Chapter 3

Cecelia's POV

Jerome was still just as quick to worry, only now it was for someone else.

Nora's tears kept falling. "Cece, I really didn't mean to delete your files. Please forgive me."

Jerome's expression faltered when he heard that she'd deleted my files, but the hesitation disappeared the moment he saw Nora crying. He frowned at me. "Cece, it's not that big a deal."

Apparently, it was just a small thing to him.

I said quietly, "I need to submit those files tomorrow morning. If they're gone, I'll have to redo everything from scratch."

His voice hardened. "Then redo them. Cece, enough. You've been targeting Nora all night."

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

Jerome didn't look at me again. He simply scooped Nora into his arms and headed for the door.

Nestled in his arms, Nora said softly, "Jerome, maybe you should stay with Cece. I'm fine."

He didn't even look back. "She can handle herself. Getting you to the hospital is more important."

Then they were gone.

I stood alone in the silent room until my legs went numb. A moment later, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

It was a message from the overseas studio.

"Due to changes in the work arrangement, please sign your employment contract. Please note that once you sign, you'll be required to work in Voris for at least two years. Do you accept?"

I stared at the screen for a long time before typing my reply. "Yes, I accept."

Jerome didn't come home that night, and I didn't call him either. I stayed up all night and finally finished recreating every single sketch from scratch.

The next morning, after handing over the last of my files, I walked out of the office and spotted Jerome's car parked by the curb.

When he saw me, he put his phone away and smiled. "All done?"

He walked over and opened the passenger door for me. "I've booked a table at that restaurant you've been wanting to try. If we leave now, we'll get there right on time."

I stared at the designer bag sitting on the passenger seat without saying a word.

Jerome smiled. "It's for you. You've always loved this brand, right?"

It was the latest release, with a waitlist that seemed endless. Even with the money to pay for it, getting one wasn't easy.

But that was Jerome. Whenever I mentioned I wanted something, he'd always find a way to get it for me.

I just put the bag in the back seat after I got in. That was when I noticed a woman's jacket that I'd never seen before. It had probably been left behind when he drove Nora to the hospital the night before.

Jerome fastened my seat belt for me, then adjusted the AC to my preferred 78 degrees Fahrenheit. The dashboard in front of me automatically started playing my playlist.

Those little things he did without thinking stirred an unexpected bitterness in me. I turned to him and took a deep breath. "Jerome, let's br—"

Before I could finish, his phone rang.

Nora's tearful voice came through the speaker. "Jerome, what do I do? The glass display case in the study shattered, and my hand hurts so bad..."

My heart skipped a beat. Locked inside that glass case were all my mom's design sketches. They were the only things she had left me.

I didn't know how I made it home. Just before we went inside, Jerome grabbed my hand and tried to smooth things over. "Nora didn't do it on purpose. Cece, you—"

I yanked my hand away and said through gritted teeth, "Those were the last things my mom left me. If anything happened to them, I'd never forgive either of you!"

Jerome froze.

I sprinted toward the study. The moment I pushed open the door, the last bit of hope I'd been holding onto vanished.

Shattered glass covered the floor, and my mom's precious sketches were scattered everywhere.

I dropped to my knees amid the wreckage and reached for the sketches with trembling hands. A shard of glass cut my knee, and blood quickly welled from the wound.