Chapter 2

At the office, I'm not allowed to speak to him casually. I can only address him as "boss."

Furthermore, his relationship with Jade is just for show. I'm not permitted to embellish or exaggerate it.

After laying down these rules, Donavan vanished for three days.

It wasn't until I called in sick with a fever that he deigned to give me a call:

"Taking a day off after just a few days of work? Aren't you being a bit dramatic?"

"You'll have to go to the hospital by yourself. I'm still on a business trip and can't take you."

The result was exactly as I expected.

I mumbled a feeble "mm-hmm" in my feverish state.

But no sooner had I uttered that sound than a sultry female voice came through the phone:

"Donavan, the zipper's stuck! Help me, quick!"

Although Donavan hastily hung up, I still heard the sound of his hurried footsteps as he rushed to her aid.

When I checked Jade's Instagram again, she had already changed her profile picture.

It now matched Donavan's, forming a couple set.

I remember when we were dating, I always pestered him to use matching profile pictures.

But he always had countless reasons to refuse:

It's a hassle, it's childish, it's tacky...

I don't know what came over him, but he started frantically texting and calling me.

I only replied once: [This is my rest period. Please understand, boss.]

After finishing my IV drip, I returned to the office.

My colleagues remained as cold as ever, piling work onto my desk.

In their eyes, I was probably just some lucky ex-con the boss had taken pity on.

I ought to shoulder more of the burden.

I steadied myself and packed all the couple's items from the storage cabinet into a black trash bag.

If I'd known they'd never see the light of day, I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of bringing them to the office.

Just as I was about to go throw them out, Donavan unexpectedly returned.

Before I could react, he angrily grabbed me and dragged me all the way to the stairwell.

Seeing the trash bag in my hand, the man's face darkened:

"You have time to clean up garbage, but not to return a phone call?"

The overpowering scent of his cologne made me take a step back as I calmly replied:

"I texted you back."

Hearing this, Donavan seemed to ignite like a match as he demanded:

"Why did you call me 'boss' in the text?"

What's the difference between texting and real life anyway?

He was the one who told me to do it, so why was he upset when I did?

Seeing that I had no intention of explaining myself, he let out a cold laugh:

"You know I don't like willful women. You'd better not turn into something I hate."

With that, he snatched the bag from my hand and hurled it to the ground with all his might.

Amid the resounding crash that echoed through the stairwell, he stormed off. Looking at the shattered photo frame and couple's mugs, my heart trembled.

It felt like our years of affection would ultimately crumble into pieces too.

I cleaned up the fragments and called a lawyer to draft a divorce agreement.

After receiving the document, I went to the printing room to make a copy.

Just as I had mentally prepared myself to knock on the door, Donavan opened it first.

Meeting his icy gaze, I calmly handed him the document:

"Sign it when you have a moment."

To my surprise, Donavan didn't even glance at it. He flipped straight to the last page and signed.

Then he nonchalantly handed it back, instructing:

"You're coming with me to a business dinner later. Be smart and help deflect the drinks."

I was puzzled. Donavan could usually hold his liquor extremely well. Why would he need me to intercept drinks?

Before I could voice my question, Jade suddenly popped up from behind him, bouncing cheerfully:

"Boss, you're so thoughtful! You even remembered I have a cold and can't drink?"