Chapter 2

A short while later, Aster brought a young woman into the mansion with him.

Carina knew her. She was Stella Winters. They were all colleagues working at the same company—Aster was the CEO, Stella was his secretary, and Carina was the financial director.

However, to avoid gossip at work, nobody at the company knew about Carina and Aster's relationship. Aster would even go as far as to make sure to arrive at work at a different time than her.

"Oh, you're here too, Carina? I thought Mr. Ducant was lying."

Stella went up to Carina and held her by her arm. Her voice was soft and gentle, but anyone could tell that she had an ulterior motive behind everything.

"Carina, can you secretly tell me what your relationship with Mr. Ducant is?"

Carina felt uncomfortable and freed herself from Stella's grip. She was just about to tell Stella the truth when Aster spoke up first, interrupting her.

"Carina and I are just colleagues," he said in a fond, gentle voice. "We were just sorting out the company's financial situation when you joined us. Did you really think everyone else could just turn on the TV as soon as they got home after work, like you can?"

Aster sounded nonchalant when he said they were nothing more than colleagues.

Carina stood opposite him, staring at him for a long time as her body began to freeze.

Although they often referred to each other as colleagues at work, hearing Aster call her nothing but a colleague in her face felt like a knife stabbing into her heart.

She gritted her teeth and spoke up in a disgruntled manner, "Aster, we are—"

"Shut up!" He immediately cut her off again, casting her a cold, dirty look. "Some things should just be left unspoken. I'm sure that I also have a say in that matter."

Carina shook her head in disappointment. The last sliver of hope in her eyes gradually dimmed out.

On the other hand, Stella grinned happily when she heard that he and Carina were nothing more than colleagues. She immediately took a seat right next to Aster, exclaiming in pleasant surprise when she saw the food on the table.

"Oh my gosh, they're all my favorites! You're so good to me, Asty!"

Stelle then lifted her head and pecked Aster on the cheek.

Aster froze for a second.

When he snapped back to the present, he carefully and quietly cast Carina a side glance.

He only heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Carina's head was still lowered and that she didn't seem to have witnessed the peck.

"Eat all you want. I know you like them. I purposely ordered them for you."

Stella stuffed her mouth with her favorite food and kept humming in delight as she chewed.

"I hate you, Asty. You knew all along that the area where I'm renting would have a power outage today, but you never told me about it beforehand. I got such a fright halfway through my shower!"

"Did you hurt yourself? It's all my fault. I didn't expect such a thing to happen."

"Haha! I was just pulling your leg. I was long done with my shower when the lights went out."

"Well, this is the surprise that I prepared for you. Do you like it?"

Aster and Stella continued chatting happily.

Meanwhile, Carina never thought that Aster and Stella would be chatting so casually about such intimate topics. It was as if they had no boundaries with each other.

When Aster dished out more food onto Stella's plate, Carina finally realized that everything on the table was actually Stella's favorite food.

She had been looking forward to this anniversary celebration for a long time. But as it turned out, Carina was just the side character alongside Stella.

Aster had rushed home early to prepare and set out the 12-course meal, but it wasn't to celebrate their anniversary. It was all for Stella instead, not Carina.

For a split second, Carina thought that she knew exactly when Aster had started cheating emotionally on her. The realization was like a huge rock pressing against Carina's chest, rendering her unable to catch her breath.

She stood up, feeling bitter, and turned to leave.

"I'll be taking my leave if there's nothing else you need me for."

Stella didn't move from her seat. "Aren't you going to eat something before you leave, Carina?"

"No thanks. The food doesn't really suit me."

"Then let me see you out the door."

Stella then made to get up, acting like the lady of the house who was seeing her guest out. However, Aster pushed her back down and said, "She knows the way out. You don't have to do that."

That was the last thing Aster said before Carina left the mansion. He didn't even ask her to stay.

Carina stood outside the mansion, letting the cold night air blow around her.

She didn't just know the way out. It was her home, after all, but she couldn't even go back inside anymore.

She figured that she probably wouldn't even be staying here much longer in the future.