Chapter 7
After exiting the police station, I exhaled deeply.
It was such a lovely feeling to get out of the unhealthy relationship I was in. I should’ve left Donald sooner.
“Ms. Swan, would you like to take a look at the company first or…”
Hannah Welsh, the secretary Dad arranged for me, had already gotten everything in order.
“Let’s head to the office,” I said.
My family’s holdings company owned hundreds of subsidiaries. Even though I had a team of excellent helpers, I still felt pressured by the work I had ahead of me.
When I got back to the office, the company was in the middle of conducting interviews with prospective new hires. A seemingly nervous young man bumped into me, nearly spilling his coffee on me.
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Swan! I didn’t mean to bump into you.”
He had a handsome face, and upon closer inspection, I noticed that his fluttering eyelashes made him seem rather meek and docile.
“You recognize me?” I asked. I had joined the company in secret. Technically speaking, no one knew who I was yet.
The young man stiffened as if he had been exposed, and his ears turned scarlet.
“It’s fine. Just do a good job. That’s the most important thing.”
The elevator had reached the top floor, and I was amused to see the young man still staring dazedly at me.
“You know, I’m in need of an assistant–”
“I can do it! I’ll be a great assistant!” the young man cried out, his cheeks still flushed with embarrassment. There was some kind of naivete about him.
“You’ll have to prove yourself to me then.”
At 10:00 pm that night, Hannah showed me the list of new hires.
“Clark Jameson?”
I read out one of the names before remarking, “He sounds like the male protagonist of a romantic comedy.”
“Out of all the new hires, Clark is the most accomplished. He graduated from Haven University, the top college in our country. Not only did he sweep up a huge number of awards during his schooling years, but he also has an impressive employment history.”
“I see.”
Clark, the young man from earlier, didn’t disappoint me after all.
It was raining outside, and the weather wasn’t too good. I didn’t make it a habit of having my employees work overtime, so the lights were out in the entire building as everyone had gone home.
However, I spotted a light down in the lobby.
“Clark?” I exclaimed. “Why are you still here? You’re off work. Shouldn’t you head home?”
Shaking his head, Clark stuffed an umbrella into my arms before running off into the rain.
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Chapter 7
All I could do was chuckle helplessly. After heading home, I told Dad about what happened.
“Clark? Oh, you muddle–headed guy. Have you forgotten about Clark?”
It was only when Dad showed me a photo of him and his family that I realized he was from the renowned Jameson family and a family acquaintance.
“Even as a kid, Clark has always said he wanted to marry you, but you stopped keeping in touch with him after you fell madly in love with that bastard.
“Clark was upset for ages, you know. He even went on a hunger strike at one point and had to be hospitalized. His spirits only improved a few days ago when he found out you’re single again. You better treat him well, you got that?”
Having just gone through a terrible relationship, I felt too hesitant to get involved with someone again. Still, when I think of the earnest look in Clark’s eyes, I couldn’t bring myself anything too harsh.
“We’ll see how things go.”
After all, the new phase of my life had only just begun.
Half a month later, I got a call from an unfamiliar number. I had a strong suspicion it was from Donald.
“Let’s talk, Jeanette.”
After just 15 days, Donald looked like he had gone through hell.
“You really want to break up with me, right? You’re not just kidding, are you?” he asked.
“It’s been so long since I contacted you. Isn’t that enough to prove to you how I feel about you?” I retorted.
Instead of answering that, Donald changed the subject.
“Do you recall that night I got drugged?”
I did, of course. I remembered every little detail that involved him.
During that time, Donald worked extremely hard. To close more deals, he went out drinking and networking with all our prospective clients every night, and one time, he got drugged during a dinner event.
At the time, I was just an ordinary employee who didn’t even have a say in anything, much less meet the clients. However, the same could not be said for Gigi. She was Donald’s secretary, a position that gave her every right to accompany him to all sorts of events.
That night, Gigi tried to force herself on Donald, but I caught her in the act. I gave her a good beating before secretly dealing with the people behind the whole thing.
By the time the sun started rising, I was too exhausted, so I took a nap.
As soon as I came back out, I saw Donald looking at Gigi in guilt and remorse.
“Gigi, I never would’ve thought you’d hurt yourself like that for my sake… Even if something did happen between us, I wouldn’t blame you for it, so why did you do something so foolish?”
I was too young. Allowing my anger to get the better of me, I didn’t even think about telling Donald the truth. I broke things off with Donald instead.
It was then that a rift appeared in our relationship. No matter how many times I tried to explain things to him
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Chapter 7
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later on, he refused to believe me.
Well, when it came to relationships, the lines of right and wrong weren’t always set in stone. Simply put, he didn’t trust me. It didn’t matter what I did. He wouldn’t trust me either way.
“And because of that, you were willing to take care of Gigi for the rest of your life?”
“Yeah,” Donald replied, his expression a little dazed before becoming a little self–deprecating. “But I was wrong. I was wrong about it from the start. Gigi was the one who drugged me, and you were the one who took care of me.”
Letting out a bitter chuckle, Donald continued, “I know it’s too late for me to make such excuses, but we were together for five years. You can’t just give up on our relationship like that, right, Jeannie?”
The familiar nickname made my breathing become a little uneven. I couldn’t recall the last time he called out to me in such an affectionate manner.
Looking up at him, I took a moment before asking, “What gives you the right to say that to me? Donald, I tried to tell you the truth countless times. Did you ever believe me? I got someone to send you the surveillance footage from the hotel, but if I’m not mistaken, you weren’t even willing to look at it.
“All along, you thought I was so hopelessly in love with you that I would never leave you. You were never afraid of losing me, so you didn’t care about hurting me at all, right?”
The decision to break up with him didn’t occur to me at random. The ever–growing mountain of disappointments had accumulated until it reached the point of no return.
“What else do you have to say for yourself?” I asked Donald. “We’re all adults here. You should have a bit more self -respect and sense of propriety.”
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