Where there were people, there was also bound to be drama. Even at the prestigious Riveria Group, gossip was inevitable and bountiful.

It seemed as if they'd somehow heard about Gaston telling me to resign from the company yesterday. Their eyes were filled with doubt, curiosity, and even contempt.

Just as I thought, Gaston was an annoying CEO indeed.

"Mr. Sommar, bring me some coffee."

My intercom sounded just then with just a cold, curt command from Brooke.

I made her usual cup of coffee with much familiarity and brought it into her office. I was also planning to report the day's schedule to her in the meantime.

Brooke looked at the black coffee before her and frowned slightly. She then glanced at me, but seeing that I didn't look the least bit shaken, she got even more frustrated than ever.

I knew what she meant, but I didn't want to acknowledge it.

Brooke had a weak stomach and often suffered from gastritis. I used to care for her health and often made her nutritious food, only to have to beg her to eat a few bites while keeping a smile on my face.

I would also often advise against her drinking harmful beverages like coffee that would upset her stomach. Although she never listened to me, I still wasn't able to stop myself from poking my nose into her business like that.

However, since the abortion a year ago, I gradually got rid of my bad habit of "nagging" her all of the time.

I went through the day's schedules with her in a professional manner. But, Brooke seemed to be out of it today.

"Ms. Rivers, do you have anything to add on to the schedule for today?"

"Did you talk to Gaston yesterday?"

Her sudden change in topic caught me completely off guard.

"Yes, I did."

"How did it go?"

"It was fine. Mr. Storm put in a lot of requests for the engagement party."

"What about you? What do you think about it?" Brooke asked.

"I will try my best to meet every request within the stipulated budget. If there are any discrepancies, I will also resolve them with Mr. Storm as soon as possible. But of course, if we're unable to find a solution for it, then I will report the situation to you."

"You sure know how to separate work from your life," she said. She was obviously trying to be sarcastic with me. "I heard that… Gaston told you to leave after the engagement party."

"He did bring it up, yes."

"What do you think about it?"

Brooke then picked up a pen and started twirling it in her hands while staring intensely at me.

This was a habit of hers. She would always start twirling pens if she got anxious. However, the look in her eyes felt more like that of a predator hunting its prey instead.

I smiled faintly and answered, "I'll think about it if the severance package is good enough."

Brooke then threw the pen onto her table and looked at me with an icy-cold stare. A disdainful look was in her eyes.

"Theros Sommar, why is money so important to you?"

I didn't let the smile on my face falter. "Of course, money is important. I need to survive, after all.

"Actually…"

Gaston suddenly barged in with a wide grin on his face and interrupted Brooke's sentence with, "Brooke, come with me to…"

"To do what?"

Brooke was unexceptionally sweet and gentle with her future fiancè. She didn't speak to him condescendingly or with sarcasm like she did with me.

"Do you want to come ring shopping with me? And then, we'll look at the outfits later."

"Sure!" Brooke answered in her gentle voice. Then, she glanced at me and said, "Mr. Sommar, you should come along too."

"I… sure."

I was frustrated. I still had a lot of work to do. Still, there was nothing I could do. I was just a lowly corporate employee under her, after all.

Gaston raised his eyebrow and glared at me with a challenging look on his face. Then, he put his arm around Brooke and happily walked out of the office.

She'd just reached the entrance when she suddenly turned around and commanded, "Also, throw away the coffee on the table. It's gotten cold."

The coffee was still quite hot, though.

…

It wasn't fun accompanying Brooke and Gaston as they went outfit hunting, especially more so with Gaston deliberately making things hard for me and with Brooke watching coldly from the sidelines. I felt like I was being roasted over an open fire.

Throughout the day, I was busy smoothing out her dress trains, polishing her shoes, tidying up her hair and makeup, and even pouring out drinks and holding her bag for her as she tried on dress after dress. I was probably even busier than a bee during spring.

"Theros, you really look like a butler," Brooke whispered into my ear as she mocked me in a cold voice.

"I'm just a regular salaried employee."

"A salaried employee?" Brooke burst out laughing and said, "More like so money-hungry you'd do anything you were told to do."

I frowned lightly. Since when had she started thinking of me as a greedy and money-hungry person who would do anything I was told for money?

Maybe it was since that time we collaborated with Woodland Group and met up with the seductive CEO, Cheryl Woods. Throughout our meeting over dinner, she wouldn't stop giving me all sorts of signals.

Despite Cheryl being very blatant with her flirty eyes, Brooke had still allowed her to get me super drunk before insisting that I send her back to her hotel room that night.

Brooke had simply smiled widely at me and said, "Theros, you're a smart guy. You'll figure out a way to escape."

Sure. I was smart—I'd seen through her plans from the very start, but I still let myself fall into her trap.

In her eyes, giving up on someone like me to secure her place in Riveria had to have been quite a deal.

I knew that the collaboration was very important to Brooke. I knew that she had been working overtime to perfect her proposal at that time. I also knew that she felt out of place in her own family, which was why she was so desperate to strengthen her footing in the household.

I knew about everything.

However, did I not mean a thing to her?

I'd drunk so much alcohol that night that my stomach had been in great pain, but I just grinned and bore with it.

I never texted her saying I'd gotten home safely that night because I'd fainted by the roadside and was later sent to the hospital by a kind stranger.

I'd requested a few days off, but she'd poked fun at me and even became sarcastic with her words.

I knew that she thought I was filthy, which was why she didn't want me anymore.

However, it was also that very incident that made me lose all hope in her. I gradually decided to marry Daisy instead.

"What are you thinking about? You've been staring at Gaston for a long time," Brooke said in dissatisfaction. "I've been calling your name for ages."

"It's nothing. Mr. Storm looks very handsome in a suit," I said while hurriedly suppressing my emotions.

Everything that had happened was in the past, anyway. Brooke was now nothing more than my boss and employer.

"I agree. He's very handsome indeed!"

Brooke stood right next to me as she continued showering Gaston with praises. "Gaston comes from an affluent family, is very highly educated, and very capable. I'm so lucky to be able to marry someone like him!"

I smiled bitterly.

What was she trying to do? Why did she have to speak about him like this to me? What was she trying to prove?

"Hey, talk to me if you're going to praise me. Why are you telling Mr. Sommar in particular?"

"Because Mr. Sommar has a great eye for things like these!" Brooke then looked at me and purposely asked, "Am I not right?"

"Of course. Mr. Storm and yourself are a match made in heaven, Ms. Rivers."

I could see a tiny crack forming in Brooke's smile. I was only able to notice it because I'd been with her for such a long time.

Had she not yet noticed that she was just lying to herself?

Gaston didn't realize that Brooke was feeling awkward and uncomfortable. He continued dragging her around the boutique while picking out the accessories and fine jewelry they'd be wearing at their party.

Even though Brooke was with him the whole time, I could see that she had lost all of her patience a long time ago. She even glared at me a few times.

I knew what she wanted me to do. She wanted me to go up to them and separate them both.

However, I was no longer the old Theros Sommar who would obediently let himself be used as a shield for interactions like these.

Hence, I just stood in place and kept a smile on my face.

I was still being paid for my trouble, anyway. So what if my boss was being annoying and dramatic? I could still tolerate it since she was the one signing my paychecks.

Brooke knew how important the alliance between her family and the Storm family was. However much she found Gaston annoying, she would never dare to openly offend him. That was why she could only suppress her emotions and continue entertaining him.

Brooke had always had a terrible temper. But, she used to have me, who would do the offending for her while she pretended to play the peacemaker role between myself and the other party. She portrayed herself as a warm and friendly person and looked as if she got along with anybody. However, she had never been sincere about her interactions.

If she treated me any differently, it was only because she'd reserved all of her true emotions—anger—for me.

I suddenly felt a twinge of happiness when I saw how the seething and frustrated Brooke still had to play nice with Gaston.

After Gaston finally left, I could immediately tell that Brooke's temper had flared up even more.

"Theros, you did this on purpose!"