9. Between Love and Revenge

Today was truly an unexpected Sunday for Lily. Instead of fulfilling her wish to calm herself down and let go of her burdens for a while, she found that her burden was sitting right next to her. Alger sat casually, his phone always in hand. It was Sunday, yet this young boss was still busy with work, checking documents that had been sent via email but hadn't had the chance to review yet.

His attention shifted when Lily stood up.

"Where are you trying to run off to? Don't start another drama and make Mom mad at me again," Alger said firmly, his gaze locked onto Lily, who was pulling her bag—only for Alger to hold it back.

"What the heck, sir? I'm just going to the toilet. Besides, the dress fitting is done, right? You seem way too eager to marry me."

"Don't flatter yourself."

"Just admit it, you still like me, don't you? Could it be that I was your most unforgettable ex? Maybe this whole revenge thing was never real, and you just made it up?"

Alger put his phone into his pocket and stood up. "Ask Mom how insane I was back then. I nearly died—because of who, huh? So don't even think for a second that you were my most unforgettable ex. If anything, you're the ex I hate the most."

"Hate me, but still want to marry me. Weird," Lily muttered quietly.

"What did you just say?"

Lily shook her head, waving her hand in front of Alger's face. "Nothing, sir. I'm just going to the toilet for a bit."

Alger didn't respond, returning his focus to his phone. Work was truly his everything. He didn't even seem to care about Lily—nor was he as ruthless as he had been when they first met. The difference was that Alger's personality was unpredictable. Sometimes he was indifferent, sometimes kind, and other times downright cruel.

Even though Alger had said the wedding didn't need to be extravagant, his parents still refused to let it be simple. Even though it was private and secret, they still added touches of luxury—saying it was for documentation, in case the marriage became real.

Earlier, his mother had also said, "Get married first, fall in love later—not the other way around."

Since everything was done, Alger chose to wait for Lily outside, leaning against his car.

But it seemed like his presence wasn't exactly safe. From the front of a café, Eliza happened to spot Alger standing there—right as Lily stepped out of the same boutique.

"So, Lily said she couldn't go out earlier because she had to accompany Mr. Alger? It's the weekend, poor Lily is still working. Or maybe..."

Eliza immediately walked toward Lily, waving her hand slightly.

"Lily!"

Lily, who had just been in a small argument with Alger, turned toward the voice, her eyes widening.

"What is Eliza doing here?"

"Until you tell the truth, you know what I'll do," Alger hissed before getting into his car first.

Lily let out a sigh. Just a moment ago, she thought Alger was being somewhat nice, but now he was back to his usual threatening mode.

"Why are you here... with Mr. Alger?" she whispered, glancing at Alger through the car window.

Since Alger was also looking at them, Eliza lowered her head slightly. "Good afternoon, sir."

"Hmm."

"So cold," she muttered under her breath before turning back to Lily.

"So, you canceled our plans to go out with Mr. Alger? What kind of relationship do you two have?"

"Work relationship, obviously. What else? You know my job is basically 24/7 now. It doesn't matter if it's the weekend—if he calls with threats, what can I do?"

Eliza chuckled, patting Lily's shoulder in encouragement.

"Stay strong. Even though your weekend is spent with the boss, at least your paycheck increases."

"More like I'm going insane. Monday to Saturday, I see him. Now, Sunday too?" Lily scoffed with a small laugh.

She glanced at her wristwatch, which showed 4 p.m.

"I'll drop the boss off first. Sorry, I couldn't keep my promise to you."

"No worries. If I were you, I'd take the chance to admire Mr. Alger as much as possible. He's insanely handsome."

"Yeah, but his personality is like the devil," she whispered while opening the car door.

Luckily, Alger didn't hear what Lily said. If he had, she would've gotten a long lecture for sure.

Eliza waved as Alger's car drove away, leaving her behind.

She slumped her shoulders again, shaking her head. "Poor Lily. Sunday should be a day to relax, but she's stuck working. I'm kind of scared if they actually end up together in the end."

"Huh? Why scared? Shouldn't I be happy instead?" she muttered to herself. A second later, she smacked her forehead when she saw Lily coming out of a bridal boutique. Now she was really curious about what Alger was doing in a place like this.

"What? Don't tell me Mr. Alger is getting married? Is that why he went into that boutique? And Lily? Is she playing an important role in arranging Mr. Alger's wedding?" Eliza shook her head, grabbed her phone, and immediately went to her group chat to spill this hot gossip to her coworkers. With her face glowing like a true gossip queen, nothing could escape her list of juicy rumors—not even her own CEO.

"I'm sure everyone will be shocked tomorrow when they hear what I have to say."

"What were you talking about with her earlier?"

Lily, who was focused on driving, shook her head. "Nothing."

"I'm not stupid enough to be fooled by you, Lily."

"I never said Mr. Alger was stupid. There's no way a top graduate from abroad and a CEO could be stupid. I just answered exactly what I did earlier—nothing important, and nothing about you, young master."

"Remember what I told you earlier."

Lily only gave a small nod. She was beyond exhausted from being treated like this and controlled by Alger's family.

"A year or a lifetime is a long time, Ly. Are you sure you can live with a man as vengeful as him?" she thought, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Mom, please make Lily strong. Please make sure Lily doesn't end up committing suicide from all this mental and emotional pressure," she continued in her heart.

"Stop!" Alger ordered firmly.

His sudden command made Lily slam on the brakes abruptly.

"Sorry, sir, but you gave the order so suddenly."

Alger didn't answer. He unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the car. His movements made Lily roll her eyes in annoyance, especially when she saw that he was approaching Genifer, whose car seemed to have broken down.

"Great, now I have to wait while he flirts," she muttered irritably, pulling out her phone. Instead of getting out, she decided to stay inside and scroll through her feed.

Knock... knock... knock...

Lily, who was watching a funny video on her phone, shifted her gaze and rolled down the window.

"Yes, sir? Do you need a mechanic to fix your girlfriend's car?"

"Girlfriend?" Genifer echoed.

Alger nodded while holding Genifer's hand.

"If you knew your car broke down, why were you just sitting comfortably inside and asking questions like that?"

"You didn't tell me to call a mechanic earlier. I thought, besides being a great CEO, you were also capable of fixing cars," Lily replied casually.

"But—"

"It's fine," Alger cut in as he opened the car door.

"Get out."

Lily didn't say anything, but she stepped out and raised an eyebrow as Alger got into the driver's seat.

"Jennie, get in. I'll take you home. She can wait with your car."

"Why me? But—"

"This is part of your job, so don't argue with your boss," Alger replied quickly.

Genifer was slightly confused by Alger and Lily's interaction, but she still followed his orders and got into the car, glancing at Lily.

"Wait with my car, and later, drive it to my house."

"Yeah, yeah," Lily replied half-heartedly.

And just like that, Lily was left standing on the side of the road with Genifer's supposedly broken-down car.

"Jennie, get in my car. I'll take you home while she waits here," Lily mimicked Alger's tone mockingly.

"I swear, if I had a husband like that, I'd die young. And to top it off, it's scorching hot, and I have to wait for his girlfriend's car to get fixed."

Meanwhile, inside the car, Genifer kept glancing back at Lily, who was left standing beside her vehicle.

"My car just ran out of gas, Al. Why did you make your secretary wait here? And why did you say you told her to call a mechanic?"

Alger shrugged with a smirk. "Just let her be."

"Wait a second, it's the weekend, and you're out with Lily?"

Alger gave a slight nod, keeping his focus on the road. "There was something important to discuss."

"Work on a Sunday?"

"Working with Alger means being ready for anything," he replied nonchalantly.

"She's your secretary, not your enemy, and she's definitely not a robot, Al. Come on, I know you're a workaholic, but that doesn't mean she has to work 24/7 too."

"She's my subordinate, Jennie. I pay her. Why are you so concerned?"

Genifer was utterly speechless at Alger's response. She shook her head and raised both hands in exasperation. "I seriously can't understand you. And one more thing—why did you act like we're dating just now? When in reality, we…"

"Just help me out this time. Consider it a favor for me keeping my promise. So—"

"So you want me to help you torment your secretary? You're making me look like the villain here," Genifer cut in, frowning.

"I don't care. She may be my secretary, but you have no idea what happened before this."

"Did you two have a past? Or… do you still have feelings for Lily?"