Chapter 2

Katherine had dark circles under her eyes, which were red and puffy, and her hair was a mess. Clearly, she hadn't slept much.

She marched straight up to my desk, sounding both angry and hurt. "Daniel, why didn't you help me yesterday?"

The coworkers who'd been chatting quietly nearby fell silent and looked over to see what was going on.

I leaned back in my chair and looked at her calmly. "Help you with what?"

"Don't play dumb!" Katherine's voice rose, and her eyes grew even redder, as if she were the victim of some terrible injustice. "You saw what was happening at the party yesterday! Why didn't you stop him?"

I gave her a mocking look. "What did I see, exactly?"

Katherine went pale. She opened her mouth, but with everyone watching, she couldn't seem to get a single word out.

She looked away, unable to meet my eyes. Then she lowered her head and spoke again, her voice breaking. "This is all your fault... If you'd helped me, none of this would've happened... My whole life is ruined..."

I scoffed. "You know exactly who ruined your life. You're too scared to confront him, so you're taking it out on me instead? How is that fair?"

I'd hit a nerve. Katherine's face twisted with rage, and she completely lost control. With a shriek, she lunged at me, clawing wildly at my face and arms. Her sharp nails raked across my cheek and neck.

I fought the urge to hit back and took the blows, even as she left several bloody scratches on my arms.

There were security cameras all over the office. If I fought back, it would be harder to prove who'd started the fight.

I waited until she'd worn herself out before slowly pulling out my phone and getting ready to call the police.

The moment Katherine saw what I was doing, she panicked and lunged for my phone. "Daniel, are you insane? You're calling the cops over something so trivial? What kind of man are you? You're so petty!"

I stepped aside before she could grab it and held my phone out of her reach, scoffing. "Weren't you just crying about how your whole life was ruined? I'm calling the police to help you get justice. Isn't that what you want?"

But she wouldn't give up. She lunged for my phone again, even more aggressively this time.

I'd finally had enough. I shoved her away. Katherine lost her balance and stumbled backward, slamming into a nearby desk.

"Ouch!" she cried, then threw herself onto the floor. Clutching her lower back, she grimaced and kept wailing in pain. "Daniel hit me! Everyone, look! Daniel just attacked me!"

Our coworkers stared in disbelief, and the whispers around us grew louder.

Just then, our department manager, Frank Wilson, walked through the door. He took one look at the commotion and frowned.

"What's all this noise? You're supposed to be working! What do you think you're doing?"

Katherine immediately scrambled to her feet, as though she'd finally found someone to back her up. She rushed over to Frank, sobbing. "Mr. Wilson, Daniel's gone too far! He attacked me right here in the office! You have to do something!"

I straightened my clothes, which Katherine had messed up during the attack, and looked at Frank nervously.

I remembered how, in my previous life, he'd been the first to accuse me of damaging the company's reputation when Katherine falsely accused me of rape. He'd probably had a hand in getting me fired, too.

I glanced around at my coworkers and raised my voice. "Mr. Wilson, everyone here saw what happened. Katherine says someone took advantage of her, but instead of confronting the guy responsible or calling the police, she's taking it out on me when I had nothing to do with it.

"All I wanted was to call the police and find out what really happened, but she started scratching and hitting me. Now she's trying to turn the tables and blame me. How is that fair?"