Chapter 3

After leaving the house, I went straight to Liam’s company.

Most of his employees recognized me, but their eyes seemed to flit away, as if they were hiding something.

I had a pretty good idea what it was.

Sure enough, before I even reached his office, I heard female laughter inside.

Peeking through the glass, I saw them both sitting at a table, eating. Scarlett picked up a piece of carrot, about to feed it to Liam.

Liam frowned slightly, but still opened his mouth and bit the carrot.

He actually hated carrots.

I froze for a few seconds, standing at the door before I reacted, unable to stop myself from kicking the door open and rushing in, my hand already flying to slap Scarlett across the face.

“Don’t you know he has a girlfriend?! How dare you be so unreasonable! Get out, now!”

Her eyes widened, looking at me in shock after I hit her. Tears instantly welled up, and she stammered, defending herself:

“I didn’t, I really didn’t know who his girlfriend was. We’re just friends. Avery, you must have misunderstood, right, Liam?”

I looked at Liam, who remained silent.

He paused for a few seconds before slowly speaking.

“Avery, why are you so impulsive? Scarlett is an old friend of mine. You shouldn’t just hit people without reason. Apologize to her.”

I held the lunchbox in my hand, my whole body trembling.

Liam, you’re lying again.

The atmosphere grew tense.

Scarlett’s cries were like a knife, slowly chipping away at Liam’s dwindling patience.

“Avery, you’ve gone too far today. You hit someone, you need to apologize! Apologize to Scarlett now!”

He frowned, his fingers tapping on the table, the rhythm quick and agitated.

It had been a long time since I’d seen that expression on him.

Suddenly, a memory flashed in my mind: Liam when he was twenty. I tried everything to please him, but he was so stubborn, repeatedly telling me, “Avery, I’ll never like you. Just give up.”

His face now was exactly the same as it was then.

—Everything, it was all for Scarlett.

Memories churned, and tears blurred my vision once more.

I forced out two words.

“I’m sorry.”

Hearing me, Liam’s frown slowly eased, a faint smile gracing his lips.

“Avery, you should sit down and eat with us too.”

Scarlett, nearby, quickly echoed him, her tone soft but tinged with triumph.

“Yes, Avery, join us. I specially bought this lunch for Liam; it’s from his favorite restaurant.”

She looked at me, a hint of disdain and gloating in her eyes.

I said nothing more, suppressing the raging storm in my chest.

Liam, on the other hand, looked pleased.

I put the lunchbox I was holding back on the table, and he seemed to remember something, freezing.

I knew what he was thinking. I prepared his lunch every day; it had become our unspoken agreement, even a habit.

And today, he had accepted food from someone else.

I smiled subtly. “I brought you lunch. Since you’ve already eaten, I’ll just take it back.”

Liam opened his mouth, and after a long pause, only one word escaped.

“Okay.”

I didn’t linger, turning and leaving without looking back.

Once I was far enough away that I couldn't see him anymore, the delayed surge of hurt finally spilled out.

The employees standing outside the office were all looking at me with strange expressions, but I pretended not to notice, walking out with a smile.

Even as I left, I faintly heard their hushed discussions.

“How could this happen? The CEO’s current girlfriend can’t even compete with his ex.”

“Shh, be careful what you say. I went to college with the CEO. That woman in the office is actually his ex-girlfriend. They used to have a great relationship, quite famous on campus.”

“Oh, I see. So, who will the CEO end up with?”

“Who knows. Anyway, his current girlfriend is really pitiful.”

Yes, I really was pitiful.

I gave a bitter smile, then walked briskly away from Liam’s company.