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!"

"I'm afraid I don't understand, Ms. Rivers. Didn't you personally agree to accompany Mr. Storm to pick out your wedding outfits?"

Brooke just looked at me in fury. "Wonderful, Theros, just wonderful! You'd better submit the proposal for Storm Group to me before you go home today!"

I had only just received the task yesterday, and she was already asking for it today. Moreover, there were less than two hours left until the end of the work day.

I looked at her calmly and said, "Brooke, you're also doing this on purpose."

"How much longer do you need for the proposal?"

"I'll work overtime today."

"Theros, you've changed."

"How have I changed?" I asked despite knowing the answer.

"You…"

I guess she wanted to say that I didn't love her anymore.

However, if she put it that way, it meant that she clearly knew I had been in love with her all along. Yet, she'd used my love for her to her advantage. She had treated my sincerity like trash.

But Brooke didn't even have the guts to admit it. She only dared to continue carefully testing me like this.

I was quite a joke. How could I have been in love with someone as timid and pitiful as her?

"Forget about it. Go home and rest. Continue with the proposal tomorrow…"

Brooke looked away, done with testing me, and went back into her office tiredly.

Had it been in the past, I would have still asked her out to dinner with a smile on my face. I would also offer to give her a shoulder massage and nag at her to eat and rest properly like I was her mother.

But now, she didn't matter anymore.

Since my boss had agreed to let me off, I tidied up my desk and prepared to go home. Today was a special day. It was Daisy's birthday.

Strictly speaking, though, it was the day we met, but Daisy insisted on commemorating today as her birthday instead.

Just thinking about the way she would insist with a pout, saying, "Meeting you was the start of my new life!" made me chuckle. After all, Daisy had always been open and straightforward with her feelings for me.

Now, I wasn't an orphan anymore. I had a home.

I'd just reached the ground floor when I caught sight of Daisy's familiar figure. She was wearing a casual outfit, and she jumped into my arms like an excited little kitten.

"Honey, you forgot my birthday today, didn't you?"

"How could I forget it? It's just that I thought I had to work overtime today, but… Never mind. Let's go and have dinner."

"Alright…"

Although Daisy agreed, she still didn't have any intention of letting me go. She tugged on my lips with hers and started pressing forward instead.

"What are you doing!"

An angry voice shouted right next to my ear. I looked back in confusion.