Chapter 2

Blake’s proposal pushed the team-building event to its climax. The room was filled with cheers and excitement.

Everyone rushed toward the center. They were afraid they would miss the drama unfolding right in front of them.

I was the only one who turned around and walked away.

I clenched my fists and stood in front of everyone without shedding a single tear.

I left the crowd behind and reached the fire escape alone before I finally allowed myself to collapse. I sank to the floor, completely drained of strength.

The hurt, the sadness, and the unwillingness to accept what happened all flooded my heart at once.

I did not understand.

I did not understand how a relationship I had spent ten years building could be taken away so easily.

I did not understand why my boyfriend and my best friend had betrayed me at the same time.

Most of all, I did not understand why I had to suffer like this when I had never done anything wrong in my entire life.

Did I really deserve this? Was I really not worth loving?

In the darkness, I could no longer hold back my tears. They poured down my face uncontrollably.

I bit down hard on the back of my hand to stop myself from making a sound. I cried in silence, filled with despair, in the empty stairwell where no one knew I was there.

Suddenly, the door behind me opened.

I covered my head in panic and begged in a broken voice, “Please don’t look at me. Please just don’t look at me...”

The person who came in did not question me or laugh at me. He did not say a single word.

He stood there quietly for a few seconds. Then he took off his suit jacket and placed it over my head.

A faint scent of cologne, so light that I could barely notice it, instantly surrounded me.

The man’s suit jacket felt like a shield that separated me from the outside world. At that moment, it gave me a sense of security like nothing else could.

A few seconds later, I heard footsteps. The door closed again.

He actually left just like that.

I stayed wrapped in his jacket and cried for a while longer before I finally managed to calm myself down.

I went to the restroom and touched up my makeup. Other than my slightly red eyes, there was nothing unusual about my appearance. No one would notice unless they looked carefully.

Once I was sure I was fine, I picked up the suit jacket and examined it.

First, it definitely was not Blake’s. I was the one who had chosen his suit for him that morning.

Second... it looked familiar, and it looked expensive.

Where had I seen it before?

With a head full of questions, I carried the jacket back to the banquet hall.

I stood at the entrance and quickly scanned the room. Everyone from every department was dressed in formal suits. The air conditioning was set so low that everyone still had their jackets on.

Then, my eyes landed on the VIP table at the front.

That was the place where only the CEO and senior executives could sit. The CEO, Lucas Parker, was there. His shirt was perfectly white and looked brand new.

But his jacket... It was gone!

I immediately sucked in a breath.

No way! Was the person who put his jacket over me in the stairwell Lucas?

I covered my mouth in shock and could not say a word. At that moment, Lucas, who was quietly talking with the executives in the distance, suddenly turned his head and looked straight at me.

Then, his slender fingers lifted the champagne glass in his hand. He raised it slightly toward me.

I swear, at that moment, I felt myself completely freezing over.