Chapter Two

For five years, I spent every weekend at Victor's penthouse in Manhattan.

At first, I always showed up with bags full of clothes and all my little bottles and jars of skincare.

He thought dragging everything back and forth was too much of a hassle, so eventually he had his assistant set aside a space next to the master bedroom and had a vanity built just for me, for my personal things.

That morning, before I left, I found a cardboard box and cleared everything off the vanity.

Including the pink cashmere slippers I always wore by the door and the silk pajamas in the closet. I packed it all and took it with me.

The whole time, Victor stood leaning against the doorframe with an espresso in his hand, watching me quietly. I couldn't read his eyes.

Until I put the last thing in the box and turned to say goodbye.

"From today on, we're just boss and employee."

As if he could see the worry in my eyes, Victor gave a soft, cold scoff.

"Relax. I'm not so bored that I'll make your life hard at work."

I ran the whole way and just managed to clock in and sit down at my desk before ten.

My coworker Bella, who was usually stingy, did something generous for once and set a hot Starbucks on my desk.

"Ella, congratulations in advance! Once you're PR director, don't you dare forget the bond we forged in these cubicles."

I smiled, a little embarrassed. "They haven't officially announced it yet."

She pursed her lips. "Oh, stop being so modest. Out of everyone who applied, you've got the most experience and the most S-tier projects."

"Plus, everyone's seen how hard you've worked your butt off here these last few years."

"You being director is what everyone wants."

So I stopped pretending and made a promise to the whole team, smiling.

"From your lips to God's ears. If it happens, I'm taking everyone to the most expensive Michelin-star restaurant in Manhattan!"

The office broke into cheers.

There were three minutes until the official ten o'clock announcement. I practically counted every second, refreshing my company inbox over and over.

I was so nervous I ran to the restroom three times.

Then the email with a red exclamation mark popped up, and the bold black words jumped out at me.

We regret to inform you that you have not been approved for promotion at this time...

My mind went blank with a roar, and my ears were ringing.

My team had crowded around excitedly to watch. When they saw what was on the screen, the noisy office fell into a dead silence. You could have heard a pin drop.

It wasn't until Catherine, the HR director, walked in with someone, smiling, that the suffocating silence was broken.

"Sorry to interrupt, everyone. I'd like to introduce a new colleague. This is Serena. She has a master's degree from an Ivy League school and has just come back from overseas. Mr. Victor appointed her personally as the new director of PR."

I looked up on instinct, and my breath stopped the moment I saw who it was.

She was wearing a minimalist, perfectly tailored white couture suit. Her long blond hair was swept up in a loose, elegant twist, showing off a slender, pale, swan-like neck.

She was the exact image of the girl in the faded photo I'd once seen tucked deep inside Victor's wallet.