After Carol left, I approached Janet. "Janet, Will's suspension is only temporary. Once things are cleared up tomorrow, I'll help you get reinstated as soon as possible.""Thank you for standing up for me earlier. I don't even know your name yet.""I'm Shelia. Let's exchange phone numbers so we can keep in touch tomorrow."Janet had a gentle voice and looked about 20. Her short brown hair had a playful streak of pink, and her nose was dotted with freckles. She had slight buck teeth, but there was a natural sexiness about her."You can go home and rest today. I'll have a driver take you," I said, walking Janet to the hospital entrance."That's not necessary. I can take a taxi. You've already helped me so much." She seemed hesitant about my kindness, as if afraid of being a bother.Suddenly, a convertible sports car pulled up in front of us. The door opened, and a blond man in sportswear and sunglasses stepped out."Mason?""Shelia?"We called out each other's names almost simultaneously
"Wasn't she fine this afternoon? How did she suddenly have an asthma attack?" Mason peeked into the hospital room, then asked me and Janet's roommate in a low voice."You have the nerve to ask? It's all your fault. Haven't you seen the gossip online?" I snapped."How is this my fault again?""See for yourself." I handed him my phone."How can these entertainment reporters write such nonsense? When did Carol become my girlfriend? At most, she's my sex friend! And she's always the one throwing herself at me.""Wait, this photo of Carol's back isn't right. How could Janet have hurt her? It's clearly from when I dripped wax on her back last night. I even took a photo to remember it," Mason said, pulling out his own phone. "The shape is identical, look. Don't swipe right though, the rest are even more intense.""You played BDSM with Carol last night, and today you're here pursuing Janet? Do you have any sense of morality?!" Looking at the photos on Mason's phone, I felt like my eyes h
Since Esther and I returned from Will's interrogation room two days ago, Esther has become even clingier, probably trying to mend our relationship.These past two days, she's been coming to the company at lunchtime to invite me out. I haven't refused.After lunch, we were driving back to the office. But at the reception of Thornton Group's building, I saw Shelia!She wasn't alone. A young girl stood beside her, along with that annoying new boyfriend of hers, Gregory!"Are you here to see me?" I asked, approaching Shelia."Your company allows dating during work hours? No wonder your stock prices dropped again recently," Shelia's tone was full of hostility."Can't we talk civilly anymore?" Shelia's attitude stung a bit."I'm not here for you. I'm here for Carol. But your company's security won't let us in.""What do you want with Carol? Has she caused trouble again?" I frowned slightly."False accusation, defamation, causing my client to have an asthma attack that nearly killed
That evening, I saw Carol's apology video online. I quickly created an online chat group and forwarded it to Janet and Gregory.Gregory: Haha, no wonder she couldn't make it big in Hollywood after three years. Her acting is so over the top.Me: Trying to squeeze out tears when there aren't any.Janet: Thank you both so much for your help. Let me treat you to dinner this weekend.Gregory: Wait until you get the compensation from Carol first.Janet: The compensation doesn't really matter. I just wanted to clear my name.Me: You're too kind. We can't go easy on people like Carol!After chatting with them for a while, I received a text from Hugh:"You haven't set a time for tomorrow yet.""9 AM," I replied.After sending that message, I turned off my phone and prepared to shower and sleep.I recalled Hugh holding Esther's hand as they returned to the office building at noon. I couldn't remain completely unmoved, but it didn't sting as much as before. Since moving out of the Thorn
At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but after three traffic lights, the car was still right behind us."Did anyone follow you when you drove here today?" I asked Hugh."I didn't notice. Why do you ask?""I suspect someone's following us. Look at that black Volvo in the rearview mirror.""Henry, deliberately slow down. See if they'll overtake us," Hugh said.Sure enough, when Henry slowed down, several cars behind us passed us. But the black Volvo remained behind us. Hugh's face gradually darkened.I took out my phone and secretly photographed the car's license plate in the rearview mirror.When we arrived at the Warner Group's private hospital, the black Volvo didn't stop but drove straight ahead."Henry, you don't need to follow me to see the doctor. Go investigate this car first," Hugh said, showing Henry the photo I took."I guess I'll have to trouble you to accompany me to the doctor," Hugh said, holding onto my arm with his left hand as if clinging to me."Consider
”Shelia, is what Esther said true? We met 5 years ago?" I never expected Esther to bring such news."I knew you, but you didn't know me. I wasn't deliberately hiding it, it's just because... because..." Shelia stammered, reluctant to discuss this."Let me explain for you. Five years ago, you and your friends had a bonfire party in the forest, which caused a fire. Hugh saved you. It was an embarrassing moment, so you've been keeping it from Hugh all this time," Esther interjected."I wanted to tell you once. The day after the fire, when I woke up in the hospital, I went to find you, intending to apologize. But you were still unconscious, with Esther by your side, so I left. I never thought we'd meet again two years later," Shelia explained."You had many chances to come clean with Hugh later, but you never did," Esther pressed."Hugh, I'm sorry," Shelia's voice trembled slightly as she clasped her hands tightly together."Hugh isn't the only one you should apologize to. Do you kno
If there's anything in my life I truly regret, it's agreeing to that bonfire party proposal five years ago.Esther's contemptuous gaze felt like a thousand needles piercing my skin. Hugh didn't scold me, but his silence made me feel even more ashamed.Back then, to protect us from online harassment, the media didn't reveal our real names or photos in any of the news reports. The boy who started the fire was sentenced to one year in prison for arson. The other six of us and I were punished with three months of community service. After the fire, even though we attended the same school, we became strangers, never contacting each other again, all of us too ashamed to recall the incident.After leaving the hospital and returning to the office, I was distracted all afternoon.I searched online for the name of the firefighter called "Jackson". I found some old photos of him. He wasn't particularly tall, but he looked spirited, with a strong square jaw, and when he smiled, he showed eight
After learning about Hugh's car accident, I rushed to the hospital. But when I opened the door and saw Hugh and Shelia chatting intimately, anger welled up inside me.They didn't look like they'd just gotten divorced at all!I struggled to control my emotions, not wanting to lose composure in front of Hugh. Since Travis questioned Hugh and me again last week, Hugh's suspicions of me have deepened. I thought what happened in Dekka would stay buried there forever. But those people aren't planning to let me off the hook.These past few days, I've been trying to fix my relationship with Hugh - having lunch with him, listening to his work problems, actively participating in medical events.Just when things were finally improving between Hugh and me, Shelia shows up to stir up trouble. She's like a queen bee, shaking her butt at a swarm of men, but she's still not satisfied! She has to come and seduce Hugh too!Fine! I've prepared a knife that can wound you as well.I learned about the