Otherwise I might run off with someone else, and then he'd be devastated.

But Gavin had said:

【She's already thirty. Who'd want her if she left me? Don't bother with her. Just let her stew.】

This morning, at six o'clock, Anna had messaged him:

【Mr. Gilbert, I'd love to come ring the Nasdaq bell and see how the big leagues do it. Could you bring me along? I just don't know if Eunice would object……】

The buzzing woke Gavin up. He made an excuse about going to the bathroom and fired back instantly:

【Object to what? I'll just tell her not to come and that'll be the end of it! She's always whining about her stomach hurting. A moment as important as ringing the bell, and she'd stand there in front of the cameras with a sour face groaning about pain. People would think the company's top executive was about to keel over!】

Anna sent a happy kissing emoji:

【Fine, then it's on you to keep Eunice sweet, okay? I don't want her firing off at me out of nowhere!】

【Relax, leave it all to me! I guarantee you'll get exactly what you want.】

……

By the time I'd finished reading through every last message, an hour had gone by.

I pushed down the bitterness flooding my chest. Just as I was about to gather my files, a new message popped up on Gavin's account.

It was a post from Anna:

【This blue-diamond ring suits me perfectly! Absolutely stunning! I love it so much!】

The photo was of her hand wearing the ring.

She'd tagged Gavin to make sure he saw it.

He liked it almost instantly, then sent Anna a private message:

【It looks like it was custom-made for you! It really does suit you. It's yours!】

Anna sent a super-shocked emoji:

【Really? You're really giving it to me? Mr. Gilbert, I love you so much! I'm going to announce to the whole world that you're the best boss alive!】

A minute later, she sent over the new status she'd just posted on social media.

She'd officially declared Gavin the best boss in the world.

With over a hundred thousand followers, she also let them in on the news that she'd be accompanying her boss to ring the Nasdaq bell the next day.

Her fans and followers flooded the comments with open envy.

Everyone in the comments was begging to know the company's name.

But she played coy, saying she'd reveal it the next day.

Seeing how hard she was working to praise him, Gavin sent Anna the address of tonight's private dinner too:

【Let's have dinner together tonight.】

For the first time, I realized just how easily my own man could be lured away by another woman.

Anna said one word about wanting to see the big leagues, and he handed her my place and the gown I'd spent a year carefully preparing.

She said one word about liking it, and he could give away the proposal ring meant for me.

She tossed out one line calling him the best boss in the world, and he could bring her along to a dinner that was supposed to be just the two of us.

In that case, I hoped he'd enjoy the big gift waiting for him tomorrow.

I dialed the rival, Matthew Sanchez, again:

"I want every step of the share acquisition completed the moment he rings the bell. Can you make that happen on your end?"

"I can."

After hanging up, I exported all the chat records between Gavin and Anna.

I also printed three copies of the documents that needed Gavin's signature.

Then I changed clothes, used makeup to hide the pallor my stomach pain had left on my face, and took a cab to the company.

When I reached the CEO's office, I hadn't even gotten close before I heard the two of them laughing inside, not bothering to hide it.

I acted as if I hadn't heard a thing. Ignoring the assistant's attempts to stop me, I pushed the door straight open.

Anna was leaning against the edge of Gavin's desk, a tablet in her hand, her lips close to his ear, murmuring something I couldn't make out.

Gavin was grinning ear to ear.

Not the slightest bit fazed by my arrival.

I walked straight over and flipped the documents to the last page for him to sign.

He didn't even glance at it. Still chatting away with Anna, he picked up the pen and signed his name.

Instead, it was Anna who suddenly spoke up, saying she wanted to see what the documents were.

I gathered the papers up at once and said coldly,

"What gives you the right to look at my documents?"

That one line wiped the smiles off both her face and Gavin's.

To cover the awkwardness, Anna turned and held out the coffee on the desk to me.

"Eunice, I'm so sorry. I overstepped."

I didn't take the cup. I turned to leave.

But Gavin shot to his feet and grabbed my arm.

"Eunice, Anna's apologizing to you. Where are your manners?"

Fury flared up in me. Without looking back, I yanked my arm free hard.

I hadn't expected it to knock the coffee out of Anna's hand.

The whole cup splashed across my back.

The coffee wasn't hot, but the liquid ran down my white blouse onto my pencil skirt and finally soaked into my underwear.

That disgusting, miserable feeling made me whip around and slap her before I could stop myself.

The slap landed on Gavin's arm instead.

"Eunice! Are you done making a scene?"

She'd thrown coffee all over me, and instead of taking my side, he was telling me to stop making a scene.

But then I saw Anna holding the empty cup, the blue-diamond ring I'd once treasured more than anything sitting on her finger.

And suddenly I didn't even have the urge to say another word.

Anna started crying, flustered and helpless.

"Eunice, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! My hand slipped..."

She reached out to help wipe me off, and I took a step back.

She got so worked up that fat tears rolled down her cheeks.

Which made Gavin ache with pity for her.

"How could this be your fault, Anna? She knocked it over with her own arm."

Then he turned to me, reproach in his tone.

"Honestly, Eunice. It's just a stained outfit. Just change and it's done."

I kept a change of clothes at the office, but no underwear.

Anna seemed to catch on to this and hurried to buy me some.

I wanted to stop her, but she'd already placed the order at lightning speed.

While we waited, she asked me, eyes red,

"Eunice, it's all my fault for running my mouth and making you angry. None of this would've happened otherwise. This outfit was expensive, wasn't it? Let me pay you back!"

She pulled out her phone to transfer me money, but Gavin stopped her.

"It's just one outfit. Wash it and it's still wearable. No need for you to pay anything."

The last time he and I had something custom-made in the same fabric, it got a coffee stain that wouldn't come out, and in the end we just threw it away.

Now, to save Anna some money, he was claiming it could be washed clean.

I had no interest in watching him shield his little secretary, so I turned and went back to my office.

The underwear arrived quickly, only it was more than two sizes too small.

Looking at underwear practically made for a child, I laughed out loud.

Anna had already tried on my gown, so she knew my size perfectly well.

Which meant the underwear could only have been bought wrong on purpose.

I dropped the whole thing straight into the trash and reordered for myself.

When Gavin walked into my office, he spotted me throwing the underwear away at a glance, and his face turned absolutely foul.

"Eunice, what's the meaning of going out of your way to target Anna?"

"To show she's sorry, she even offered to treat us to dinner, and here you are, tossing the new underwear she bought you straight in the trash."

"She bought a children's size. It doesn't fit."

Gavin didn't believe me.

A man who'd always been a germaphobe actually fished the underwear back out of the trash.

After he saw the size clearly, he froze for a moment, then his voice softened considerably.

"Eunice, Anna probably bought the wrong size in a rush. Be the bigger person about it."

Be the bigger person again. I gave a cold laugh and told the two of them to just go to dinner by themselves.

I didn't want some new accident cropping up later that would force me to apologize or play the bigger person.

But I hadn't expected that, after I turned down the lunch, Gavin would wave his hand and announce he was treating the whole company to dinner.

A head start on celebrating the IPO, he said.

By the time I'd changed clothes and been dragged inside by other employees, most people were already seated.

The chair to Gavin's left sat empty, a pink clutch resting on it.

Anna's.

I went straight to the farthest corner and sat down, right beside the service entrance where the food came out.

Gavin didn't glance my way the entire time.

Even as the dishes started arriving, Anna's bag stayed in the seat to his left.

And she herself sat on his right.

I understood now. This was my punishment for refusing Anna's apology lunch.

Once the food came, he peeled shrimp and served her.

Whatever she couldn't reach, he picked up with the serving chopsticks and set in her bowl.

He poured her juice, then slid a straw into the glass before handing it over.

The looks my coworkers were giving me had turned to pity and gossip.

I kept my head down and ate, saying nothing.

Then Anna came over to toast me, and I coldly begged off, saying my stomach was upset.

That, finally, earned me one glance from Gavin.

Just one, and then he called Anna back.

Halfway through the meal, one bite of something spicy set my stomach churning.

Anna saw the look on my face and, smiling sweetly, fished a glass of iced lemon water out of the ice bucket.

"Eunice, since you're not drinking, have this instead!"

She held it out.

I didn't take it.

Then her hand slipped, and the whole glass of ice water dumped straight onto my thigh.

My pants were soaked through in an instant, the cold so sharp it sent a shudder through me.

But Gavin slammed his chopsticks down.

"Eunice, what is wrong with you? You wouldn't take the coffee, you wouldn't take the toast, and now you won't take the lemon water either! Knocking it over on purpose, just to pull some manipulative little act and smear Anna?"

He hadn't said a word to the one who'd actually caused it, yet here he was, blaming me with no chance to explain.

I gave him one cold look and, under the watching eyes of my coworkers, spoke evenly.

"When my stomach hurts, I can't have coffee, I can't eat anything spicy, and I can't drink anything cold."

Gavin froze for a beat, his brows knitting together.

"That dish you just ate was one I ordered specifically for you. It isn't spicy at all! Keep this up and you've gone too far!"

"That dish is very spicy."

He didn't believe me. He took a bite, and his face changed completely.

Gavin flagged down a server and asked them to bring me some warm water.

He said not one word about why the dish had been so spicy.

My stomach twisted in waves of pain, and I couldn't hold back the urge to throw up.

As I stood to leave the private room, I bumped into the server carrying the warm water, sending them stumbling.

Gavin assumed I'd done it on purpose and smashed his glass down on the spot.

"Eunice, if you're not going to eat, then go home and rest!"

Everyone watched me clutch my stomach and run out, and not one of them dared say a thing.

Behind me, Anna said in a small voice,

"Mr. Gilbert, is Eunice upset? Should I go smooth things over with her?"

Gavin's voice was strained with impatience.

"Leave her be. It's a bad habit we've spoiled into her. She'll come around on her own in a couple of days."

I ducked into the restroom and threw up until I could barely stand.

That dish had looked mild, but it had chili extract in it.

Anna had done it on purpose. No question.

I didn't go back to the private room. I hailed a cab straight home.

That night, Gavin came back from a private dinner, just the two of them, with Anna.

"We've got an early flight tomorrow, the timing's too tight, so Anna's sleeping over at our place tonight. You take the couch."

"You're making me sleep on the couch?"

There were three bedrooms in the house.

And he actually wanted me on the couch?