It was the third year of my marriage to my arch-nemesis, Leo Maxwell, when a new intern accidentally spilled water all over our marriage certificate on his desk. Panicked, I rushed to the County Clerk’s Office to get a replacement. But the staff told me the certificate was fake. I went back to the office, ready to confront Leo. That’s when I saw him, pinning the intern, Felicity Reed, against the door for a passionate kiss. “We’ve been fighting for five years, but I’ve been secretly in love with you for ten,” he whispered to her. “Our real marriage certificate? I’ve had it safely stored in my personal safe all along.” Even when Felicity pushed me down the stairs, leaving me bleeding and bruised, Leo just stood there, watching coldly. He cradled Felicity in his arms, murmuring comforting words. “Don’t look, you’re afraid of blood.” Later, due to delayed emergency treatment, I suffered a cognitive impairment. When I finally opened my eyes again, My memory was stuck on the year I hated him the most.
Two days after my surgery, Leo Maxwell finally showed up. I was sitting on my hospital bed, chatting and laughing with Chloe, the nurse. The moment I saw him walk in, my face froze. “What are you doing here?” Leo’s gaze lingered on my forehead for a moment. He scoffed, “Felicity has been worried about you for two days. Are you just faking it here?” Before I could even process his words, Leo strode forward. He reached out, yanking hard on my IV tube. The needle was pulled out unexpectedly, and I gasped in pain. Blood splattered, and the nurse beside me screamed, rushing to stop the bleeding. But I reacted faster, slapping Leo hard across the face. “Seriously, what’s your deal? You’re practically radiating bad karma from a past life.” “Are you blind? Can’t you see the bandage on the back of my head?” When I first joined the company, it was the worst year for me and Leo. He’d call me stiff and boring. I’d curse him, saying he was worse than a dog. The first thing we’d do when meeting was tear into each other’s families. Leo turned his head from the blow, looking utterly shocked. He was speechless for a long time, but I wasn’t done with him. Once the bleeding on my hand stopped, I glared at Leo. I was about to call someone to kick him out. But a nurse rushing over stopped me dead in my tracks. “Mr. Maxwell, please sign here under Ms. Anya’s family member section.” The words had barely left her mouth when, before Leo could react, I snatched the form from her. “Sign what? What kind of family member is he?” I froze, staring at the form before I could finish my sentence. In the spouse section, Leo Maxwell’s name was starkly there. Seeing my reaction, Leo rubbed his temples. “I know you’re mad at Felicity, but her mother is sick, and her last wish is to see her get married.” “Felicity and I are childhood sweethearts. I was the most suitable person. Later, I’ll divorce her.” My movements were stiff, and it took me a while to react and open my phone. The top contact, labeled ‘Husband,’ was Leo Maxwell’s eternally unchanging profile picture. And in the company SnapChat group, Felicity Reed, the intern who had just spoken, had matching profile pictures with him. [Getting married next month, everyone’s welcome to our wedding!] The picture below was deleted within seconds, but I was quick as lightning and saved it. It was a wedding photo, with Leo looking at her, his eyes full of tenderness. The group chat was already buzzing with shocked messages, but I had no desire to keep reading. My photo album? There wasn’t a single picture of me and Leo. The doctor told me that the severe impact had left me with after-effects. That’s why I lost five years of my memory. Now, I hadn’t even processed the fact that I was possibly married to my arch-nemesis. And here I was, seeing his wedding photo with someone else. Just then, a message popped up. It was from Maya, my friend who worked at the County Clerk’s Office. “You asked me to look up Leo Maxwell last time, he registered his marriage a year ago.” “In the spouse column, it’s Felicity Reed.” “That fake certificate you brought in didn’t have a stamp, so it’s not legally recognized.” Reading that last sentence, my heart felt like it was pierced by a knife. My head spun, throbbing faintly. All those lingering emotions surged up, stinging my eyes. I stayed silent for a long time, and Leo probably took it as my silent agreement. He frowned, stepping closer, wanting to touch me. “You…” Leo looked confused, unsure how to explain himself to me. Right, we’d argued for so long, always clashing whenever we met. So the idea that I would fall for him was utterly absurd. I let out a breath, and when I looked up again, my face was calm. “Don’t you know office romances aren’t allowed?”
Our last conversation ended with Felicity calling. Leo was about to explain things to me when her crying drew him away. He quickly left with a hurried “Wait for me.” He never came back. I discharged myself and packed my belongings alone. Chloe, the nurse, couldn’t stand watching and helped me, grumbling as she did. “He admitted he was your family, but then he wasn’t there when it mattered.” She was indignant, but I just felt indifferent. Luckily, I don’t like changing passwords, so my phone worked fine. I found the address of my new place in my notes and hailed a cab. After packing up and heading downstairs, the bakery owner called out to me, “The usual, miss?” Like I was possessed, I mumbled a “Yes.” When I came to my senses, I was holding two pastries. Cabbage-filled. I don’t even like them. The moment I stepped into the company building, a colleague walked up, teasing, “Bringing pastries for Mr. Maxwell again?” As soon as he finished speaking, the pastry was snatched from my hand. Felicity’s face lit up with joy. “Anya, I love the cabbage pastries from this place the most!” Hearing her overly sweet, affected tone, I frowned. I snatched the pastry back and handed it to the colleague next to me, raising an eyebrow. “They’re for you. Be careful not to get any green tea on them.” The colleague froze, before they could even react, Leo walked over. He first pulled the red-eyed Felicity behind him. Then he looked down at me. “Just because Felicity and I have the same taste, you can’t stand her?” The colleagues who had gathered to watch the drama quieted down at his words. Their expressions were strange as they darted their eyes back and forth between the three of us. After all, the two main protagonists of this dispute had already been the talk of the town yesterday. I stayed silent for too long, and someone, unable to bear it, stepped forward to speak up for me. But before she could even open her mouth, Felicity’s sobs started. Tears flowed artfully down her face, making her look utterly heartbroken. “I didn’t know you liked this flavor after I left, Anya.” “When I saw the familiar packaging, I thought Anya had brought it for me.” Leo shot me a warning look, then turned away to gently wipe her tears. I stared intently at the watch on his wrist. I’d seen an identical one on my bedside table at home, though it was a woman’s version. When I snapped back to reality, Felicity had already uttered the words: “If you mind, Anya, I can apologize.” She was pure green tea. It reminded me of the manipulative female antagonist I’d cursed for three days straight in a novel. I blinked and said, “Then apologize.” Felicity choked on my words, her tears abruptly stopping. I, however, smoothed my brow, pointing to the ID badge on my chest. “Are you, an intern, really going to go against me, a department manager?” “I know you’re straightforward, but you don’t have to talk so much crap.” I emphasized the word “manager.” According to company policy, Felicity should have been fired. It was Leo who took the responsibility, using his own demotion to protect her. I sighed, somewhat confused as to why he was so foolish. Last night, I’d stayed up all night reviewing all our chat records. Only then did I realize I’d been forced into a secret relationship with him for three years. Leo had never publicly acknowledged me. Now seeing him protect Felicity like this, my feelings were incredibly complicated. But I showed no emotion on my face. Instead, I picked up a box with a good-natured expression and handed it to Leo. “Maxwell, darling, hurry up and move to your new desk.” I had no intention of quitting. After all, I wasn’t the one at fault, so why should I leave? But when I was leaving work, Leo stopped me.
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