Chapter 2 Trickling Away

I shot up from the couch. "You're giving the company's shares to Rainie?"

He was tying his tie and moving out. "Chris' company ran into some trouble a while ago, and she didn't get much in the divorce."

"That doesn't mean you can give her the shares. They're mine…"

"Not like you'll use them." Zach frowned and looked at me as if that should have been obvious.

My heart sank.

Five years ago, I gave up my chance to return to the real world just to save him. The price I paid was getting demoted to a nameless supporting character. My fate was to stay as a regular woman forever.

Fame, fortune, and business ownership would never be mine.

Even though I had given him nearly half the funds he needed, all the money had been placed under his name. And I was only appointed as the head of a minor department.

Zach once swore that fortune was mine, but now he was giving it all to Rainie. The door opened and closed again. He was gone.

A notification window popped up before me. "You will be parted from this body after thirty hours. The original soul will take over, and the story will resume its course."

I bit my lip tightly and pressed the 'Yes' button. The countdown began. If he thought I had no use for the shares, then leaving was my only answer.

…

By noon, the share transfer was complete. Zach had reserved a parlor to welcome our new shareholder, and he was raising toasts with everyone with Rainie beside him.

When he got to my table, he smiled politely. "Thanks for your hard work, finance. You'll get a 10% increment for this year's bonus." He raised a toast to everyone but me.

My throat tightened up. I was going to pull my hand back when Rainie smiled at me. "It's been a while, Diana. A toast to you."

When our glasses clanged, she pushed her hand forward just a little. I nearly lost my grip, and the alcohol splashed all over my chest before trickling down my shirt.

The room fell into an awkward silence. No one knew what to do.

My lips turned into a thin line. I took some tissues and saw, through the corner of my eye, Zach taking Rainie's glass away.

"Sorry, she can't have any alcohol. I'll do it for her." He drained the glass in one go.

Everyone immediately started teasing him with good-natured laughter.

"Oh, I can see the protectiveness, Mr. Lawson. You never take alcohol!"

Rainie's cheeks went red, and she leaned closer to him. Zach said nothing, but I saw the smile hanging on his lips.

I wiped the alcohol as hard as I could, until my neck was red and scraped. My phone buzzed with a message from Zach. It was already the fourth one that night.

"Watch yourself. We need to make sure no rumors start. The company can't handle any rumors right now."

"Stop drinking. You're driving Rainie home."

"She's not in the best headspace right now, so don't say anything to her."

"You shouldn't have gotten distracted. Good thing I was fast enough, or else someone would've seen something."

I smiled bitterly. Rainie was everything he could care about. Five years ago, I firmly believed that he loved me. Now, I finally saw it clearly. His love had somehow slowly trickled away from me and gone back to where it originally was.

After the event, I drove Rainie home. Zach sat with her in the backseat, leaving me alone in the front like a common driver.

Rainie would steal glances at me on the way. She asked softly, "What have you been up to, Diana? I haven't heard much from you."

Zach answered for me, "She's been working for me, nothing else."

She hung her head low and sighed. "You were the one who matched Chris and me together. In the end, we still got divorced. Sorry I wasted your efforts."

Through the rear-view mirror, I saw Zach giving me a reproachful look, then he soothed her gently, "Don't bring up the past."

I said nothing the whole way, but after they got out of the car, I heaved a sigh.

Then, I raised my head and saw roses decorating every inch of Rainie's house.

That reminded me—I had not even seen the flower samples for the wedding.

The passenger seat door swung open, and Zach got in. "Home. I'm tired."