Chapter 4

As Preston requested, I went to the nearby convenience store and bought what he ordered. I know how dumb I am right now. Thinking that if my two best friends see me now, they will definitely get mad at me.

Well, that's it for now because I'm about to leave Preston. I'm about to do what I should have done a long time ago that was only hindered by my love for him.

"How many of this chips, ma'am?"

"Just give me five," I smiled at the cashier.

The moment I left the convenience store, I traced Preston's location on my phone, it wasn't far from my current location so I immediately took a grab and went there.

When I reached the hotel and entered, I took a heavy sigh and got on the elevator. When I reached the right floor and found their room, I slightly pushed the door open of the private room and there, I immediately spotted Preston.

It felt like my heart was crumpled seeing him feeding Penelope a slice of cake, Penelope's eyes were wide and doe-like as she looked up at him.

The moment Preston saw me, his expression shifted into one of irritation. His gaze darkened and I knew what he was thinking.

Why did I show up?

I knew already that Penelope was the one who sent the message, not him. But I'd come anyway.

"Claudia! Hi!" Penelope greeted me with a wide smile, her voice was sugary as ever.

Preston's eyes narrowed at me and I could feel the tension rise in the room. If his look could only kill a person, I'm already dead.

"Didn't I tell you not to come? Do you not understand that?" Preston snapped, his irritation breaking through.

I opened my mouth to respond, but Penelope quickly jumped in, pouting dramatically. I wanted to roll my eyes at them.

"I'm sorry, Preston. I just wanted some chips, so I tricked her into coming," she said, her voice dripping with superficial innocence.

Preston's hard expression softened as he reached out, ruffling Penelope's hair affectionately. "You little munchkin," he muttered with a fond smile.

I swear, I wanted to break those wine bottles on their faces. The nerve of these two flirting in front of me!

Watching Preston, I knew this was my moment. I let out a heavy sigh and reached into my bag and pulled out my resignation letter.

"Preston," I said, stepping forward, "One of my friends has a family emergency and I need to leave. I need to be there for her so I'll need you to approve this."

Technically, HR should've handled it but since it was me, the HR manager had sent the letter back to me directly.

The lighting in the room was dim, casting shadows across Preston's face. He didn't even glance at the letter as he scribbled his signature, his attention focused entirely on the birthday celebrant.

Just as I was about to take the letter back, Preston grabbed my hand intently. His expression shifted, his brow furrowing as he stared at my hand.

"You... You came here just for this, huh? Really, Claudia?" he asked in a low tone and unreadable.

I nodded.

His face darkened again and for a second, I thought he was going to say something. But then he flinched, pulling his hand back like he'd been burned.

It felt like something in my chest was tingling when I saw his reaction. It was like he didn't want to touch me with his finger anymore.

I realized his fingers had brushed the burn marks on my palm, the ones from making the cake.

He must've been disgusted.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Penelope's eyes light up with sudden interest.

"Oh! Claudia! That red bracelet you're wearing… It looks quite familiar," she said, leaning in. Her smile widened. "I just remembered, a few days ago, I saw something just like that in Preston's trash can."

I watched Preston subtly move his hand to cover his wrist, but I pretended not to notice.

Keeping my voice calm, I replied, "Well, these bracelets are pretty common. If you like it, I can give this one to you."

Penelope didn't respond.

When I walked out of the room, I headed straight for the nearest trash can and threw away the bracelet. I'd worn it for the past seven years, but it no longer meant anything. Just trash... like how trashy Preston to me now.

I went straight to the elevator and while waiting, my phone buzzed. It was Mom calling.

"Hello, Claudia? Did you buy your ticket home yet?" she asked.

"Not yet, Mom." I replied, my voice steady. "I'll book it in a few days. I will update once I buy one."

Before I could hang up, I heard Preston's voice behind me.

"You're booking a ticket? For what?" he asked, his voice sounding confused.

I quickly ended the call, turning around with a blank expression.

"Yeah, there's a restaurant nearby that's super popular," I lied smoothly. "You have to reserve it days in advance if you want to try the menu."

Preston didn't press the matter any further. He just pulled me along to a nearby hotel and booked us a suite that shocked me.

"Why booking a suite with me, Preston? If you want it then you should've go with yourself. I can go home alone."

Or he can just go with Penelope, right? Why he suddenly left there like that?

"You know I had an urgent meeting." He said and quickly got to work on his laptop, handling some urgent business.

Well, if he will just work the entire night, I will do the same thing so I pulled out my own laptop. There was a wordless understanding between us as we worked side by side until the early morning, waiting for a client overseas to respond.

Eventually, I couldn't fight off the exhaustion any longer and before I fell asleep, I was still able to book my ticket.

The next morning, I woke up in bed, surprised to find myself tucked in. Preston was sitting beside me, casually leaning against the headboard, flipping through the financial section of the newspaper.

He glanced at me as I stirred.

"Breakfast was on its way," he said, already picking up his phone to call room service.

Minutes after, our breakfast arrived.

Halfway through our eating, Preston suddenly asked, "Why did you change your phone password, anyway?"

I didn't look up. Why he's asking now? Did he just try to touch my phone while I'm sleeping?

"Nothing. Felt like changing it," I replied casually.

The truth was, my old password was a combination of our birthdays. Since I was planning to leave, it didn't make sense to keep it anymore.

I heard him set down his knife and fork, his tone shifting. "You were always asking me to go to the movies with you, weren't you? There's a theater nearby."

What is it this time? I knew there wasn't an option to say no though, not with the CEO skipping work. So, I just nodded.

The time passed by, it was already 3:00 in the afternoon when we left the hotel and went straight to the theater. Preston was the one who bought the tickets and popcorn but to my surprise, there were no other people in the theater, it was just the two of us.

Well, do I need to confront him? Of course, no!

Sitting in the quiet, almost empty theater, the image I'd once dreamed of played in my mind again. A picture of me... the two of us, snuggled close, sharing popcorn while watching a rom-com movie.

I smiled bitterly. It was a scene that had once felt so romantic to me.

But when it was already happening for real, though, I was struggling to stay awake, yawning every few minutes wishing the movie would finish immediately.

"This is the movie you picked," Preston said, he must've noticed my mood. "You don't like it?"

"It's fine. It's good," I said, not even bothering to fake enthusiasm.

He pressed his lips into a thin line, clearly not convinced. Just as he was about to say something, his phone buzzed.

Without a word to me, he stood up and walked out of the theater.

I wait for almost an hour and even the movie ended, Preston still hadn't returned. Where is he?

"Where are you, Preston..."

Annoyed, I was about to call him when I heard a familiar, sickly sweet voice from a distance.

"Preston! You're really a bully! A handsome bully!" Penelope squealed.

My brows furrowed and turned around. I saw Penelope practically bouncing up and down, clutching a massive stuffed toy as she leaped into Preston's arms, planting a kiss on his cheek. While Preston held her by the legs, laughing softly, but the moment his eyes landed on me, his smile vanished.

My heart skipped a bit.

"Oh, Claudia! I didn't know you were here too," Penelope exclaimed, wide-eyed and pretending to be innocent but a few seconds later, she gasped dramatically, covering her mouth. "Oh no! Don't get the wrong idea! I just got a little excited, that's all…"

Didn't aware, huh?

Preston lightly tapped her on the nose, his tone playful.

"What are you apologizing for?" he said, then turned to me, acting as if nothing was wrong. "The movie's already over?"

I gave him a blank expression.

"What do you think? Do you still see the movie playing?" I said sarcastically that makes his brows furrowed.

Even Penelope looks shocked by my tone.

But before Preston could respond, the shrill sound of a fire alarm rang through the mall.

In an instant, we run to the exit of the theater. Panic spread as people also rushed toward the exits.

"Ouch!" I groaned when someone bumped into me while running pass by. "Preston-"

In the middle of the chaos, I clearly saw Preston immediately grabbed Penelope's hand, shielding her as they ran toward the emergency exit together, leaving me behind.

I didn't bother running to the exit because I noticed some mall officers, they were too calm and insisting there was no reason to panic so I stayed at the theater with some people who were already calm.

Just three minutes later, the alarm was cleared and it had been a false alarm. I saw Preston returned to where we had been standing, looking around. His eyes scanned the area, but I was nowhere in his sight because I already headed to the exit with a heavy heart.