: Childhood Sweethearts

My childhood sweetheart fell in love with the wealthy campus belle.

To put the campus belle's mind at ease, he came to me.

"From now on... we should see each other less. I don't want Sierra to be unhappy."

I agreed, clutching the unsent love letter in my hand.

I healed my broken heart alone, burying myself in my studies.

Years later, we met at a party.

The proud, spirited childhood sweetheart of the past was now a complete wreck, looking at me with an unreadable emotion in his eyes.

Instead, it was the campus belle who, eager to get her hands on my project, shoved him forward with a dismissive air. "Weren't you two childhood sweethearts?" she said, completely unconcerned. "Go catch up!"

1

The next time I saw Brandon Sutton was at a company victory party.

Amid the clinking glasses and obligatory schmoozing, I almost didn't recognize him.

That man, his face plastered with a sycophantic smile, was unmistakably my childhood sweetheart, Brandon Sutton.

I felt a little dazed.

Brandon Sutton and I went way back. We'd grown up together.

But he was the one who cut me off, all so he could get together with the wealthy heiress in our class.

To this day, I can still remember the resolute look on his face.

Brandon Sutton had spared no effort to get close to Sierra Shaw.

I swirled my wine, watching him through the crimson liquid as he chatted with someone in the distance.

Business cocktail parties are always a cutthroat scene, a place to kiss up and kick down.

Perhaps Brandon had said something wrong about a business deal, because the other man waved him away with an impatient flick of his hand.

I downed the rest of my wine.

'Looks like life hasn't been kind to him these past few years.'

He had used every trick in the book to chase that wealthy campus belle.

'So how did he end up so pathetic?'

I set down my glass and turned to leave.

Brandon Sutton's life had nothing to do with me anymore, and I had no interest in it.

This life he was living now... it was the one he had fought so hard for.

He had made his bed, and now he had to lie in it.

But as I turned, I came face-to-face with a familiar sight.

Bright eyes, pearly teeth, and a smile playing on her lips.

Sierra Shaw smiled and raised her glass to me, as radiant and ostentatious as ever.

"Long time no see, Jocelyn."

I curved my lips into a polite smile for Sierra Shaw.

"Long time no see, Sierra."

It really had been a long time.

Long enough that I'd almost forgotten certain things.

Suddenly, Sierra Shaw gasped softly, as if she'd just realized something.

"Langdon Group's victory party... they said it was to celebrate the first major project secured by President Ainsworth after returning to the country."

"This President Ainsworth... that wouldn't be you, would it, Jocelyn?"

I just gave a noncommittal smile.

So many years had passed. I was no longer the little girl who secretly nursed a broken heart after Brandon Sutton rejected her.

'And the title of President Ainsworth would only become more fitting.'

As she spoke, Sierra Shaw waved at someone behind me.

Brandon Sutton walked over, glass in hand, an air of utter dejection clinging to him.

I had never seen Brandon Sutton like this.

I frowned instinctively.

When he saw me, his eyes filled with a complex, unreadable emotion, as if he couldn't believe it.

"What are you dawdling for?"

Sierra Shaw chided him, as if by habit.

Brandon didn't get angry. He just meekly apologized.

"Jocelyn's back, so why the long face? Come on, say hello to President Ainsworth."

Brandon Sutton kept his head down, his gaze submissive, but I could see a storm of emotions swirling in his eyes.

"President Ainsworth."

Sierra Shaw chuckled and gave Brandon a little shove forward.

"After all these years, Brandon has grown so distant from you, President Ainsworth."

"I thought you two were childhood sweethearts? Go on, catch up."

2

Sierra Shaw thoughtfully took her wine glass and walked elsewhere, leaving Brandon Sutton and me alone together.

My expression was blank, though I still wore a faint smile.

'I, however, was cursing the two of them out in my head.'

Due to my personality, I was never a fan of these kinds of events.

But Kian Langdon had insisted, saying we had to celebrate our first major deal since returning to the country—a great start to our business.

That was the only reason I came.

I just never expected that after all these years...

...we'd still be destined to cross paths.

Brandon Sutton looked at me, his eyes churning with emotion.

"Jocelyn, over the years..."

"How have you been?"

My tone was normal as I answered coolly.

"Thanks to you and Ms. Shaw, I wouldn't say I'm fabulously wealthy, but I'm managing just fine."

I stared absently at the clock on the banquet hall wall.

I remembered Kian Langdon said he would come and get me tonight.

'I hope he's not late.'

Otherwise... I let out a soft sigh.

'...who knows how long I'd have to keep wrangling with Brandon Sutton tonight.'

"Jocelyn, you blame me."

Brandon Sutton gave a bitter laugh and downed the wine in his glass.

"Back then, I was the one who wronged you."

"It was all my fault, every last bit of it."

I swirled the wine in my glass, listening to Brandon Sutton's insincere apology.

"Jocelyn, I know I hurt you."

"It was all my fault."

"But please, I'm begging you, don't be so cold to me, okay?"

I watched Brandon Sutton with a cold gaze, saying nothing.

Brandon Sutton's pained expression was so convincing, it was almost as if it were real.

If my memory of what happened wasn't so vivid, I might have actually believed his bullshit.

Brandon Sutton was materialistic and obsessed with status.

It started back when he was a kid, when he saw a luxury car on the side of the road and told his classmates it was his family's.

I should have known then.

For some people, their baser nature is etched into their very bones from a young age.

Both Brandon Sutton and I came from ordinary families. We were comfortable, but that was it.

As a boy, Brandon Sutton was different from the other guys.

While other boys were still playing in the mud and watching cartoons, Brandon Sutton had already, far too early, learned to recognize all the major luxury brands.

Brandon Sutton's mother would often proudly boast to the neighbors about how bright he was.

Luxury cars, designer clothes, all kinds of expensive shoes and jewelry.

It was like Brandon Sutton knew it all.

While other boys were going through puberty, proud of their changing bodies, Brandon Sutton had already learned how to expertly style his hair and coordinate his outfits.

Proper. Mature.

His precocious maturity made Brandon Sutton seem a bit out of place among his peers, but in the girls' eyes, he was an absolute dreamboat.

Back then, I also thought Brandon Sutton was different from all the others.

A different kind of maturity, a different kind of charm.

A teenage girl's crush is just that simple.

Brandon Sutton and I were childhood sweethearts, a fact I loved to show off back then.

I was sure that the bond we'd forged growing up together meant Brandon Sutton felt differently about me.

'At the very least, Brandon Sutton had to like me a little bit, right?'

I believed that right up until the moment I worked up the courage to give Brandon Sutton a love letter.

However, Brandon Sutton found me first, and his words sent a chill straight to my heart.

"From now on... maybe we should see less of each other. I don't want to make Sierra unhappy."

Clutching the still-undelivered love letter in my hand, I agreed.

Brandon Sutton had fallen for the wealthy heiress in our class, Sierra Shaw.

Drowning in my misery, I had a sudden realization.

So that explained all the teasing glances our classmates had been giving Brandon Sutton.

The other person involved was Sierra Shaw.

Sierra Shaw was so beautiful, and her family was so rich.

It was perfectly in character for Brandon Sutton to fall for someone like her.

Brandon Sutton and I gradually lost touch.

I never expected that after so many years, with so much having changed, we would meet again like this.

: On What Grounds?

3

I rested my hand lazily against the high countertop of the bar, a hint of mockery hidden in my eyes.

"Brandon Sutton, you keep apologizing."

"I just want to ask you one thing: what exactly do you think you did to wrong me?"

Brandon Sutton was clearly taken aback, a look of confusion clouding his eyes.

'The old Jocelyn Ainsworth was always so obedient.'

'I would do whatever Brandon Sutton asked, even if it meant delivering his love letters to Sierra Shaw.'

'I probably would have done it happily, without a single question.'

'All because I liked him.'

'He'd say a few flirtatious things, give me some random gifts, and make me think he liked me back.'

'That was always Brandon Sutton's way of manipulating women.'

'After all, if he didn't sweet-talk them, how could he possibly get what he wanted?'

The corners of my lips curled into a sarcastic smile.

'In a way, Brandon Sutton really was a born businessman.'

'Selfish, cold-blooded, and relentless in pursuit of his goals.'

I glanced up at the clock on the wall. Ten-thirty at night.

There was still half an hour to go before Kian Langdon was scheduled to pick me up.

I was starting to get annoyed.

Brandon Sutton, on the other hand, reacted as if I'd struck a nerve.

He looked ready to fly off the handle right then and there.

"Jocelyn, how can you think of me that way?"

"I really didn't mean to treat you that way back then. The truth is..."

Brandon Sutton lowered his head, feigning a look of inner turmoil.

"The truth is, back then... I had my reasons, things I couldn't talk about."

I gave a lazy stretch and turned to walk away.

'Brandon Sutton's words were nothing but empty platitudes.'

'After all these years, had Sierra Shaw still not taught Brandon Sutton how to be honest?'

'A man so full of lies... in the business world, no less.'

'Even on an execution ground, they'd be the first one to die.'

"Jocelyn!"

Seeing that I was about to leave, Brandon Sutton hastily reached out and grabbed my wrist.

I looked up. In the distance, Sierra Shaw raised her wine glass in a toast to me.

Her eyes held an emotion I couldn't decipher.

I took a deep breath. 'Today is truly cursed.'

"Jocelyn, don't be angry."

"You see the position I'm in today."

Brandon Sutton had seen Sierra Shaw, too.

He gave a bitter laugh and continued with his sob story.

"The truth is, I've regretted it all these years."

"You can see it for yourself—the Shaw family looks down on me completely."

"Sierra Shaw, too... My life is so miserable. I regret it..."

I stared at him coldly.

'That wasn't what Brandon Sutton said when he was so desperate to climb the Shaw family's social ladder.'

'He now regrets the very thing he schemed so desperately to obtain, and wants to back out.'

'As if you could have the best of both worlds so easily.'

"Brandon Sutton, isn't this the exact life you wanted?"

My face was devoid of expression as I gave a slight, mirthless tug at the corner of my lips.

"Now that your wish has been granted, you should be happy."

"So who is this pathetic act for?"

Brandon Sutton hung his head, his voice laced with bitterness.

"Jocelyn, you're still as brutally honest as ever."

"Well, in that case..."

"I'll just get straight to the point."

I folded my arms, watching Brandon Sutton with a calm, unhurried air.

'Let's see what pearls of wisdom he could possibly offer.'

"Actually, the only reason Sierra brought me here today was because she already knew that the recently returned President Ainsworth of the Langdon Group was you."

I raised an eyebrow but remained noncommittal.

'Even if the Langdon Group hadn't officially announced it, the business world is a small place.'

'If you're willing to do some digging, there's no information you can't find.'

'Not to mention, it's not like the Langdon Group was trying to keep me, President Ainsworth, a secret.'

'That reaction from Sierra Shaw earlier...'

'It was far too staged.'

"So?"

"So..."

Brandon Sutton hesitated before finally speaking, as if he'd just steeled his resolve.

"So, Jocelyn, could you... could you give that project you're handling to the Shaw Corporation?"

I was so exasperated by Brandon Sutton that I almost laughed.

'So that was what the two of them were after all along.'

'Sierra Shaw and Brandon Sutton... One had the gall to dream it up, the other had the nerve to act on it.'

'Never mind the fact that the Langdon Group had already secured the project, and that the subsequent process was incredibly complex, involving a vast network of stakeholders.'

'It wasn't something I could control on my own at all.'

'And just speaking for myself as the project head...'

I looked at Brandon Sutton's pained expression, and a sarcastic edge crept into my voice without me even realizing it.

"Brandon Sutton, what on earth makes you think I'd agree to hand the project over to the Shaw family?"

"Because of you?"