Chapter 6

Inside, the air was as frozen as a river of ice. Only Julian and I remained, in a silent standoff.

The tenderness on his face from moments ago hadn't fully faded. When he looked at me, though his face was full of affection, there was also a hint of guilt.

I looked at him, his face, familiar from ten years of being together, now felt utterly strange.

My nails dug deep into my palms, using the sharp pain to force myself to maintain my last shred of composure.

“Why did you fire Chloe?” I asked, my voice steady from extreme effort. “She’s been with me for three years, never made a single mistake, and she wouldn’t be ‘incompetent’ for no reason.”

Julian’s eyes flickered, then he adopted a formal, business-like expression.

His brow furrowed. “Anya, I know Chloe is your person. But this time, she went too far!”

He paused, seemingly weighing his words, or perhaps eager to clear his name. “Yesterday morning, Skylar… oh, Assistant Skylar, was only half an hour late.”

“You know, young people, occasionally oversleep, it’s understandable.”

“But Chloe? She actually yelled at Skylar in the office, in front of so many people, making her cry!”

“Her words were extremely nasty, saying she was ‘ill-mannered’ and ‘holding us back,’ even… even hinting she got her position through improper means!”

“This is blatant personal insult! The company is a place of rules; we can’t tolerate this kind of behavior!”

“That’s why I fired her. It’s to maintain the company’s image and to give newcomers a fair environment!”

“Chloe yelled at her? And insulted her personally?” I almost scoffed.

I knew Chloe’s personality better than anyone. If something could be solved by docking pay, she wouldn’t waste an extra word.

“Julian, Chloe isn’t that kind of person. She…”

“Anya!” Julian abruptly cut me off, his voice suddenly rising, filled with the indignation of his authority being questioned. “What do you mean? Do you think I’m lying? Or do you think Skylar is lying?”

He stared directly at me, his gaze sharp and cold. “Skylar is my junior mentee. She has a pure heart, none of your complicated schemes! She cried until her eyes were swollen, do you think she was faking that too?!”

“Pure heart? *You guys*?”

I repeated his words, each one like a poisoned needle, pricking my heart.

That pathetic performance just moments ago was still vivid in my mind, and he believed she had a pure heart, meaning he believed *I* had pushed her.

Chloe and I were “you guys,” so, the two of them were “us”?

Realizing this made my chest ache, almost suffocating me.

The atmosphere instantly dropped to freezing.