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Chapter 2

Author: Twenty-Three
I set my suitcase down in the corner.

“It’s fine. Just assign me a regular position.”

Ms. Linney sighed and pulled up my file on the computer.

“As for the five years of experience in the Northwest, your file says you voluntarily applied to support the frontier, overcame harsh conditions, and successfully completed your mission.”

“That’s exactly what happened.”

She lowered her voice as she replied, “But in the final reports for those three projects you led, Devin is listed as the first author on all of them.”

I froze.

“How is that possible? That was my…”

“You signed off on it.”

Ms. Linney opened a document and slid it toward me.

“Look, this is the agreement from five years ago. You signed it and agreed to share the project results with the team.”

The signature was indeed mine.

However, I had absolutely no memory of signing anything like that.

“You were in such a rush to leave back then. Ms. Stern handled a lot of the paperwork for you.”

Ms. Linney seemed to be holding back.

“Neil, there are some things… Never mind. You should go back to your desk first.”

My desk was in the corner next to the printer. It was piled high with odds and ends.

Colleagues walked past me. Some pretended not to see me, while others nodded in greeting.

Only Mr. Smith came over and whispered, “Why are you back?”

“The project is over.”

“So, you…”

He glanced at Devin’s office.

“Be careful. He’s a manager now, and Ms. Stern is backing him.”

I set down my bag.

“I know.”

That afternoon, my phone rang.

It was a call from Cyra’s number, and I did not answer.

She called three times in a row.

On the fourth call, I picked up.

“Neil, let’s talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Devin isn’t feeling well. He’s been under a lot of stress lately. Please don’t provoke him anymore.”

She sounded exhausted.

“Could you… just stay out of our lives for a while?”

A child’s voice came from the other end of the line.

“Mom, Dad has a headache!”

“I’m coming,” Cyra said hurriedly.

“That’s it. Please, I’m begging you.”

Then, the call ended.

I stared at the screen while thinking back to five years ago.

The day the transfer order came through, I called her in a state of despair.

She had told me, “Wait for me. I’ll be right there.”

After that, she hugged me and said, “Go ahead. Think of it as training. I’ll wait for you to return, and then we’ll get married.”

That day, she was wearing a faint woody fragrance. It was not the one I had given her.

I finally realized that it was Devin’s scent.

Later, I went to the hospital for a comprehensive physical exam.

The doctor looked at the reports as he frowned deeply.

“Mr. Spencer, your condition…”

“Just tell it to me straight.”

“Long-term, high-intensity work and excessive mental stress have left your body severely weakened.”

The doctor pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“The chances of having a child naturally are very slim.”

I clutched the report. The sharp edges of the paper cut into my hand and sent waves of pain through my body.

“Is it because of my work environment?”

“It plays a major role, combined with the climate in the Northwest…”

The doctor paused.

“You’re still young. If you start taking care of yourself now, there might still be a chance.”

I walked out of the exam room. In the hallway, several men were sitting and waiting for their wives’ prenatal checkups.

Their faces were glowing with happiness.

One man crouched down and pressed his face against his wife’s belly. He had a look full of anticipation.

I sidestepped past them and pushed open the door to the emergency exit.

The stairwell was empty.

I crouched down and buried my face in my knees, but I could not cry.

If I cried, I would lose.

The company’s annual party took place three days later.

I did not want to go at first, but Mr. Smith had mentioned, “You’re a long-time employee. It wouldn’t look good if you were absent.”

So, I wore a black suit and stood in a corner at the venue.

The lights were bright, and the music was loud.

Cyra walked in through the door on Devin’s arm, and everyone swarmed them.

“Ms. Stern, Mr. Lawrence, congratulations!”

“Mr. Lawrence is truly a rising star!”

Devin smiled and thanked them. His demeanor seemed humble and proper.

Cyra wrapped her arm around his. The look she gave him was so tender it could have melted ice.

Someone spotted me and subtly jutted their lips at me.

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  • Lost In The Desert   Chapter 9

    “Give me a chance to make it up to you.”I crouched down, looked Cyra in the eye, and told her, “Do you know what regret is? Regret is when you’ve lost the chance to make things right forever. My mother is dead, my youth is gone, and my body is ruined. “How are you going to make up for that?”She broke down and wailed hysterically.I turned and walked toward the boarding gate without looking back.As the plane took off, I received a message from her.[I’m sorry. I love you.]I looked at the message and recalled the indifferent expression on her face when she said, “I purposely had you transferred.” Then, I deleted her contact information.Love?Did she even deserve to utter that word?After returning to the Northwest, I threw myself into my work.The new project progressed smoothly, and the team I led won an international award.At the awards ceremony, the host introduced me while announcing, “This young scientist spent five years persevering in harsh conditions to fill a

  • Lost In The Desert   Chapter 8

    A week later, the Stern Group board of directors issued an announcement. They had suspended Cyra from all her duties pending an internal investigation.Someone dug up the truth behind my transfer five years ago. Discussions then began within the company about whether she was settling personal scores or abusing her authority.Her father rushed home from abroad overnight. At the board meeting, he slammed his fist on the table and called her a good-for-nothing.“You’ve ruined the company all for a man! How could I have given birth to such an idiot?!”Mr. Smith told me everything, as he still worked at Stern Group.“Neil, you’re really something,” he said over the phone.“Everyone at the company is talking now. They’re saying you’re the real tech genius, and Devin is just a fraud.”I did not say anything.Meanwhile, Devin had vanished completely.Cyra could not find him. He had taken all the money she had given him and disappeared without a trace.Cyra’s mother tracked down my pl

  • Lost In The Desert   Chapter 7

    I dialed the number.The woman on the other end sounded exhausted. But after hearing why I was calling, she fell silent for a long time.“Why should I help you?” she asked.“It’s not for my sake, but for your own,” I said. “This is for your child. The one he abandoned.”Eventually, she agreed.She sent me the medical report documenting Devin’s domestic violence from back then, along with evidence of his infidelity.I also began investigating that transfer order from five years ago.I tracked down the colleague who had been in charge of personnel assignments back then. She had since been promoted to supervisor.“Neil, what are you doing here?”She appeared awkward.“I’d like to see the transfer order from five years ago.”“Well…”“Ms. Linney, do me a favor.”She hesitated for a long time but eventually took me to the archives.The folder was very thin, as it only contained a few pages.It was a transfer request that was signed and approved by Cyra. A note in the remarks s

  • Lost In The Desert   Chapter 6

    He folded his newspaper and set it aside.“My name is William Lowell,” he said.“I used to be a driver.”I looked at his empty left pant leg and did not dare ask any more questions.He did not seem to mind and continued, “Two years ago, I was in a car accident. I lost my leg, my wife ran off with someone else, and I lost my job.”He spoke matter-of-factly as if he were telling someone else’s story.“At my lowest point, I wanted to die too.”He pointed to the high-rise buildings outside the window.“But then, I saw those people sweeping the streets from dawn till dusk, and I thought, ‘Why shouldn’t I be able to live?’”He shifted over a little.“Want to sit for a while?”So, I sat down.Sunlight streamed in through the window and fell on the blanket draped over his knees.“What about you?” he asked.“What happened to you?”I remained silent for a long time.It was so long that he thought I would not speak.“I was deceived for five years,” I said.“My job, my love life,

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    Three months later, I had lost so much weight that I was unrecognizable.The humid air of this small southern town clung to my skin. The single room I rented was on the sixth floor, and there was no elevator.Every day as I climbed the stairs, I had to hold on to the wall to catch my breath.A mirror hung behind the door, and I looked at the person in it. I saw short and messy hair, prominent cheekbones, and two dark circles under my eyes.I did not recognize myself.The landlord, Mr. Maison, was a nice guy. Seeing me take on translation jobs every day, he often had his wife bring me a bowl of soup.“Young man, don’t push yourself too hard,” he would say.I would thank him and go back to typing on my computer.My sleeping pills went from one a night to two. Eventually, I needed three just to scrape together a few hours of sleep.My dreams were filled with the winds of the Fopi Desert. They blew so hard that they stung my face.Whenever I woke up, my pillow would be wet.That

  • Lost In The Desert   Chapter 4

    “Who else would do it besides you?”She grabbed my wrist.“Neil, calm down!”“How am I supposed to calm down?!” I yelled.“If anything happens to my mom, I’ll kill you!”The hospital room door opened.The doctor stepped out and took off his mask.“I’m sorry. We did everything we could.”My world collapsed at that moment.The funeral was held three days later, and my father would not let me inside.“Go away,” he said through the door. “Your mother won’t want to see you.”I waited outside the door from morning till night.In the afternoon, Cyra and Devin arrived.They laid down a bouquet and paid their respects.The condolence note read, [In memory of Mrs. Spencer, with respect from Cyra and Devin.]Devin saw me and softly said, “Please take care.”I looked at Cyra with a gaze that could kill, and her face was deathly pale.Devin tugged at her sleeve.“Let’s go.”Then, they turned and walked away.My father finally opened the door.He looked at me, and his eyes fille

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