of business, I swallowed my fear and downed every drink put in front of me.

Then went home and threw up until the world spun.

Edward would always hold me afterward, whispering, "Lauren, once the company's stable, we'll never drink again."

But when the company finally stabilized, I'd built up my tolerance, and he stopped caring for me like that.

And now, the way he spoke up for Melissa—it was exactly how he used to worry about me.

When did it begin?

When did his annoyance toward Melissa turn into sympathy?

I had no idea.

All I knew was the creeping unease spreading through me, pushing me to convince him somehow.

But the argument only escalated until we both walked away angry.

After days of cold silence, I couldn't take it anymore and finally caved. "Then let Melissa come back. She can stay in sales as an assistant and handle paperwork instead. How about that?"

Edward just sipped his coffee, his face unreadable. "Forget it. She's already left. There is no point looking for her now."

I thought that was the end of it.

But on my birthday, just as I was about to cross the street with my cake, I saw Melissa outside the flower shop across the road, reaching up on her tiptoes to pick a petal out of Edward's hair.

They were all smiles, talking and laughing together, way too cozy for my liking.

That was when I realized nothing had ended at all.

If anything, it had only just begun.

Finally, I figured out why I'd had three allergic reactions in the past two weeks.

The first time, it was because I moved Edward's shoes.

He'd spent the entire day running around the wholesale flower market with Melissa.

The second time, it happened because I picked up Edward's watch.

Melissa's shop had opened that day, and he'd gone over to help her sell flowers.

The third time, it was when I drove his car.

He had used the trunk to deliver flowers to her clients.

But why?

Why was Edward helping Melissa open a flower shop and even paying her rent?

A shop in the city center wasn't cheap.

Edward explained, "Melissa lost custody in her divorce because she didn't have a job. She worked in sales so her ex-husband would think she had a high-paying career and give the child back.

"But you pushed her out. You made her lose her job."

His cold stare hit me like a slap, and I shivered.

He was blaming me.

But I couldn't understand what I had done wrong.

I was just trying to move Melissa to a position that better suited her, given what she was dealing with.

She refused and insisted on quitting. I even compensated her with an extra month's salary.

And that was after she closed only three deals over the past six months.

How did that turn into me ruining her livelihood?

Just as I opened my mouth to defend myself, Edward spoke again. "She's a single mother fighting tooth and nail to win back custody. It's already an uphill battle for a woman like her. Yet, you cost her her job. So I helped her set up a flower shop, to give her a stable income and a shot at getting her child back."

I caught a faint flash of pity in his eyes.

It stunned me.

I had no idea when this started.

I didn't even know the details of Melissa's ex-husband.

But Edward knew everything.

The more I pressed, the more he snapped. He called me paranoid.

By the time the door slammed shut, I was already in tears.

From that moment on, it was like we were just two strangers living under the same roof.

I couldn't stand his coldness.

I couldn't stand the way he looked right through me.

Night after night, I lay awake, crying into my pillow.

Half a month had passed, and one night, I just couldn't take it anymore.

I opened the door of his study and wrapped my arms around him from behind, holding on tight.

I swallowed the tremble in my voice. "She can keep the flower shop. But please, promise me you won't go to her again. Okay?"

Edward turned around and brushed away the tears from my face with his fingertips.

The voice that reached my ears carried a softness I hadn't felt in so long.

"Okay," he said.