Chapter 2 Everything Changed Since She Came

The next day, I went to the office. There was one final project I needed to finish. I had worked on it for more than six months and produced hundreds of drawings, so I was not going to leave it unfinished.

In the conference room, Justin pushed Maria to the front and said, "The last project was completed ahead of schedule because Maria pulled several all-nighters. She deserves most of the credit." Then, his gaze shifted to me as he said in a cold voice, "As the lead designer, one should work more efficiently instead of leaving a newcomer to clean up their mess."

Just last night, I had stayed up organizing every single detail of my drawings and proposals before sending everything to the project group.

I was the one who had gone three nights without sleep, yet somehow, I was also the one being criticized in front of everyone.

…

After the meeting, Justin invited the entire team out for dinner at an expensive restaurant.

"Maria loves sashimi, so don't forget the shrimps and sea urchin."

After giving the order, Justin casually pushed the cheapest set meal toward me.

"Jessica, you can have this. We're saving for a house, remember? We should save wherever we can."

He remembered exactly what Maria liked to eat, but he had forgotten that I was allergic to seafood and couldn't touch a single plate of the food on that table. Yet somehow, he still remembered that I was supposed to save money for our house.

What made it almost laughable was that six months ago, Maria had been unemployed and desperate. I was the one who brought her to Justin.

"Her degree is a perfect fit, and she's hardworking. Please help her out."

After she joined the company, I slowly became the unreasonable one. When we both worked until midnight, Justin would tell Maria to take a taxi home and expense the fare. But when he saw me still sitting at my desk, he would frown and scold me. "Why are you still here? Do you think the company doesn't have to pay for electricity?"

Maria would casually mention craving strawberry cake, and he would drive five kilometers out of his way to buy one for her. When I had a fever and asked him to bring home some medicine, he told me there were flu tablets in the cabinet and that they worked just as well.

He was always saying how considerate Maria was, but Maria's consideration had been built on my sleepless nights, my drawings, my savings, and every compromise I had made.

…

After dinner, Justin tried to take me to the new apartment. "Come on. Let's go have a look. We can talk about how to renovate it while we're there."

I pulled my arm away while replying, "I'm not going."

Maria smiled and reached for my arm. "Jessica, come with us. You can help me figure out what would look good."

He sighed. "Are you still mad? It's just an apartment. Stop being so petty."

As he spoke, he opened the front passenger door and naturally waited for Maria to get in. It was not until I climbed into the back seat that I realized something.

I did not know when it had happened, but at some point, the passenger seat had become hers.

She had been here for six months. And in those six months, I had not ridden in Justin's car once. Justin would go out of his way to pick her up on a daily basis. Her commute by bus was only twenty minutes, but he always said she lived too far away.

On the other hand, I lived on the south side of the city. Getting to work meant a two-hour commute involving both the bus and subway, but he had never once asked about it.

At the apartment, Maria said she wanted to tear out the entire layout and redesign everything from scratch.

Justin agreed without even blinking. He had probably forgotten that I had once created an entire stack of design plans for this apartment. Every page accounted for the structural layout, traffic flow, and natural lighting. Now, he was throwing all of it away with a single wave.

But then again, the apartment had nothing to do with me anymore.

Maria was still flipping through my drawings.

"Jessica's design is really good, but the overall style feels a little cold. I'd like something warmer."

"Make another version based on what Maria likes," Justin said, as if it were obvious. "You're the professional, so it shouldn't take you long. Three days should be enough, right?"

I pulled the drawings out of Maria's hands and said, "I designed these for my own home. When did I ever say you two could use them?"

When Justin heard my words, disapproval immediately filled his face. "You're not going to use them anyway. What are you keeping them for? It's not like they're going to produce money."

I said nothing.

I simply looked out the window. The sunlight was so painfully bright that it hurt my eyes.