Chapter2

I was never going to wait around for him again.

A few close colleagues from the company invited me to a dinner party. Figuring we had been through a lot together, I decided to go.

We were in the middle of eating when the female engineer sitting next to me suddenly let out a hushed gasp and held up her phone.

"Holy shit, is Sophia publicly marking her territory?"

On the screen was Sophia's Instagram update from five minutes ago. It showed two glasses of red wine, accompanied by just two words: "Good Night."

In the bottom left corner, a man's wrist was visible. Pinned to the white cuff of his shirt was a men's cufflink.

I stared at that cufflink, a wave of stinging bitterness flooding my eyes.

It was a global limited edition. Last year, during the company's hardest times, I had spent half a year's savings and asked someone to bring it back from Paris just to celebrate our three-year anniversary.

When I handed it to him, entirely full of joy, he had only given it a cursory glance. "It's too flashy. You know my personality, I never wear eye-catching things like this."

He had only recently started wearing it. I had originally been happy, foolishly thinking he still cared about me, but it turned out to be nothing more than a cruel irony.

The colleagues at the long table had already started gossiping. "Who's the guy? He's actually wearing Van Cleef & Arpels haute joaillerie." "Look at the texture of that shirt, it has to be some Wall Street big shot. I knew Sophia's background wasn't simple."

I picked up my water glass, forcing down the severe lump in my throat, and spoke. "That's Daniel."

The chatter at the table came to a dead halt. Over a dozen pairs of eyes looked at me in pure shock. "Emma, are you joking..."

Before the sentence could be finished, the banquet hall doors were pushed open by a waiter.

Daniel and Sophia walked in, one after the other. Draped over Sophia's shoulders was Daniel's suit jacket.

A waiter asked in a low voice what they would like to order.

Sophia smiled and glanced at the menu. "Daniel, let's order the couple's ice cream, we haven't tried it yet."

A colleague who had a bit too much to drink couldn't help but jeer excitedly. "Daniel, we just saw the Instagram post Sophia put up! We were guessing who the mystery boyfriend was!"

Hearing this, Daniel tilted his head and shot me a glance.

"It's fine, it's just dessert, let's try it."

The vibe at the table instantly became excruciatingly awkward.

I stared down at the plate in front of me, my stomach cramping violently.

"Let's sit first." Daniel pulled out the empty chair next to me and settled Sophia into it.

The moment Sophia sat down, the jacket slipped off her shoulders slightly.

Daniel leaned in with practiced ease and adjusted the jacket for her.

Someone at the end of the table immediately let out a loud whistle.

A colleague finally couldn't hold back and asked. "Boss, are you and Sophia really together?"

Daniel chuckled. "You guys actually believe that? That Ins post was just a lost bet Sophia made with her girlfriends."

He swept his gaze over to me. "You didn't think it was real, did you?"

Sophia chimed in with a light laugh. "Just playing around!"

The party's atmosphere grew even livelier, but out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a faint red smudge on Daniel's collar, and I couldn't help but clench my fists.

He tried to secretly rub my thigh just like he used to, but I swatted his hand away with a sharp slap.

His face turned livid, and he immediately placed his hand right next to Sophia's right hand.

"Come on, come on, a toast to our greatest contributor!"

Mr. Henderson, the representative from the top investment firm, walked toward our table reeking of alcohol, holding a glass of whiskey.

Sophia had barely picked up her glass when she looked apologetically at Henderson, then tugged at Daniel's sleeve as if pleading for help. "Daniel, I'm completely intolerant to alcohol, just smelling high-proof liquor makes me dizzy..."

Henderson paused, and the scene was on the verge of turning deeply embarrassing.

Without even half a second of hesitation, Daniel reached back to shield the hand Sophia used to hold her glass. He turned abruptly and shoved that glass of liquor directly in front of me.

"Emma, drink with Mr. Henderson in Sophia's place." Daniel stared down at me patronizingly, "This deal is crucial for us, don't embarrass the company."

The entire room fell into a deathly silence.

Every senior employee who had been with the company for over five years froze. There wasn't a single person in the entire company who didn't know that three years ago, to secure our very first major client, I had taken his drinks for him until my stomach perforated and caused severe internal bleeding. I was wheeled straight into the ICU for emergency resuscitation, and doctors had strictly warned me never to touch a single drop of hard liquor for the rest of my life.

Since then, I hadn't touched a drop of alcohol. It was a universally known taboo within the company.

I instinctively looked at Raj, who was sitting diagonally across from me. Raj's lips moved, but after meeting Daniel's harsh glare, he chose to remain completely silent.

I didn't move. My stomach was hurting so badly that my vision was beginning to blur.

"What is it?" Daniel grew impatient, "Why are you suddenly being so petty and difficult? You won't even cooperate on a tiny thing like sharing the burden for the team?"

I stared at the liquid in the glass. The cramping in my stomach was so agonizing I could barely stand, and my throat tightened so much I couldn't force a single word out.

In that moment, the sudden realization hit me. In his heart, my life had never been worth as much as that single glass of liquor.

I didn't pick up the glass. I slowly stood up and grabbed my bag.

"Emma?" Daniel seemed momentarily stunned. "Where are you going?"