Chapter 2
Bernadette’s breath caught for a second.
Jessica noticed where she was looking and smiled. “This was a gift from my boyfriend for our second anniversary.”
“She has a boyfriend.”
Bernadette’s tight heart loosened up right away, and she quietly laughed at herself for overthinking it.
Nolan was not the only one who could buy that bracelet, anyway.
She let out a small sigh and held Jessica’s hand. “Your boyfriend’s got a good memory.”
This book had been added on your bookshelf.
She could not help but sigh inside.
Nolan used to remember every special date too, and he would always surprise her with roses or a necklace.
Yet, as time passed, those sweet things faded away.
Jessica blinked at her. “Guys remember what they really care about.”
Bernadette froze for a moment. By the time she snapped out of it, Jessica had already pulled her hand back and walked off.
Bernadette frowned and followed her into the building.
Upstairs, Jessica got whisked away by a manager.
It was just Bernadette and Kenneth left outside the office. Kenneth called
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out, “Bernadette.”
He lowered his head, hesitating for a bit before mumbling, “A colleague asked me out for drinks last night.”
Bernadette paused and looked at him. He seemed like he was hiding something, but she did not say anything and just walked into Nolan’s office.
Nolan was standing there, carefully reading over a design draft.
Bernadette spotted the Arcobaleno Studio logo at the top.
The design was nothing special–sloppy in places and pretty immature overall.
“How did something like that even make it onto Nolan’s desk? Shouldn’t the Crowley Group have tossed it in the first round?” she wondered.
Nolan looked up and put the draft down. “What are you doing here?”
“Dropping off our design.”
She pulled her gaze away and set the folder with the design drafts on Nolan’s desk.
Nolan opened it up and flipped through it. “Next time, just have the assistant bring it over.”
His tone was all business, not one extra word.
Bernadette did not know what to say for a second.
She pressed her lips together, and then out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something stuck to the corner of Nolan’s desk.
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A tiny cartoon cat sticker. It was cute, bright, and really out of place on his spotless, black–and–white desk.
Her heart jumped and she asked right away, “What’s this?”
Nolan glanced at it calmly. “Nothing.”
His voice was flat like he could not even be bothered to make something,
- up.
Bernadette’s chest tightened. “Since when do you like this stuff?”
Nolan finally lifted his eyes from the draft and looked at her. His gaze was cold. “At work, we’re just business partners.”
Bernadette’s face went pale. She wanted to say something, but right then, the door swung open.
“Mr. Colfield, I changed that part you said you weren’t happy with last
time…”
It was Jessica. She froze when she saw Bernadette and asked Nolan in a small voice, “Did I come in at a bad time?”
Nolan looked at Jessica. “Wait outside first.
His voice dropped when he said it, and there was a softness in that cold
tone.
Bernadette’s heart sank. She saw Jessica blink and smile. “Okay, have my
drink as a treat.”
She put a pink drink on the desk.
Pink. The same kind.
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Bernadette felt a chill run down her spine. Then, she asked stiffly, “You’ve never drunk this before.”
Nolan paused for a second, then said, “I tried it and it’s fine. If there’s nothing else, you can go.”
Bernadette stared at him, and for a moment, it felt like the blood in her veins turned to sharp, cutting pieces of ice.
When she stepped out the door and reached the elevator, Kenneth caught up with her. “Bernadette, are you okay?”
Bernadette looked at him blankly. Her gut told her something was up between Nolan and Jessica.
Kenneth had been with Nolan for seven years, so he would know. If she pushed him, she would get the truth.
But
when she opened her mouth, all she said–hoarse and soft–was, “I’m fine. It’s nothing.‘
She rode the elevator down alone.
She stared at the red numbers dropping, feeling like her heart was sinking along with them, getting heavier and emptier at the same time.
Her eyes turned red.
For two years, she had wondered if Nolan was seeing someone else.
All those extra “late nights at work,” coming home past midnight with that faint perfume smell…
She used to tell herself she was just overthinking it. Yet, in the end, she was not wrong at all.
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The next morning, Bernadette showed up at the office early
As s
soon as she stepped in, Nesta ran up to her, panic all over her face.
“Bernadette! The Crowley Group sent our design draft back this morning!
“They’re saying we copied someone else’s work!”
