Chapter 4

"That's right. Cassandra counts the days, too. Seeing how exhausted Harvey is, she cries every day."

Really?

But I was dying of cancer. There was no future left for me to wait for. I didn't want to keep waiting either.

"I'm sick," I said.

Saying it out loud felt like finally exhaling after holding my breath for too long.

Cassandra, however, didn't believe me. She let out a cold laugh instead.

"You're sick, alright. Fine. You want half a day off? I'll give it to you. But don't think acting unreasonably will earn you anything more. This leave will be made up later. For the next ten days, you'll cut one hour from your sleep each night to compensate."

"Does Xavier have to make up his leave too?" I retorted.

She answered without hesitation, "He's different."

So that was it. He didn't have to make up for lost time.

Her response lit the fuse on everything I'd been holding down. "Is he different, or does he just matter more to you?"

Cassandra studied me for a moment, then sighed. "I didn't want you overthinking this, but since you already are, I might as well tell you.

"Five years ago, when I was working abroad, I ran into trouble. Xavier took 18 stab wounds while trying to save me. He nearly died. I tolerate him because I owe him my life. It has nothing to do with romantic feelings. Do you understand now?"

Five years ago was also when she had returned home, distracted and hollow-eyed, and started her elite training on me.

I'd thought she was shaken by truly exceptional people abroad. It turned out she was only using me to repay a debt.

Even though the lines of text had already hinted at the truth, hearing it stated so plainly still sent a sharp pain through my chest. I clutched at it and slowly sank into a crouch.

Cassandra's expression changed. "What's wrong with you?"

She was just about to help me up when Xavier suddenly rushed over, his eyes red as he pointed at me. "Harvey, you took the flash drive with the confidential files, didn't you? Stop pretending to be sick to dodge responsibility!

"Getting fired is one thing, but if those files fall into a competitor's hands, the company could go under. If you hate me, curse me or hit me, but don't gamble with the company's future."

Cassandra's face darkened immediately. "Where did you hide it?"

The pain had already drained all strength from my limbs.

Before I could answer, Cassandra's hands were on me, searching roughly through my clothes. I stared at her, stunned. "Cassandra, do I really not deserve even a little trust from you?"

She didn't ask a single follow-up question. She believed Xavier without hesitation.

She pulled the neatly-folded diagnosis report out of my pocket. Just as she was about to look at it, she glanced at me, disappointment flickering across her face.

"When we were in school, you used to steal love letters other people wrote to me. I thought after all these years, you'd really changed. Alas, a leopard never changes its spots."

I'd done stupid things back then because I liked her, but I'd admitted my mistakes long ago and apologized to everyone involved.

She'd even comforted me, saying that knowing one's faults and correcting them mattered more, and that she believed I wasn't a bad person at heart.

Yet, even after seven years of dating and five years of marriage, I was nothing more than a thief in her eyes.

Xavier snatched the report from her hand, glanced at it once, and tossed it into the trash. "It's useless."

Cassandra's patience finally ran out. "If it's not in your pants pocket, then it must be in your jacket."

She told Xavier to hold me while she cut open my coat and searched every inch of my body.

In the end, even my undershirt was stripped off.

The cold air was nothing compared to the weight of strangers' stares and the phones raised to record everything.

Suddenly, my symptoms hit me. I broke out in a cold sweat and curled forward, barely able to stay upright.

Cassandra, however, didn't soften in the slightest.