A resignation letter was placed in my hands.
I stared at the paper.
My fingers trembled.
I slowly looked up.
Alexander stood in front of me, his expression colder than ever.
My eyes filled with tears.
They rolled down my cheeks uncontrollably, like rainfall.
“Why?” My voice trembled.
“What did I do?” But the answer I feared came before he even spoke.
“You are fired.” Those three words shattered everything.
I froze.
No.
That couldn’t be true.
I tried to explain.
I tried to say something.
Anything.
But my voice refused to come out.
My throat felt blocked.
My mind was screaming, but my mouth stayed silent.
Then suddenly…
A familiar voice cut through the silence.
Adrian appeared beside me.
But the warmth I usually saw in his eyes was gone.
Instead, there was anger.
Disappointment.
“You took advantage of Alexander.” My eyes widened.
“What?” The word barely escaped my lips.
“You purposely made him fall over you.” His voice was accusing.
“We don’t need an employee who flirts with her boss.” My heart sank.
“No…” I tried to defend myself.
I tried to tell them it was an accident.
That I never meant for anything to happen.
But nothing came out.
My voice disappeared.
My tears continued falling.
Then Julian appeared in front of me.
His expression wasn’t playful anymore.
“Meave.” He grabbed my shoulders.
“Meave.” He kept calling my name.
Again.
And again.
His voice became louder.
“Meave!” The world around me started shaking.
The faces of everyone blurred.
Then suddenly…
A strong shake pulled me away.
“Meave.” My eyes snapped open.
I sat up abruptly, breathing heavily.
My chest rose and fell rapidly.
It was a dream.
Continuous knocking on the door pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Meave!” Someone was calling my name.
The voice sounded familiar.
For a few seconds, I just sat there, still caught between reality and the nightmare that had shaken me awake.
Then it finally clicked.
Paige.
I looked around my room, trying to clear my head.
It was all just a dream.
I let out a slow breath.
Thank goodness.
Another knock came from the door.
“Meave, open the door!” I quickly got out of bed and walked toward it.
The moment I opened the door, Paige was standing there.
Her eyes immediately scanned my face.
“You woke up now?” She looked horrified.
Before I could reply, Alden appeared behind her with his usual teasing smile.
“Good morning.” He paused dramatically.
“Actually…
sorry.
Good afternoon, sleepyhead.” “Why did you come so early?” I asked while moving back toward the sofa.
The moment the words left my mouth, Paige gave me a look.
A very unimpressed look.
“Early?” She repeated.
“Meave, it is past noon.” She crossed her arms.
“We were supposed to meet an hour ago.” I stopped.
Right.
The plans.
I completely forgot.
Paige walked closer and hovered above me as I sat down.
“You seriously scared me.” Her expression softened slightly.
“I thought something happened to you.” Guilt immediately appeared inside me.
Before I could apologize, Alden stepped inside and closed the door.
“Let it be, Paige.” He gave me a small smile.
“She looks tired.” Then he added teasingly, “Maybe she had too much fun last night.” The moment he said that…
My entire body froze.
Every single scene came rushing back into my mind one after another.
But one scene hit me harder than the others.
Me lying on top of Alexander.
My face instantly heated.
I quickly looked away, hoping neither Paige nor Alden noticed.
“I’ll get ready.” I said quickly, escaping toward my room before either of them could notice how uncomfortable I had suddenly become.
“No need to hurry.” Alden’s voice stopped me for a second.
“We already missed the movie.” “But we could still go shopping.” Paige immediately suggested.
The moment she said that, Alden’s expression changed dramatically.
“I suddenly feel sick.” He placed a hand over his chest, acting like he was suffering from some serious illness.
“Why don’t you two go?
I’ll stay here and recover.” I stared at him.
Seriously?
Paige, however, wasn’t fooled for even a second.
“Then who is going to carry our bags?” She asked, looking at him knowingly.
Alden immediately became silent.
His plan had failed before it even started.
Ignoring their endless bickering, I walked into my room.
I needed a shower.
And honestly…
I needed a few minutes where I didn’t have to think about last night.
After getting ready, I finally stepped out.
And immediately regretted it.
Because there they were.
Sitting together on the couch.
Paige was resting comfortably in Alden’s arms while they both watched television.
I stopped for a second.
I knew I shouldn’t stare.
But after so many years…
I still couldn’t get used to it.
Seeing my sister being so openly affectionate with her boyfriend was something I was never prepared for.
They acted like I wasn’t even there.
Not because they didn’t care about me.
Actually, it was the complete opposite.
They were so comfortable with each other and with me that they never felt the need to hide anything.
Which somehow made it worse.
A little embarrassing.
A little awkward.
And very much something I didn’t want to witness for too long.
I cleared my throat.
Neither of them moved.
I cleared it again.
This time, a little louder.
Finally, Paige looked up.
“Oh.” She smiled innocently.
“You’re ready?” I looked between them.
“Yes.” Alden smiled.
“Great.
Now we can finally leave before Paige decides we need to buy the entire mall.” Paige immediately hit his shoulder.
“I do not.” I raised an eyebrow.
She looked away.
“You do.” Alden laughed.
And despite everything that had happened…
Despite the confusing thoughts running through my mind since last night…
I couldn’t help but smile.
Because this was familiar.
This was normal.
This was my safe place.
And maybe…
After the chaos of the past few days, spending time with the two people who always made me feel at home was exactly what I needed.
I stared at my apartment door.
After an entire day of shopping with Paige and Alden, I finally made it back home.
Or at least…
I was standing in front of my door, trying to gather enough energy to unlock it.
We had spent hours walking through stores.
Paige had somehow managed to convince herself that my entire office wardrobe needed to be replaced.
According to her, my current clothes were “too plain” and “didn’t show my personality.” Which was why I now had several new outfits that were apparently more suitable for working at Westbridge.
She had even strictly instructed me to throw away my “boring blouses and trousers.” I wasn’t sure whether I should feel grateful or worried.
But knowing Paige…
She only did it because she cared.
After shopping, we stopped at a small café to regain the energy we had lost.
Unfortunately, I might have regained too much energy in the form of food.
I had eaten so much that my body was now protesting against me.
By the time I reached my apartment, even moving my legs felt like a challenge.
I was just about to open the door when— “Meave.” A voice called my name softly.
Almost like a whisper.
I turned toward the side.
And saw Sarah standing there.
But something immediately felt strange.
Usually, Sarah was full of energy.
The kind of person who smiled while talking, laughed loudly, and somehow made every conversation feel more cheerful.
But right now…
She looked different.
Worried.
Uncertain.
That alone made me straighten slightly.
“Hi, Sarah.” I greeted her.
She gave me a small smile.
“Hi.” There was hesitation in her voice.
Then she glanced around the hallway before looking back at me.
“Can we talk?” The way she said it made my expression change.
This wasn’t the excited Sarah who had dragged me to a café party.
Something was bothering her.
I looked at her carefully.
“Sure.” I unlocked my apartment door and stepped inside.
“Come in.” I gestured for Sarah to follow.
I placed the shopping bags on the kitchen counter, already feeling the weight of the entire day catching up with me.
But when I turned around…
Sarah was standing there holding a small box.
Before I could ask anything, she quickly extended it toward me.
“I’m so sorry, Meave.” I blinked.
Sorry?
“For what?” She looked genuinely guilty.
“You felt so bad at the party that you had to call your boyfriend to take you out from there.” I stared at her.
For a moment, I wasn’t sure which part of her sentence confused me more.
The fact that she thought I had fled from the party…
Or the fact that she thought I had a boyfriend.
“Sarah…” I slowly walked closer.
“What are you talking about?” Her expression changed slightly.
She placed the box of pastries on the counter.
“Yesterday, everyone at the party must have made you uncomfortable.” My eyebrows furrowed.
“Why would you think that?” She hesitated before answering.
“Because everyone started asking about your work at ESSPU.” My heart paused slightly.
ESSPU.
She continued.
“They kept asking questions about your bosses, about the department…” Her voice became softer.
“And I thought maybe it became too much for you.” I listened silently.
“That is why you left the party without saying anything.” For a few seconds, I didn’t know what to say.
Because that wasn’t what happened.
Not even close.
I hadn’t left because of the questions.
But Sarah didn’t know any of that.
To her…
I was just an overwhelmed intern who left a party early.
“Sarah…” I tried to find the right words.
“I didn’t leave because of everyone asking questions.” Her eyes widened slightly.
“Really?” I nodded.
“I just…
had something come up.” Which was technically true.
Just not the whole truth.
Sarah looked relieved.
“I was worried.” She smiled a little.
“You looked so uncomfortable when everyone started talking about ESSPU.
I thought maybe we ruined your night.” I immediately shook my head.
“No, Sarah.
You didn’t.” And I meant it.
Despite the awkward questions, the party itself wasn’t bad.
Actually…
It was nice.
It was the first time since joining Westbridge that I had interacted with people outside my department.
Sarah looked at me carefully.
“you came back to the apartment with your boyfriend” she said and suddenly the whole thing started to come up with the picture and i didn’t know what to say anymore.