Chapter 2

The next evening after work, a heavy rainstorm rolled in. I stood outside the office building, only to realize I'd forgotten my umbrella.

I was debating whether to wait for the rain to let up or make a run for it and hail a cab when a black sedan pulled up to the entrance.

It was Claire's car.

Without thinking, I took a step toward it, but before I could get any closer, Charles had already opened the passenger door and climbed inside. He moved so naturally, as though he'd sat in that seat countless times before.

I stood beneath the awning, watching him fasten his seat belt, watching Claire turn to say something to him, and watching the effortless familiarity between them.

Only then did she look up and notice me.

"There are other colleagues around. We'd better keep our distance."

I froze.

Charles and I lived in the same dorm and were headed to the same place anyway. Yet once again, I was the one left behind while she gave him a ride, all in the name of avoiding suspicion.

Moments later, the car pulled away. I watched its taillights disappear into the rain, a sudden chill spreading through me.

In the end, I had no choice but to dash into the downpour and hail a cab on my own.

By the time I finally managed to get one, my hair was soaked through, and water had seeped into my shoes.

Even after I climbed into the back seat, water continued dripping from my clothes. The driver handed me a packet of tissues, and I murmured my thanks before turning to look out the window.

Condensation gradually fogged up the glass. As I wiped a small patch clear with my numb fingers, I found myself thinking about how, for those few seconds outside the office, I'd actually believed Claire might let me into her car.

When I finally returned to the dorm, the place was empty. I changed out of my wet clothes and sat on the edge of my bed, staring blankly into space for a long time.

My phone remained silent. No one asked if I'd managed to get a cab or how badly I'd been soaked by the rain.

It was almost 11:00 pm when Charles finally returned, carrying a cup of tea. The moment he walked in, he began explaining himself.

"You're still awake? We were supposed to head straight home, but then I thought we should take one last look around the city before leaving. Since it was raining, the night scenery was pretty nice, so we took a little detour."

With a smile, he held out the tea he'd brought back for me.

I didn't take it. Instead, I opened his social media feed.

His latest post was right at the top. The photo showed rain streaking across a car window, the city lights blurred in the distance, and the steering wheel visible from the passenger's seat.

I recognized that hand.

The caption contained just one sentence: "Time to say goodbye to this city."

I stared at the post, an unbearable heaviness pressing against my chest. While I'd been standing helplessly in the rain, struggling to hail a cab, the two of them had been driving around the city together, admiring the rainy night scenery and taking photos to commemorate their departure.

For some reason, I felt as though I should be the one saying goodbye to everything.

I turned off my phone without saying a word.

…

That night, I came down with a high fever. My whole body felt ice-cold, but my forehead was burning. I kept waking up throughout the night, unable to get any decent rest.

The next morning, I forced myself to message Claire. "I have a fever. Could I take half a day off?"

She replied almost immediately. "We have an important meeting today, and Charles has a sore throat. He won't be able to give the presentation, so you'll have to cover for him. Take some medicine and try to push through it."

I stared at her message and let out a bitter laugh.

Eventually, I dragged myself to work.

I'd barely settled into my seat when Charles approached me. He took one look at my face and said I looked awful, then offered me a pill from his bag, explaining that he had some medicine I could take.

My head was already spinning, and I was too exhausted to think much of it. I accepted the pill and swallowed it.

But halfway through the meeting, I began to realize something was wrong. My eyelids grew heavier by the second, and it felt as though a thick fog had settled over my mind. My head was swimming, and the speaker's voice seemed to grow more and more distant until I could barely make out what anyone was saying.

I knew I couldn't afford to collapse. No one in that room would remember that I'd been running a fever or how hard I'd tried to hold myself together. All they'd remember was that I'd messed up in front of everyone.

But by the time the meeting was nearing its end, I could barely stay on my feet.

When it was my turn to stand and add to the presentation, I gripped the edge of the table and forced myself upright. The next second, my vision went completely black, and my body lurched uncontrollably to the side, straight toward Claire.

It wasn't that I wanted her to catch me. I simply had no strength left, and my body instinctively tipped toward the nearest person.

But in the very next moment, I saw Claire step back.

It was such a small movement, barely more than a reflex, yet it was enough to send me crashing to the floor.

My forehead struck the corner of the table, and a burst of pain exploded through my head as my vision flashed white.

The entire conference room fell silent. Even the rustling of papers came to an abrupt stop.

I tried to brace myself against the floor, my ears ringing as I struggled to regain my bearings. Through the haze, I could still make out the pair of heels standing closest to me.

Claire hadn't reached out to help me. She'd stepped away.

People's instincts rarely lie. More often than not, it's those split-second reactions that reveal what they truly feel deep down.