Chapter 3

"Huh? But isn't Mr. Jansen married to Tabitha?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down. Tabitha is still here!"

"We're just joking, Tabitha. Don't take it to heart."

I glanced at the spread of mango parfaits and chocolate cakes. Of course, it was for Sasha. Feeling bad that her dieting might harm her health, Luther had treated the whole office to afternoon tea.

I was mildly curious as to how the snacks that were a testament to their love tasted. Unfortunately, I was allergic to mangoes and didn't enjoy chocolate.

Back when Luther had courted me, he had been just as over-the-top. He had been worried about me skipping meals due to work and found excuses to make me eat by having me stay back with him to report my work progress.

When I had fallen sick but insisted on working, he had secretly hidden medicine in a small cake. Then, he had convinced me to eat it just to see my expression as I grimaced from the bitterness.

The once-dull office had become lively and filled with gossip as my colleagues watched our relationship blossom and unfold.

But now, the recipient of all that affection and effort was someone else.

I didn't have time to dwell on it, as my workload was overwhelming. I had already stayed late for several nights to meet the demands of this project. Unsurprisingly, I stayed back to work overtime again that night.

The sky had gone completely dark by the time I realized someone was standing next to me. "Tabitha, are you still working overtime?"

I looked up and saw Luther. I couldn't fathom why he had come to find me.

"Do you need something, Mr. Jansen?" I asked.

He seemed slightly uncomfortable with my formal tone but quickly got to the point. "How about we let Sasha take over this project?"

Even though I had braced myself for this possibility, his words still stung.

Luther continued, "Sasha has been dealing with too many rumors lately. If this project is credited to her, her abilities won't be questioned anymore."

He knew how hard I had worked to secure this project. I had stayed up multiple nights, tirelessly pitching ideas and negotiating until my voice had become hoarse. Yet with one casual suggestion, he decided to hand it over to her.

Every word he spoke was in defense of Sasha—to ensure she wouldn't be hurt by the gossip. However, he didn't for one second consider how unfair this was to me.

I let out a soft, bitter laugh, finding it all too ironic. I said, "Sure, I'll hand it over to her. Ask her to come to me tomorrow, and I'll pass the project to her."

I had already done more than enough for this company. With my resignation in mind, leaving Sasha to take over and handle the follow-ups was actually a relief.

Luther seemed surprised by how quickly I agreed.

He pulled out a jewelry box from his pocket and handed it to me. "Didn't you say you wanted a necklace from this brand? I'm sorry for my behavior before. I should have known that women liked little things like these. I'll make it up to you from now on."

It was a necklace from the brand I liked. I had mentioned wanting one a long time ago, but he hadn't bought it for me when it mattered. Now, it felt meaningless.

Besides, I didn't care for gestures that were done for the sake of appeasing or making it up to me after the harm was done.

After I agreed to hand over the project, Luther's tone softened noticeably. He draped his jacket over my shoulders and said, "Come on. Don't be mad at me anymore. I apologize for the elevator incident, okay?

"Let's withdraw the divorce application. You've always wanted to visit Dernby, right? I'll take you there when things settle down."

I didn't respond. He must have assumed my silence was an implicit agreement to go by his suggestion. After that, he went on and kept mumbling about a lot of things that I had no interest in.

On my way home, I scrolled through my social media feed. That was when I saw Sasha's latest post that featured the same necklace brand and the same packaging.

The only difference was that her necklace was far more beautiful and intricate than mine.

It hit me then—what Luther had given me was just a promotional freebie.

How ridiculous! Even though he knew what I liked, he couldn't be bothered to put in the effort to select a nice gift for me.