Chapter 2

Rachel did not try to pressure me. She agreed to begin the paperwork.

I was about to leave when Adrian unexpectedly followed me into the hall.

"What shouldn't anyone tell me?"

"Nothing."

He did not pursue the question. Instead, he handed me a shopping bag.

"What do you think of this dress?"

It was the same dress I had circled in a magazine the week before.

I had asked whether he liked it, but he had been busy answering messages. I never expected him to remember.

My heart had just begun to soften.

Then he said, "Do you think Serena will like it?"

I froze before nodding. "It's beautiful. It suits her."

Perhaps my calm surprised him, because Adrian offered a rare explanation.

"We won last week's case because of Serena.

"I can't let her work go unrewarded. As her boss, I should show some appreciation."

He pinched my cheek. "If you like it, you can borrow it after she gets tired of it.

"She hates matching outfits with anyone, and you two share everything anyway. This way it won't go to waste."

I was his official girlfriend, yet he expected me to wait for another woman's castoffs.

When the reunion ended, everyone else drove home.

Serena naturally slid into the front passenger seat of Adrian's car.

He had bought that car with the firm's first major payment.

At the time, he had smiled and promised he could finally drive me to and from work.

On the very first day, Serena said she had missed the last train and asked for a ride.

Adrian asked me to give her my seat.

I kept giving it to her for five years.

Before I could even reach the door handle, exhaust washed over my face.

The car vanished down the road.

They had been so absorbed in discussing work that neither noticed I had never gotten inside.

The rain began falling even harder.

I tried to book a ride, but no driver accepted for half an hour.

A group of drunk men near the curb kept calling to me. Frightened, I ran into the rain.

I slipped in the mud, and the pavement was so slick that I struggled for several minutes before I could stand.

All the hurt I had swallowed surged up at once.

When I finally walked home through the storm and opened the door, a woman's laughter drifted from the living room.

Serena's leg rested across Adrian's lap.

He was applying ointment to her knee.

When he saw me, he frowned.

"Why didn't you get in the car? Do you know how worried Serena and I were while looking for you? She hurt her knee.

"Can you be dependable for once? If you can't help, at least stop creating problems for us."

He did not notice that I was drenched or that my face had gone pale.

All he saw was Serena's scraped knee.

I glanced down at my phone. There was not a single missed call or message.

Had they truly been desperate to find me?

Serena immediately pulled her leg away and explained in a panic.

"Evelyn, I really was only injured. Adrian went to several pharmacies, and that was why he forgot to look for..."

When she saw my expression, she stood and limped out of the house.

Adrian started after her, then paused.

"Serena and I are leaving on a business trip tomorrow. Pack both of our bags."

After issuing the order, he grabbed an umbrella and hurried after her without looking back.

There was no explanation, only another automatic demand that I take care of them.

It was as though I were their personal maid, assistant, and mother all at once.

They had turned an ambitious young woman into someone they summoned whenever they needed an errand done.

Even then, they believed I should feel grateful for benefiting from them.

They thought that was the only reason I had any place at the firm.

This time, I did not obey.

I packed my own suitcase instead.