Chapter 2
I was still in a daze when someone knocked on the door.
I looked up.
It was Chloe, standing in the doorway with a bright smile.
“Ava,” she said softly, her tone deliberately gentle.
“I just finished reporting to Mr. Carter. He seemed a little down and said he might go out for a drink. I came to ask, would it be alright if I went with him?”
Her words were straightforward and even polite on the surface, but the smug look in her eyes gave her away.
She had always been like this the past six months, putting on an act whenever I was around.
She played the humble intern, but beneath it was envy and that undeniable pride she could never fully hide.
I looked at her quietly, wondering when Liam had started to change.
What made him fall for someone so obviously fake, so performative in everything she did?
In the beginning, Liam couldn’t stand her.
He used to say she was immature and unprofessional, that she wouldn’t even make it through the internship.
But everything shifted the day he suddenly came down with acute gastritis during a major client visit.
I had been out of town on a business trip.
Word got around–Chloe’d cried her eyes out, camped out at the hospital for two straight days with no sleep.
After that, Liam’s attitude changed.
They grew closer.
Eventually, Chloe started calling him her mentor openly.
By then, everyone in the office knew–Liam had taken in a “goddaughter.”
And me?
I became the joke they all snickered about, calling me “the official wife.”
Every time I heard it, my face turned cold.
Liam would just laugh it off, pinching my cheek.
“Don’t let them get to you. You’re the only one I love.”
But now, could he still say that with confidence?
I curled my lips in a bitter smile, looking at Chloe with quiet contempt.
She kept smiling
“Ava, are you upset?” she asked sweetly.
Before I could answer, Liam came striding up.
“Chloe, didn’t I tell you to wait in the conference room? Why are you here?”
“1. I just wasn’t sure if I should say yes,” Chloe said, nervously twisting her fingers like a scared little girl.
“So I thought I’d check with Ava first.”
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Chapter 2
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Liam’s tone softened immediately.
“If I want your company, why do you need anyone else’s permission?”
“But…” Chloe lowered her head, the corners of her lips barely lifting. She still managed to look hesitant and conflicted, as if she didn’t already know the answer.
Then Liam turned to me, his expression turning sharp.
“Isn’t that enough respect from her? She even came to ask you if it’s okay to have dinner with me, while you can’t even take a joke.”
To him, changing my transfer request behind my back was still just a joke.
And I was still the one overreacting.
But why?
Why did I have to be the one expected to accept that kind of “joke“?
I let out a short, cold laugh.
“Respect? You think this is respect?”
“For the past six months, she’s been playing her little flirtation games with you in front of everyone. Are you really that blind?”
“She brings you breakfast with handwritten notes, clings to your side like a schoolgirl every day. That’s what you call professional boundaries?”
“She practically forced you into this ridiculous mentor–mentee act. She might not feel embarrassed, but everyone else is disgusted.”
“And you still can’t see through it?”
Chloe’s face turned pale.
Her shoulders began to tremble, and tears started to fall.
Liam’s face darkened.
“Ava, when did you become so harsh?”
He let out a short, mocking laugh.
“With that attitude, forget being the official girlfriend–he just sees you as a fling.”
Chapter 2
