Chapter 6
“That’s enough! Stop making a scene!” Ryan covered my mouth with his hand and dragged me out of the office. He pressed so hard I could barely breathe.
Inside, I heard Chloe laughing it off to our colleagues: “Now that we’ve found the necklace, no harm done! We’re all coworkers after all, so I won’t pursue this. I’ll order afternoon tea for everyone as a thank you!”
Ryan, clearly terrified I might reveal our relationship to everyone, pulled me into the break room.
“What exactly are you trying to do?” he hissed, massaging his temples as if I were giving him a migraine. “Even your tantrums should have limits.”
I gasped for air, blue–purple marks forming where his fingers had dug into my face.
“When did you become like this?” he continued. “You’re lucky Chloe is forgiving. Go apologize to her immediately!”
“I won’t apologize for something I didn’t do!” I glared at him, wondering when the man I loved had become this stranger standing before me.
Chloe entered the break room and filled a paper cup with hot water, offering it to me.
“Here, Evelyn. Drink this and calm down. I understand you resent me, but you can’t act so impulsively next time.”
I refused the cup, and Chloe pretended to burn her fingers on the hot water, spilling it onto my arm.
“Ouch! That’s hot…” she whimpered as a few drops touched her fingertips. Ryan immediately rushed her to the sink.
Meanwhile, my thin blouse was soaked through with scalding water. My arm burned fiercely, the skin turning white then angry red.
I went to the bathroom alone to treat the burn. By the time I returned to collect my things, blisters were forming on my wrist.
Ryan intercepted me, grabbing my injured arm.
“Ah!” I cried out in pain. He released me, startled.
“Are you okay?” he asked awkwardly.
I almost laughed at the absurdity. The handprint on my face was his work. The burn on my wrist was Chloe’s deliberate act. And now he was pretending to care?
I yanked my arm away and began sweeping my scattered belongings into the trash.
He seemed about to say something more but turned away with only a parting comment: “You were too emotional today.”
After cleaning up the mess, I headed to the security office. I wasn’t going to let their false accusations stand.
20:52
Just a Stand
Chapter 6
But the security staff blocked my request to view the office footage, claiming only current employees could access surveillance videos. I discovered my employee account had already been deactivated–Ryan’s doing, no doubt.
He’d moved quickly to erase my access, clearly having decided I was guilty.
Then I remembered this tech company was actually owned by the Lambert family’s conglomerate. Perhaps I could speak with Alexander directly about this injustice.
Back at the apartment Ryan and I had shared for six years, I packed everything that belonged to me, clearing out my possessions and this relationship like taking out the trash.
That evening, a delivery person arrived with burn ointment. I left it on the table, taking one last look at our empty home before walking away.
The next day, I booked a flight back to my hometown and carefully handed over all my unfinished work.
On the third day, before boarding my flight, I directly sent Ryan a breakup message to his work account.
20:52
