Chapter 2
I hailed a cab to the company to pick up my files, but the HR officer looked impatient.
“CEO Vivian has been holding up your resignation application. Come back next Monday to ask again.”
I called Vivian, but it just rang busy.
It was always like this when she was with Marcus. I should have waited for her to approve my resignation before rushing off earlier.
Frustrated, I frowned and left the company.
Behind me, a burst of laughter erupted.
“When Mr. Marcus and CEO Vivian made their relationship official, he was there singing and dancing, even kneeling and begging Vivian for money! So embarrassing!”
“Didn’t you see how awful his face looked when he couldn’t get through to CEO Vivian just now? If I were her, I’d block a leech like that too!”
I was used to these mocking words by now. My phone pinged with a notification – a taunting message from Marcus.
The photo showed the blessing slips stuffed into a reeking, greasy trash can.
“Vivian threw away all ten thousand blessings just because I said so. I heard you spent a year collecting them, so much effort, how sad.”
“So what if you dated for five years? The moment I came back, you were kicked to the curb. She’s eating with me right now, peeling shrimp for me, her hands covered in sauce. You’ve never seen that, have you? If you’re curious, come to the restaurant’s private room, I’ll let you see all you want.”
My hand tightened around my phone. Since he’d returned, I’d seen too many messages like this.
Vivian, who was a clean freak and so proud, would wash his clothes, cook for him, and even wash his feet and make his bed.
Before, I used to dread Marcus’s messages, yet I’d self-torture myself by watching Vivian’s special treatment of him.
I even tried to tell myself it was all Photoshopped, telling him not to stir up trouble, thinking if I didn’t see the truth, I could keep lying to myself.
This time, I went. Not out of jealousy, but to get Vivian to sign my resignation and sever all ties with her.
Half an hour later, I arrived at the restaurant, only to hear Vivian arguing with someone in the stairwell. I instinctively hid around the corner.
“Vivian, are you out of your mind?! Marcus dumped you three times, each time worse than the last! He even tricked you to a cliff and almost broke your leg! And you’re making it official with him?! Alex has been with you for five years, and you never gave him a title. Don’t forget he risked his life to save you before!”
It was Sasha, Vivian’s best friend. I touched the uneven scar on my forehead.
A year ago, Vivian and I were in a car accident during a business trip.
To protect her, I was impaled by the windshield. I had a dozen steel plates implanted in my body, and a scar above my left eyebrow disfigured me, making my formerly gentle eyes look fierce.
Colleagues secretly called me ‘Scarface,’ kept their distance, and even spread rumors that I was beaten by loan sharks.
Vivian, however, never clarified anything to avoid suspicion.
The next second, Vivian’s reply struck me like a lightning bolt.
“It’s because he had the car accident. He has a scar over his eye. He doesn’t look like Marcus anymore.”
Sasha was furious.
“So you were still treating him as a substitute! No wonder when he proposed, you made him do an impossible task. Ten thousand blessings? Even if he asked thirty people a day, it would take a year! If you didn’t want to marry him, you didn’t have to string him along! What kind of spell did a scumbag like Marcus put on you?!”
“Enough!” Vivian snapped, her voice sharp.
“Don’t you dare slander Marcus like that! He said he’s turned over a new leaf. I’m just trying to make up for past regrets. Give me two more days, and I’ll break it off with him.”
Sasha was speechless. “Aren’t you afraid Alex will truly give up?”
Vivian seemed relaxed, in control. “Alex’s job came from me, he lives in my apartment. He has nothing without me. I’ll take responsibility for him. We’ve been out too long, Marcus will get impatient. Let’s head back.”
Watching their retreating figures, I stood there for a long time, then sank to the floor, holding myself.
When Mom got sick, I brought her to the city for treatment.
When I was desperate because we had no money, Vivian was the one who approached me, inviting me to work at her company.
She was gentle and compassionate, like a goddess, and I fell for her.
Now, looking back, I was wearing a mask then, only my eyes visible. And her eyes were filled with the joy of finding something she’d lost.
Whenever she mentioned her ex, Vivian would gnash her teeth, full of love and hate. Then she’d bury her head against my chest, sighing how lucky she was to have me.
After Marcus returned to the country, she deliberately ‘ran into’ him several times, clashing with him, but their ‘arguments’ were just her way of flirting and showing how much she missed him.
No wonder Vivian suddenly became distant after the car accident.
I was foolishly thinking it was because Marcus was back, and she was just conflicted.
Turns out, the original was back, and I, the substitute, was useless, which was why she made me collect ten thousand blessings to politely reject me.
After a while, I took a deep breath and pushed open the private room door. Inside, everyone was already tipsy, clapping and cheering.
“Their dramatic reunion, their intense, complicated love – I’m totally hooked! Vivian, you have to kiss Marcus!”
Vivian openly kissed Marcus on the lips. Her long lashes trembled, and her ears turned crimson, betraying her racing heart.
She didn’t know how long it had been until the cheering died down.
She opened her eyes in confusion. She saw me, standing behind Marcus, my face emotionless.
She shot up, her face pale. “Alex, I can explain everything! It’s not what you think!”
Her attempt to cover it up just made her look incredibly guilty.
“Vivian, we’re done.”