After seven years of a secret relationship, Teresa Fields’ boyfriend was promoted to vice president of the company. But instead of a proposal, she found a pair of black stockings in his car, left behind by an intern. The girl called him right in front of her, her voice sweet and coy. “Mr. Barron, I need to take a half-day sick leave tomorrow. My boyfriend… went too far, and now, I’m not feeling too well. I think I might be injured.” Later, he used overtime as an excuse to brush her off, only to turn around and openly flirt with the intern on Instagram. Without a second thought, Teresa deleted his contact information and blocked him, wiping out the last seven years of their relationship. She left behind only one message: [We’re done.] And then, she vanished from his world completely. When she reappeared, she was a famous heiress, walking beside her elegant and refined fiancé. He bowed to her, his eyes red, pleading, “Teresa, I know I was wrong. Please come back to me.” The man who had once seemed so out of reach immediately stepped in, shielding her from him. “Mr. Barron, you should be addressing her as Mrs. Crawford now.” When the plane landed, Teresa turned on her phone. As expected, she received a call from her mother, Laura Fields. “You promised to think for half a month about marrying Mr. Chandler. So…” “I agree,” Teresa replied, without slowing down as she grabbed her suitcase. Her tone was firm. There was silence over the phone. After half a minute, Laura finally spoke again, “Are you sure.” “Yes.” “You should have broken up with that poor guy a long time ago.” Laura sounded satisfied and was about to hang up, but Teresa spoke again, “But you’ll need to wait another week.” “What, have you changed your mind already?” “No, don’t worry about it. Just do as I say.” With that, Teresa ended the call and opened the chat with her boyfriend, Clarence Barron, sending a message: [I’ve landed. Where’s your car?] It wasn’t until she was halfway through her taxi ride that she finally received his reply: [I’m working late. Can’t pick you up. Take a cab.] Teresa’s expression didn’t change as she closed the chat and locked her phone. This was the fifteenth time in the past two months that Clarence had used overtime as an excuse. They worked at the same company. Though their positions were far apart, they still kept in touch. Teresa knew better than anyone that Clarence didn’t have any new projects lately. The only change in recent months was the arrival of a new intern. Her name was Janice Gordon, a young woman in her early twenties, as charming as a flower. The most impressive thing about Janice was that on her very first day at work, she proudly displayed a photo of herself with Alfred and Laura Gordon on her desk. They were the founders of Gordon Group, worth billions of dollars. Janice shared the surname with Alfred, so the connection was obvious. Teresa leaned her head against the window, watching the lights outside blur past. It was beautiful and vibrant but fleeting, just like the love she had given over the past seven years. Her phone buzzed, pulling her back to the present. It was a message from her colleague, Shirley Archer. It was a screenshot of Janice’s Instagram. In the picture, Janice looked youthful and playful, puckering her lips while covering her face, adorable to the extreme. The caption read, “The theme of today after work is overtime and butterflies in my stomach.” The first like on the post was from her boyfriend, Clarence, the vice president. Teresa stared at the screen, lost in thought, when Shirley immediately followed up with a message, calling Clarence and Janice a jerk and a shameless girl. [I purposely went to Clarence’s office earlier to ask why he wasn’t at the airport to pick you up. Guess what? I found Janice in his office! You won’t believe what she said. “Teresa is an adult. She should know to give us space.”] [I swear, I wanted to slap her across the face and tattoo homewrecker on her forehead.] Teresa replied in a calm tone: [Don’t get upset. It’s not worth it.] Shirley quickly replied: [How can you not be upset? That’s your boyfriend of seven years. What is she, a nobody?] Seeing that Teresa didn’t respond, Shirley kept typing: [Teresa, seriously, are you okay? Don’t bottle up your anger. If you’re angry, just let it out. Don’t hurt yourself by holding it in.] Teresa sighed softly and replied: [I’m fine.] Then, she put her phone away. She didn’t tell Shirley that, in truth, she wasn’t angry anymore because she had already been angry. She’d been angry the first time Clarence had used overtime as an excuse to create opportunities to be alone with Janice. She had been angry when he’d stood her up and failed to even give her a heads-up, leaving her to wait, sometimes in heavy rain. She had been angry when, just a few days ago, at a company party, she had been handling difficult clients for him while he secretly sneaked off to hook up with Janice in the lounge. By then, Teresa’s heart had already been sinking, little by little, into a pit of despair. Now, watching Clarence openly flirt with Janice, she had become numb to it all. Teresa, who had once loved Clarence with all her heart, was fading, bit by bit, over the past two months. And tonight, her decision to break up was final. But Clarence still hadn’t noticed.
Clarence didn’t return until the early hours of the morning, by which time Teresa had already fallen asleep. She was a light sleeper, and as soon as he stepped through the door, she heard him. His footsteps weren’t heavy. He seemed to be trying to be as quiet as possible, not wanting to disturb her. Finally, he stopped by the bed, leaned over, and kissed the back of her neck gently. “Can’t sleep?” Teresa’s eyelashes fluttered, but she didn’t open her eyes. Clarence chuckled, the sound vibrating lightly in his chest. “So, you’re mad at me for not picking you up today.” His arm slid around her from behind, his hand slipping under her nightshirt. Teresa finally opened her eyes. “You didn’t shower.” “You don’t like it?” Clarence teased his voice full of affection. He reluctantly let go and sat up. “Well, fine.” His footsteps moved away, and Teresa turned over, watching his tall, confident figure disappear into the bathroom. His steps were light. His mood seemed good. She wasn’t sure if it was because he had come home to see her or if it was due to the flirtations that had taken place at the office earlier that evening. Teresa gave a bitter laugh. It was probably the latter. Perhaps even Clarence had forgotten, but Teresa remembered clearly. Seven years ago, when they first got together, just a simple “Come pick me up” from her was enough for him to ride his bike across half the city and show up downstairs in the middle of the night. In winter, with the cold wind biting, his hands had gotten frostbite. She felt both heartbroken and guilty, asking him why he didn’t buy gloves. He’d immediately replied, “I’m saving money to buy you a branded down jacket.” It was that one sentence that made Teresa cry. Clarence, in a flurry, had wiped her tears away while comforting her, “Once I make it big, I won’t let you suffer even a little.” He did become successful, but the promise he made back then had long been forgotten along the way. The sound of running water from the bathroom stopped. Teresa felt the bed sink beside her, and his warm body pressed up against her back. He expertly pulled down the strap of her nightshirt. His needs had always been high, and even after seven years together, he hadn’t lost interest. The past two months had been no different. But this time, Teresa’s body tensed, and she instinctively pulled away from him. “Stop it.” Clarence froze. “What’s wrong?” “I’m not feeling well.” “Oh, period again?” Clarence didn’t remember when her period was, so he didn’t realize that in the span of just one month, she had claimed to be on twice. In fact, ever since that day when she had found a pair of black stockings in his car, Teresa had developed a deep resistance to such things. The irony was that, at the time, she didn’t even know the woman was Janice. On the road, Clarence had even answered Janice’s call right in front of her. The phone was on speaker, and Clarence’s first words were. “It’s after work hours. I’m with my family. Get to the point.” Janice, over the phone, had been clearly stunned before she spoke in a pitiful tone, “Mr. Barron, I need to take a sick day tomorrow.” “You’ll need to provide a medical certificate.” “I will. I’m going to see a doctor. My boyfriend… went too far, and now, I’m not feeling well. I think I might be injured.” Teresa had been shocked at Janice’s bluntness at the time. But later, when she thought back on it, the disgust had only deepened. The two of them had been flirting right in front of her, enjoying the thrill of cheating under her very nose. In the daze, Clarence had already turned her face toward him. In the darkness, everything seemed to fade away, leaving only his deep eyes staring intently at her. Teresa couldn’t stand that look. She turned her head away. “I said I’m not feeling well…” But Clarence held her chin, his fingers lightly brushing over her rosy lips. “There’s more than one way to do this, and this isn’t our first time. No need to be shy, right?” Teresa’s body went rigid. In the past, whenever he wanted, she would do everything she could to please him. She was willing to do anything for the man she loved. But everything had changed without her even realizing it. Now, looking back, she only felt foolish. If she kept going down this path, she wouldn’t even be able to respect herself anymore.
Teresa ultimately rejected Clarence. Clarence didn’t press her, though he was confused. He didn’t ask any further questions, choosing instead to think that Teresa was just in a bad mood due to her period. The next day, while having lunch in the company cafeteria, Teresa suddenly told Shirley, “Shirley, I’ve resigned. My last day is in a week.” Shirley was caught off guard, her hand trembling slightly, but she quickly recovered and said, “It’s a good idea to get a new job. Changing the environment can make a difference. “With your skills, if you hadn’t spent all these years helping Clarence, you’d probably have been more than just a department manager by now.” Shirley was the one who knew best about the past between them. Over the years, Teresa had kept her relationship with Clarence private to avoid suspicion. She had even passed up two promotions, always listening to Clarence’s advice. He’d told her not to rush. He’d once said that with his salary of millions of dollars, he could support her even if she decided to quit her job. Those words had once given Teresa a great sense of security, but now, in hindsight, they felt nothing but bitter and empty. “By the way, where are you going to work?” Shirley casually asked. Teresa poked at her food, no longer enjoying it. “I don’t have a new job lined up.” This time, Shirley disagreed. “Quitting without another job lined up? That’s risky.” Teresa didn’t respond. Since the decision was already made, Shirley didn’t want to make things uncomfortable for her. “It’s fine. Take some time off, and when you’re feeling better, you can look for a new job.” Teresa suddenly looked up, her eyes clear and calm as she met Shirley’s gaze. “Shirley, haven’t you thought about it? I’m quitting to go back and take over the family business.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Shirley burst out laughing. “Teresa, I didn’t know you had such a good sense of humor!” Teresa smiled, too, and then looked down and continued poking at her food, not saying anything else. Her clothes, shoes, and jewelry… there was nothing on her that looked valuable. Not only Shirley but even Clarence had never doubted her claim of having an ordinary background. After finishing their meal, they were about to leave when suddenly, there was a commotion in the corner of the cafeteria. Teresa looked in the direction everyone was staring, and her gaze immediately froze. It was Clarence, holding a woman in his arms, rushing out. He held her so tightly that Teresa couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of déjà vu, as if the woman in his arms was his girlfriend. As they passed by, Teresa saw the woman’s face clearly. It was Janice. She was crying uncontrollably, her face pressed against Clarence’s chest, her tears soaking his white shirt. Teresa instinctively opened her mouth, Clarence’s name almost slipping out, but in the end, she held back. At that moment, when Clarence looked down at Janice, Teresa saw nothing but urgency and concern in his eyes. He didn’t even notice her standing right there. Teresa turned her gaze away, her mind blank for a few seconds. The old Clarence wouldn’t have let any other girl sit on the back of his bike. She had once witnessed him refuse someone. He said, “This is my girlfriend’s. She doesn’t like sharing things with others.” But now, he was holding another woman in his arms. “What’s wrong with Janice?” “Looks like she slipped in the cafeteria and sprained her ankle.” People around them were gossiping. Shirley overheard and rolled her eyes. “She just sprained her ankle. Why is she crying like that? Anyone would think she lost her mom. What a drama queen.” Teresa stood silently, her gaze unconsciously falling on her lower legs. During a recent business trip, she had slipped on the stairs and twisted her ankle. She even sent Clarence a photo of it. She had also sent him a message: [I’m not feeling well.] Clarence didn’t reply until the next morning: [Drink more water.] She wasn’t even sure if he had looked at the photo. Otherwise, how could he have responded with such a bland message? “Do you think Mr. Barron has fallen for Janice?” “Looks like it. Tsk, tsk, our company’s top bachelor won’t be available anymore.” “But the top bachelor is Mr. Crawford, not Mr. Barron.” “Mr. Crawford? Don’t even dream. He’s on the wealth list. We’re not even in the same league.” The crowd eventually dispersed, gossiping in pairs, leaving Teresa still standing where she was. What kept replaying in her mind was the sight of Clarence holding Janice, his concern so obvious, and the whispers from those around her. The saddest thing, perhaps, wasn’t her heartbreak. It was that no one in the world even knew about it.
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