: 1

A year and a half after breaking up with my ex-boyfriend, I accidentally forwarded him a video at two in the morning.

The video's title:

[How a Child's Development Is Affected by an Absent Father]

He replied at 2:30 AM.

"If you're going to lie, at least come up with a good excuse. You weren't pregnant when we broke up."

Five in the morning.

"Did you give birth six months ago, when you took time off to go home?"

"Is the baby talking yet? Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Truth is, I've missed you this whole time."

At noon.

Me: "Sorry, that was an accident."

He replied instantly: "Actually, I don't really want a kid! Kids are the absolute worst!"

1.

When I woke up and saw the flood of messages from Mason Marshall, I felt like my world was ending.

It all started when I was scrolling through videos yesterday and accidentally forwarded one to Mason Marshall.

To make matters worse, the video's title was incredibly misleading.

[How a Child's Development Is Affected by an Absent Father]

'Curse you, iPhone! We are now mortal enemies.'

Staring at the dozen or so unread messages, I wanted nothing more than to faint and make it all go away.

'If cringing could dig a hole, I'd have already excavated a mansion by now.'

At 2:30 AM, he started with two question marks, then immediately followed up with:

"If you're going to lie, at least come up with a good excuse. You weren't even pregnant when we broke up."

Five minutes later.

"Don't tell me it was that night... the night we broke up??"

"Didn't you take time off later saying you had a stomachache? I thought you said you got your period."

Five in the morning.

"Did you give birth six months ago, when you took time off to go home?"

"Is the baby talking yet? Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Truth is, I've missed you this whole time."

Seven in the morning.

"Still sleeping?"

"Then again, it's your day off, so I guess that makes sense. The kid must've been a handful."

"It must be so hard raising a child on your own. How do you manage childcare when you're at work? Is the nanny helping, or did you get a babysitter?"

Ten in the morning.

Mason Marshall sent over a few pictures.

They were all pictures of various baby supplies he'd bought.

"I bought some things for the baby. I didn't know if it's a boy or a girl, so I just bought a random assortment. When can I meet them?"

"Does the baby look more like you or me?"

Staring at the large "12:00" on my screen, I felt like my world was collapsing all over again.

'I don't reply for one night, and he's already gone and written an entire fanfiction in his head?'

"Sorry, I sent that by mistake."

Mason Marshall replied instantly.

"? What's that supposed to mean? Did you just rebound immediately after we broke up?"

"Actually, it's not like I really wanted a kid anyway. Kids are the absolute worst, always crying over nothing."

"By the way, did your ex-boyfriend agree to take you back?"

I stared at the screen for five minutes, with absolutely no idea how to respond, when the next message popped up.

"Actually, I don't really want to know, either."

I had no idea how to reply to Mason Marshall's messages. To make matters worse, tomorrow was Monday. Just the thought of seeing his sour face made me want to quit.

Mason Marshall and I work at the same company, but with one key difference.

He's the boss, and I'm the employee.

'Okay, now I *really* want to quit.'

'I shouldn't have stayed up all night scrolling through videos.'

No matter how awkward things got, when you have to go to work, you go to work.

The moment I walked into the office, I could tell the atmosphere was off.

"Tanya, what's going on?"

"I don't know. Mr. Marshall came in this morning looking absolutely furious. It was terrifying."

"Is it really that bad?"

To be honest, I didn't quite believe her.

"It is! He looked so mad, I bet he'd slap a random dog on the street."

"Charlotte Shaw, in my office."

I looked up and my eyes met Mason Marshall's—his expression was so dark it could have been dripping ink. My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly agreed.

Tanya Sutton gave me a look that said, 'Good luck, you're on your own.'

"Mr. Marshall, is there something you need?" I asked, closing the door behind me, my heart pounding.

"Why didn't you reply to my messages?"

"I may be your ex-boyfriend—oh, wait, your ex-ex-boyfriend now—but I'm also your boss. You're my secretary. Do you think you can just ignore your boss's messages?"

I was completely baffled. I pulled out my phone, only to see that Mason Marshall had indeed sent me a few more messages last night.

[Is the child asleep?]

[Did his father agree to take care of him?]

[I canceled the order for the clothes. I didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, and I was worried they wouldn't like them. I'm sending you some money so you can take them shopping for a few outfits. Think of it as a gift from their uncle.]

[Transfer Notification: $1,500]

[Does the child look like you?]

It was a struggle to tear my eyes away from the $1,500 transfer.

I always knew Mason Marshall was generous, but I never expected him to be this generous about something like this.

Looking at Mason Marshall's livid face, I chose my words carefully.

"The child and I were both asleep by that time last night."

"It seems the child's father isn't very capable of taking care of her."

"She's a girl."

"I'm the one who gave birth to her, so of course she looks exactly like me."

I said this with great confidence.

Maybe it was my imagination, but as I spoke the second sentence, I thought I heard Mason Marshall's breathing quicken. By the time I had finished, the color seemed to have returned to his face.

"Why didn't you accept the money? With what you make, what kind of nice things can you possibly afford for a child? Take my money and buy her something good."

"Really...? Is that really okay? I feel so bad," I said, scratching my head in embarrassment.

"Just take it. A girl needs to be raised well, so she doesn't grow up with poor judgment and fall for any old riffraff."

I accepted the money without much fuss. After all, this sort of thing happened all the time back when Mason Marshall and I were still together.

'For some reason, I feel like there's a hidden meaning behind his words—as if he's insulting someone!'

But then I looked at the extra $1,500 in my account, and my mood brightened instantly. 'Who cares who he's insulting? For $1,500, he can insult me all he wants!'

'Now I can buy Grape some better food. The poor thing has really been suffering with me.'

'Maybe love is just the constant feeling that you're not doing enough.'

: Childhood Engagement

As soon as I stepped out, Tanya Sutton grabbed me and asked, "How did it go? Did Mr. Marshall chew you out?"

I shook my head. "He seemed to be talking normally. Maybe he just has a resting scowl."

"Did I get the wrong idea, then?" Tanya Sutton muttered to herself as she returned to her seat.

I had just turned on my computer when I saw an email from the company in my inbox.

'I actually got a raise!?'

'Damn, what a lucky day! Everything's going my way!'

'Money, money, come to me, from every direction.'

I spun around in my office chair, making little bowing motions in all four directions.

Just as I bowed toward Mr. Marshall's office, I saw Mason Marshall walk out.

The moment our eyes met, I noticed his expression seemed even darker. He even huffed as he walked past me.

My phone chimed with a DING. It was a message from Mason Marshall.

[It's just a raise. Are you that happy?]

Seeing his message, I couldn't help but think back to when we were still together.

Back then, he would also transfer money to me from time to time. I was so conscientious at the time; even though we were together, it never felt like a normal boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.

He'd transfer money for every holiday. He'd even transfer money after... *that*.

It made me feel like we weren't really in a relationship at all, but that I was his sugar baby.

That was one of the reasons I broke up with him.

Speaking of which, he even transferred money to me when we broke up.

He called it the breakup fee.

Thinking about it, I hadn't made any major contributions to the company recently, and it wasn't time for a seniority bonus.

[So, Mr. Marshall, why the sudden raise?]

[With what you were making before, I was afraid you'd starve the child.]

Mason Marshall's words left me speechless.

'Grape really is suffering by being with me.'

After a few more days of work, Tanya Sutton sat next to me during the lunch break to gossip.

"Have you heard? Mr. Marshall is getting married."

I froze. An indescribable feeling welled up inside me.

"Oh, really? That's great. Mr. Marshall isn't getting any younger. He's almost thirty."

"I hear his fiancée is the eldest daughter of the Keane family."

...

"They're a good match. He's talented and she's beautiful," I said sincerely.

Cynthia Keane used to visit our company and would occasionally buy us afternoon tea. I hadn't seen her come by for over a year, so I thought they had broken up.

"The eldest daughter of the Keane family went abroad to study for over a year. I really thought they'd split, but it turns out they were secretly dating where we couldn't see!"

"I heard they've had a childhood engagement since they were little. If those two get married, our company will reach a whole new level."

Tanya Sutton's chattering filled my ears, but I couldn't process any of it.

'So Mason Marshall decided to marry Cynthia Keane after all.'

'Should I leave this place?'

Actually, a year and a half ago, before Mason Marshall and I had broken up, Cynthia Keane came to see me.

I had only just started working at Mason Marshall's company back then.

She found out from somewhere that I was Mason Marshall's girlfriend and asked to meet me at a coffee shop.

"You're Charlotte Shaw, correct?"

When I nodded, she continued, "My name is Cynthia Keane. I don't know if you recognize me."

"I'm sorry, I don't. Miss Keane, is there something I can help you with?"

"From the look of it, you don't. But that's fine. You should be aware of Mason Marshall's family background. He and I have had a childhood engagement since we were little."

"As for you... I'll be blunt. You're not good enough for Mason Marshall. You can't help him in any way. As long as you leave Mason Marshall, I can give you a sum of money."