Chapter 2
Winona came back to her apartment early in the morning and smelled a musty smell when she opened the door. She made her bed and, after a long hesitation, deleted all Xavier’s contact information in tears. After taking a glance at the glass and pills on the coffee table, she took them and lay down.
When she woke up, it was gonna be a fresh start. She didn’t have to live for anyone but herself. She was gonna be the boss of her own life.
A month later, Shawn Harris received a package to the CEO’s office of Patterson Group. It was sent to Xavier but the number was Shawn’s.
Shawn opened it, but what he saw shocked him. He turned to the last page, saw a familiar name, and snorted.
He had received many papers before, but it was the first time he had been given such a tough case. He had heard early in the morning that Xavier was in a bad mood today. Xavier was usually distant and reserved, but today he was colder than ever.
Perched in his office chair, Xavier fiddled with something in his hand. The sound of footsteps made him snap to attention. He snuck a peek at Shawn and stashed whatever he had out of sight so quickly that Shawn couldn’t catch a glimpse.
“You need to sign on this, Mr.
(10
Hearing this, Xavier picked up his pen, but he stopped after seeing what the paper was about. He stared at Winona’s signature on it with a stern face and tried hard to calm down. “Where is she?” Xavier asked.
Shawn was not only Xavier’s assistant but also his junior in school, so they were very close to each other. He tried to read Xavier’s poker face but got nothing. “I didn’t see her. She sent it here,” Shawn answered.
Although Shawn wasn’t supposed to talk about it during working hours, he did wonder why Winona was divorcing Xavier. “What did make her ask for a divorce?” Shawn finally asked.
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Xavier stared at Winona’s signature with a frown. It was beautiful handwriting, but it only teed him off at the moment.
Shawn, however, was quite surprised. After all, Xavier rarely got emotional over the years except when Eliza broke up with him. He stayed calm even when he was talking about large deals. Some said that he was mature, but he was just naturally cold.
“Did you tick her off or something?” Shawn asked him.
Xavier lit a cigarette and then said, “She made dinner and waited up for me until midnight.”
Shawn understood everything, so he nodded and said, “I see. Your wife was waiting for you to come home while you were with your ex–girlfriend…”
As soon as Xavier gave him the stink eye, Shawn held his tongue and tapped on the divorce papers on the table. “You didn’t seem to have seen this coming? So what now? You actually never wanted to divorce her?”
After a long silence, Xavier took a drag on his cigarette and exhaled the smoke. “No, I didn’t,” he uttered without haste.
Shawn was not sure which question he was answering.
It was late at night, and the lights were still on in the radio program studio at Curtia Broadcasting and Television Building.
“Ms. Moore, it turns out my boyfriend only likes me ‘cause I remind him of his ex. He’s not over her, and I’m just standing in for her. Should I dump him?” a listener asked. The question took Winona by surprise. The crew waved at her anxiously when they saw her being distracted.
Only then did Winona come to her senses. She pursed her lips and held the microphone closer to her. “Love should be pure. No one knows your feelings better than you. But if I were you, I’d wanna be loved for who I am, not as someone’s stand–in.”
With that, there came the sobbing sound. Instead of rushing the listener, Winona played her a ballad.
“Thank you. I think I know what to do,” the girl said.
“I hope that you can meet someone who truly loves you,” Winona said. After hanging up on this girl, Winona said on the radio, “All right, that’s all for today. I’ll see you tomorrow”
After taking off her headphones and walking out of the studio, she saw two missed calls on her phone. No name, just a number she knew by heart. She deleted the records and left with her jacket in her hands.
After saying bye to her work friends, she left the building. As she was walking by herself, a black Maybach stopped in front of her. The window came down, and there he was. His hair was cut sharp, just like always. “Get in the car,” he said, their eyes met for a second.
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