Anise Buccaneer had just submitted her resignation letter when her mother called.

“Hey Anise, how’s your resignation going?”

“I submitted my resignation form and will be coming home in a month.”

“That's good, that's good.” Her mother sounded delighted, “Me and all the old ladies in town have found you a few decent suitors as blind dates when you come back. Let’s hope you can get married by the end of the year.”

Then, she advised affectively, “Try not to linger on that man from the Renaults. He’s not like the rest of us common folks, he’s from another social class entirely.”

Anise Buccaneer felt as if there was something lodged in her throat while tears began to well up in her eyes. “Don’t worry, Mom. I got it. I’ll come home to be with you after I’m done with the handover.”

After hanging up, she began to pack up her belongings in her office.

Over the years in Renault Corporation, she had so many personal belongings piled up. When she was halfway through packing, her phone rang again.

Clarice Reid had sent her a location along with a short text, [Come.]

There was no mistaking it. It was the address of Arthur Renault’s villa.

Twenty minutes later, Anise stood in front of the villa.

She pushed the ajar front door open and stepped inside to see Clarice in the center of the living room, holding a piece of bracelet.

Anise felt her heart skip a beat. She was sure she had taken all of her belongings with her when she moved out of this villa. How did she miss that?

Before she could even respond, Clarice slapped her across the face.

“These last few days, I've been trying to find out the identity of the woman who got with Arthur when I was abroad. I never thought it would be you, someone who I thought was my best friend!

“How did you pull this off? Look at yourself, you’re not even much of a looker, and you have the figure of a hag! How did you seduce him?”

Anise shivered while she felt a wave of shame wash over her.

“Clarice, things just happened because of a coincidence. For the record, our… intimate arrangement only happened during the time you were broken up with him. We never crossed any line before that.”

Smack!

Clarice slapped her again, “Even if we’re broken up, Arthur will always belong to me! Who do you think you are?”

Clarice slapped her so much harder this time that a trace of blood trickled from her lips. When a third slap was about to be delivered, Anise finally fought back and seized Clarice’s wrist.

“Anise, what are you doing?!”

A terrific shout emerged from behind. Before Anise could turn around, a tremendous force threw her off her feet.

She stumbled for balance before crashing to the ground and smashing her knees against the marble floor. The pain was so terrible that it made her wince.

It was Arthur. He stood guarding Clarice protectively behind him.

The handsome suit he wore made him look more dashing than ever, but what was more striking was the cold look in his eyes, which sent a chill down Anise’s spine.

Clarice immediately burst out crying, “Arthur, I found out about you and Anise! I can’t believe my best friend got together with my ex-boyfriend... I was so angry and tried to confront her, and that was when she hit me.”

“I didn't! It was—”

“Enough.” Arthur sharply cut Anise off, but the look in his eyes softened instantly when he turned back to Clarice. His voice was laced with a hint of panic, “Clarice, what happened between Anise and me was just an accident. I did it because I was longing so much for you at the time. Didn’t I pick you up as soon as you came back? That’s evidence that you are the one I love.”

Anise felt as if there was an invisible hand clutching tightly around her heart.

This entire time, she barely qualified as a replacement. She was only a rebound.

Clarice looked up at Arthur through her tear-filled eyes and asked, “Are you sure you don't love her?”

“Yes.” Arthur's answer was firm and without the slightest bit of hesitation.

“I want you to prove it to me.” Clarice pointed at Anise, “Get the bodyguards to have her stripped naked.”

Anise felt her blood freeze in an instant. She cast a look at Arthur and noticed his brows locked into a tight frown, but he would not say a word.

“I knew it! You don't have the heart to do it to her!” Clarice cried out. “Fine! If that’s what you want, I’ll leave!”

As soon as she said so, Arthur grabbed her to stop her before barking an order at his bodyguards.

“Get to it!”

Two bodyguards clad in black emerged out of nowhere. Anise desperately tried to squirm away from them, but she was no match for their strength.

“No…no…”

The sound of torn fabric echoing across the villa sounded especially jarring. Soon, the buttons of her shirt came loose, and her dress was ripped apart along with the strap of her underwear…

After the last bit of her clothing was torn off, Arthur finally spoke up, “That’s enough.

“Get out. Don’t you ever come back here again.”

Anise did what she could to cover her nakedness while staggering out of the door.

She could still hear Arthur's gentle, doting voice behind her, “Don’t be angry, Clarice…”

It was pouring rain outside. Pellets of rain beat against her bare skin like hail, but it was nothing compared to the chill she felt inside.

She clutched the shred of whatever fabric remained of her clothes tightly to her chest while she braced the storm. Throughout her journey, the freezing rainwater mingled with her tears and trickled into her mouth, tasting agonizingly bitter.

Memories from the past flooded into her mind.

Back in university, Arthur was the crush of nearly every girl on campus. He was tall, handsome, and whenever he played basketball, there would be a concert of girls screaming for him.

Meanwhile, Clarice was undisputedly the fairest girl on campus. She was fair-skinned, beautiful, and came from a wealthy family.

On the other hand, Anise hardly had a presence. Not only was she plain-looking, but she was also from an ordinary family.

That was, until a fateful lunch break one day when Clarice suddenly sat opposite her with a tray of food and offered with a sweet smile, “It’s no fun eating by yourself. From now on, you’re going to eat with us.”

From then on, she became Clarice's "best friend."

Everyone praised Clarice for her gracious gesture of befriending a so-called “ugly duckling” like Anise.

Anise was the only one who knew Clarice only wanted her around to make herself look good.

That was, until Arthur came into the picture.

At first, Anise mistakenly assumed Arthur had his eyes on her. It all happened one evening when she was cornered in an alley by a few thugs, when Arthur, who happened to pass by, valiantly stepped in to help her.

Arthur’s brave silhouette, outlined by the sun, became the definitive picture of her youth.

It did not take long before she realized Arthur only approached her because he was interested in Clarice.

The easiest way to get to a girl was through her best friend.

Regardless, she helped him in his pursuit.

Even now, she remembered how she would put in a good word for Arthur to Clarice. She would wisely excuse herself whenever they were spending time together so the duo could have some time for themselves.

And yet, there were also the countless times she would scribble down the name of the infamous Arthur Renault in her diary entries.

After that, she was as good as an NPC. She watched helplessly as Arthur won Clarice's heart and spoiled her rotten.

The entire time, she thought she would witness their romance budding into marriage, and that they were going to have children and spend the rest of their lives together.

But when graduation came around, Clarice suddenly broke up with Arthur and insisted on going abroad.

Arthur chased her to the airport and braced the pouring rain for an entire day. For all his effort, Clarice barely even looked back at him.

During that period, Anise was the one who stuck by his side.

When he lost himself at the bottom of the bottle, she was the one cleaning up the scattered bottles on the floor for him.

When he was at the height of his depression, she was the one who kept things orderly for him.

Eventually, she even became his secretary. She dedicated herself to sorting out every detail of his personal and work life. She was good at it.

Things took a turn when Arthur was drugged during a business dinner. She tried to call a doctor for him, but he was lost in his senses. In a fit of passion, he pinned her down onto the couch in the lounge.

After they were done, he barely even glanced at her. Still, she remembered the burning heat of his body and how his breath turned rapid.

Similar incidents were repeated several times. Arthur was drunk whenever it happened.

He never kissed her on the lips and hardly even looked at her for the matter. All he did was take what he wanted.

Their ambiguous relationship lasted for three whole years.

About a month ago, when Clarice finally returned, Arthur went straight back to her without hesitation.

That was the moment Anise knew it was time for her to withdraw from their relationship.

With that, she secretly resigned from her position. She even agreed on a blind date her mother set up for her back in her hometown.

To Anise’s surprise, that was not enough for Clarice as the woman would not let her get away.

When she returned home, still dripping water on the floor, Anise’s phone suddenly rang.

She reached for her phone. It was a notification of Arthur transferring a significant amount of money to her, supplied with a curt remark, [Compensation.]

Shortly after that, she received a text from him that read, [I know you like me.]

Her breath was caught in her throat the moment she read the text.

He knew this entire time.

All the hastily withdrawn glances, the arranged accidental encounters, the subtle display of concern… She thought she hid them well enough.

[But it’s never going to happen.

[Clarice just happened to be in a bad mood today.

[Don't hold it against her.

[Don’t be jealous of her and don’t try to hurt her.]

Each message he sent felt like a dagger sent straight to her heart.

She found herself laughing ironically while tears streamed down her face.

She remembered the years they spent together.

The times when she had to hold back tears when he got drunk and embraced her while wailing Clarice’s name.

On his birthday, she secretly snuck in an anonymous present for him in the piles of presents he received.

The way he would cover her eyes whenever they did it.

This whole time, he knew.

Her fingers hovered over the screen for a long time before she finally replied.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Renault. You have my word that I will never have feelings for you again.”

The moment Anise clicked send, she lowered herself into the bathtub filled with water.

The foam turned into bubbles that popped all around her, just like the unrequited love she had harbored for Arthur these years.

The next day, she went to work as usual.

To her surprise, pictures of her returning home drenched in the rain had somehow been posted online and gone viral overnight.

“Imagine streaking when you’re as flat-chested as she is! I wouldn't even glance at her if she walked past me! This woman was so desperate to get famous, she would do anything as long as it meant garnering her attention!”

“I don’t think she’s trying to get attention. She looks too haggard for that. If anything, she looks more like a homewrecker who got put in her place! She had it coming anyway. What kind of shameless woman would try to insert herself between a couple? I wish she had been run over by a car!”

Anise felt terrible upon reading all the malicious comments directed at her, but there was nothing she could do about them.

She was only worried that her mother would see the scandalous pictures. She ended up spending the entire afternoon refreshing her feed and reporting every post she could see.

The subject had become quite sensational, and just when someone was about to dox the person in the picture, everything was suddenly taken down. All had been removed from the trending page, while every picture and video was wiped out of the platform.

Anise did not know what had happened, but it did manage to calm her down.

With that, she turned her attention back to work as if nothing had happened. When she grabbed a document to bring to Arthur for his signature, she found Clarice angrily interrogating him.

“You had the posts removed from the trending page, didn't you? You’re the only one who could pull it off! Why did you do it? Do you have feelings for her?”

Anise was taken aback. She did not expect Arthur to be the one behind it.

He frowned faintly and cast a rather wry look at Clarice.

“Yes, I was the one who took them down, but it's not what you think it is. She's my secretary, and if people found out she was the one in the picture, it would tank the company's stock price. Clarice, I promise I have no feelings for her, and you’re the only one I love, please believe me.”

Clarice was about to press the issue further when Arthur pulled her into his arms and silenced her protests with a kiss.

Clarice tried to squirm away at first, but gradually succumbed to his power. He was a great kisser, after all.

Soon, her breath quickened.

Anise watched the entire thing unfold from outside the door and began to turn cold.

So this was what Arthur looked like when kissing someone he loves…

His long, slender fingers began to run through Clarice’s hair while he gently pulled her deeper into his embrace. His eyes were brazen with love and a powerful desire to claim her.

For the last three years, Anise had done all kinds of intimate things with Arthur, save for kissing.

She should have known a long time ago that it was because Arthur did not love her.

A sharp pain pierced through her heart. Just as she was about to leave, a coffee cup was violently flung at her.

She stumbled backward from the sudden attack and ended up falling over. The cup had smashed against her forehead and drawn blood.

While she put her hand over the wound, she heard Clarice screaming at her.

“How long have you been spying on us outside? Are you some kind of perverted voyeur?”

Anise dropped her eyes shamefully and tried to explain she was only trying to deliver a document, but her voice had turned mute.

Meanwhile, Clarice strutted over and raised her heels in the air before stomping on Anise's hand, which was grasping the document. She then proceeded to grind the pointy heel against the back of her hand several times.

“Argh!”

The papers were crushed while the back of her hand was gouged by the sharp point of the heel, revealing the flesh underneath.

While she was shaking uncontrollably in pain, Clarice grabbed Arthur's hand and began to complain again.

“Look at her! She’s a liar and can't even do her job properly! She even ruined the documents! Would you fire her already?”

The look in Arthur's eyes sharpened. After a brief silence, he finally spoke up in a low timbre.

“I can’t fire her yet. She has several high-priority business deals to follow up on at the moment.”

Clarice eyed him suspiciously and began to voice her displeasure.

“Do you mean to say you can’t do it or you simply don’t want to?”

Arthur’s tone turned gentle while trying to coax Clarice, “I’m telling you the truth, there’s a lot of work piling up now, and we can’t afford any delays. Why would I lie to you just to avoid firing a secretary?”

She was insistent, “Even if you can’t fire her, at least punish her by making her kneel at the company entrance for a day. Can you do that?”

This time, Arthur caved in.

He turned to Anise, “Those documents are very important for sustaining our key collaborations, but you failed to look after them. You have two choices. Either pay fifty million dollars for the damage or kneel at the entrance for a day.”

Anise knew he was only forcing her to do this because Clarice wanted to take it out on her.

There was no way she could come up with fifty million dollars on the spot. With that, she staggered to her feet before making her way to the entrance to suffer the humiliation of kneeling there.

She lowered her head to the ground so nobody would see the troubled look in her eyes. The entire time, she heard the whispers of her passing colleagues.

“Isn't she Mr. Renault’s most trusted secretary? Why is she kneeling here? It must be embarrassing with so many people watching!”

“I saw what happened. She didn't do anything wrong. She only got punished because Miss Reid took offense.”

“Miss Reid is Mr. Renault’s teenage crush after all. Even after all these years, he still couldn’t forget her. Anise should have known better than to step on Miss Reid’s toes. She had it coming!”

Everything they said added insult to injury. Anise felt like she was getting choked out of her breath.

Suddenly, she remembered an episode from her younger days when several boys at school were picking on her during Clarice's birthday. They were calling her names, saying that she looked like a piece of dung when compared to Clarice, who was as beautiful as a rose.

Their comments had everyone erupting in laughter. She ended up fleeing the room and ducking aside to the stairway to get away from them.

It was Arthur who went to her and handed her a pack of tissues.

“Don't worry about them and just focus on yourself. You’ll be fine.”

To this day, Anise remembered what he told her.

This whole time, she was convinced Arthur stayed by her side because he recognized her inner strength. That was the reason she dedicated herself to working for him without any complaints.

As soon as Clarice returned, he dismissed all her effort and sacrifices she had made for him. He did it all just for Clarice.

She was nothing more than a secretary he could fire at any time he wanted.

Now that he no longer had any use for her, it was time for her to leave.

She had been kneeling all day until her knees chafed and bled. She was in so much pain by the end of it that she could barely walk.

When it was time to clock out, she limped back to the office to get her bag, only to run into Arthur.

He noticed her injuries and regarded her with a faint frown.

“I’ll give you a few days off. Get some rest and come back to work once you're healed.”

Anise grumbled in acknowledgment without looking at him. Then, she silently turned around and left.

Upon returning home, she immediately treated her wounds before beginning to pack up.

When news of Clarice's return reached them, Arthur immediately ordered her to move out of the villa.

Everything happened so quickly. She only managed to chaotically stuff all of her belongings in a suitcase before leaving.

Now that she was about to return to her hometown, it was time to sort her belongings.

She threw away the necklaces and jewelry Arthur had given her over the years, along with the photos she had snuck of him sleeping. She also tossed out the old diaries from her younger days, filled with entries about her crush on Arthur, along with other scattered mementos.

While all this was happening, she would gloss through the various gossip her colleagues shared in the company's group chat.

That was how she found out Arthur got on his knees to massage Clarice’s legs after she went on an extended shopping trip. When she complained about the office lights being too bright, he had the entire building's lights replaced overnight. When she was in a bad mood, he canceled all meetings and put off his work to be with her…

As she silently read the text, she kept repeating the same thing to herself.

‘Soon. Just a little longer, and it will be all over.’

She recovered in time for the company's annual party.

When Arthur showed up with Clarice, the entire room erupted in applause. Everyone showered them with compliments about how they made the perfect couple, like a match made in heaven.

When he stepped off the stage with Clarice, he helped straighten her dress and even took off his coat to drape over her shoulders. He even drank her toasts for her so she wouldn’t have to…

Meanwhile, Anise hid in a corner and watched the way Arthur’s eyes creased from smiling. She slowly averted her gaze.

Soon, it was time for the awards ceremony.

Anise received the Best Employee Award just as she did in previous years.

She stepped onto the stage under the watchful eyes of the audience. Behind her was a projected slide showing her achievements over the past year.

She fiddled with the microphone and prepared to give a customary acceptance speech when a round of commotion suddenly started within the crowd.

Everyone was exchanging whispers and casting strange looks at her.