Chapter 2

Nora froze.

A flicker of absolute confusion crossed her innocent little face. This was clearly not how her script was supposed to go.

【Why didn’t she hit me?!】

【The stream chat explicitly said she’d slap me the moment she saw us holding hands!】

【If she doesn’t hit me, how is Benjamin supposed to feel sorry for me and start hating her?!】

I sneered inwardly. Hit you? In your dreams, sweetie.

Benjamin quickly let go of Nora’s hand, stepping forward to wrap his arm around my waist.

“Atalanta, don’t get the wrong idea. She almost tripped, and I was just catching her.”

“Oh, I believe you.”

I looked up at him, flashing him my sweetest, most dazzling smile.

“Babe, I have a quick question for you.”

“What is it?”

“I really like this girl.”

I slid my arm through his, leaning in with my usual pampered, spoiled attitude.

“Transfer her to my office. I want her as my personal assistant.”

I needed to keep this girl right under my nose to see what other "plots" she was cooking up.

Benjamin frowned slightly, hesitating.

“She’s doing incredibly well in the Mergers and Acquisitions department. The M&A director specifically requested to keep her.”

Nora’s mental voice immediately erupted with joy.

【The M&A director never said that!】

【The chat was right! Benjamin definitely has feelings for me, his destined heroine. He’s already making up excuses to keep me close!】

【Atalanta is such a clueless idiot.】

The fire in my chest flared up again. I pushed Benjamin away.

“What’s that supposed to mean? I can’t even have one intern?”

“Atalanta, that’s not what I meant…”

“Then what do you mean?” I stared him down.

Benjamin was taken aback by my sharp tone. He subconsciously glanced at Nora.

Nora stood behind him, looking terrified and fragile on the outside. In her mind, though, she was throwing a party.

【Yes! Atalanta is throwing a fit! The chat is so right—the more she throws tantrums, the more annoyed Benjamin gets!】

【Benjamin just looked at me! He’s worried about my feelings! His affection points just went up again!】

I took a deep breath, suppressing the violent urge to slap them both.

“Benjamin, I’m only asking you once.”

I crossed my arms, tilting my chin toward Nora.

“Are you giving her to me, or not?”

I had been pampered by my parents my entire life, and since marrying Benjamin, I had never faced a single "no" from him.

And now, he was hesitating over a mere intern? He had to be joking.

Looking at my cold expression, Benjamin finally sighed.

“Of course. Whatever makes you happy, babe.”

Nora’s mind instantly went into overdrive—

【What?! He’s actually transferring me to her?】

【No way! How am I supposed to romance Benjamin if I’m stuck working for her!】

【Wait... the chat says it’s fine. A transfer will actually make Benjamin feel guilty.】

【He’ll start seeing Atalanta as selfish and unreasonable.】

【Yes, yes! As long as I play the victim, he’ll only pity me more!】

For the next few days, I kept Nora right under my eyes.

But every single morning, the first thing she did wasn’t reporting to me. She would sneak straight into Benjamin’s office.

【Benjamin complimented my financial report today. He said it was better than the senior analysts' work.】

【The chat says: Affection points +10.】

At lunchtime, she would "coincidentally" run into Benjamin in the corporate cafeteria.

【He actually asked if I was eating alone and sat at my table!】

【He said I have a great personality and a strong work ethic—unlike some rich girls who only know how to spend money~】

In the afternoon, when Benjamin came to my office to discuss business and saw Nora working overtime, he’d casually say, “Thanks for your hard work. Don’t stay too late.”

【He cares about me!】

【The chat is so right. The more useless Atalanta is, the more my hard work stands out.】

Sitting at my desk, my grip on the fashion magazine tightened until the pages wrinkled.

Technically, Benjamin hadn’t crossed any lines.

No hugs, no kisses, no suggestive texts.

He probably genuinely believed he was just mentoring a capable, hardworking intern.

But I had to sit there and listen to those mental updates, over and over again.

Until one afternoon, when I went to his office to drop off some files.

That was when I noticed something that made my blood run cold.

The way Benjamin looked at Nora... it contained something unfamiliar to me.

Admiration. And worse—tenderness.