Chapter 3

Valerie had personally recruited Thomas during the campus recruitment drive. She didn't choose any of the outstanding candidates, but instead picked Thomas, who was utterly useless except for his looks.

Even though I tried my best to dissuade her, saying that he would only harm the company, she stubbornly kept him.

Valerie made him her secretary, but he simply didn't have the abilities required for the position.

He offended a client as soon as he joined the company, and Valerie only used the excuse that he was still young and needed experience to make me apologize on his behalf.

He went from being her secretary to her personal secretary, and gradually I spent less and less time with her while they spent more and more time together.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were inseparable. At first, I only expressed my dissatisfaction slightly, but Valerie, with a straight face, told me that it was just work. She made it seem as if I were judging her by my own standards.

I found it increasingly difficult to ignore their interactions. Sometimes, it was them feeding each other at meals, sometimes it was knowing smiles exchanged, and sometimes, it was even physical contact.

Valerie started coming home later and later, and then, she simply didn't come home for several days in a row.

When we bumped into each other at the company, she would just spare me a fleeting glance. But before I could say anything, Thomas would interrupt me with his signature smile.

"Ms. Palmer is very busy, Mr. Hall."

Valerie even wanted me to hand over the proposal I painstakingly worked on day and night to Thomas, simply because she said that he needed the opportunity.

Until one day, I finally managed to catch up with Valerie after a meeting, hoping to say a few words to her. But when I stepped outside, I saw her leaning gently on Thomas's shoulder while he massaged her temples, looking like a couple in love.

I ran up to them and pushed Thomas away. Thomas looked bewildered and said, "Mr. Hall, Ms. Palmer wasn't feeling well, so I was just helping her ease her tension. You've got the wrong idea all along."

Valerie just stared at me coldly, as if I were some heinous criminal.

"Alex, when will you stop causing trouble for no reason?"

It was right in the middle of summer, but I felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over me, chilling me to the bone.

I said, "Val, we haven't spoken in two months. And now, all you care about is defending him?"

Valerie frowned impatiently. "Don't call me so intimately at the company. What if the others hear us?"

I felt a lump in my throat. The unspoken feelings got stuck in my throat, and I forced myself to swallow back down.

Why did I feel like I was the illegitimate side piece in their relationship now?

From that day on, I avoided them completely, only seeing them for meetings when absolutely necessary.

Occasionally, I'd overhear colleagues discussing Valerie's special treatment of Thomas, and my heart would clench. I'd feel the uncontrollable pain piercing my heart like a thorn.

Valerie gradually noticed my change. That day, she returned home after a long absence and personally cooked some of my favorite dishes.

My heart melted again. I thought that perhaps she really was just too busy at work, or perhaps it was all just my imagination.

But things continued as usual. She still didn't come home for days at a time. She and Thomas were still inseparable at the company, and our colleagues continued to gossip about them.

I put down the pendant and had the housekeeper move all my belongings back to the Hall residence. I didn't take anything that belonged to both of us.

I looked at the wedding photo on the bedside table, the only one we took after achieving success in our business.

Valerie always said there would be other opportunities for other photos, but I never got that chance.

I sent a pre-written message to my dad's secretary, Jay Cabrera, and left without another backward glance.

"Mr. Cabrera, kindly proceed with the preparations for the acquisition of Palmer Group."