Chapter 7

Dorry immediately yanked her hand away from the man and hurried over to me.

I smirked. Her strides were so large, that she reached me in no time. And it seemed like she didn’t want the man to see my face—she even stood in front of me, blocking his view.

“Nelson, what are you doing? I told you to wait outside! You’re so stubborn,” Dorry said angrily, narrowing her eyes at me. “You’re embarrassing!

“Embarrassing?" I asked

"You’re embarrassing me in front of my boss. Barging into the office without permission!” she added.

"I got bored. You were taking forever. And besides, it’s scorching hot outside, Dorry, so I came in to cool off. Turns out, there’s an even hotter scene to witness here!”

“Dorothy, who is he?” the man Dorry was speaking with asked calmly.

His voice was so soft, so pleasant to hear, that I instantly knew he was pretending. Too good to be true—that’s how his kindness seemed. And poor Dorry had no clue she was just being reeled in.

“I’m sorry, Hector,” she said, turning to him. “This is…” She paused, then glanced at me.

Her look screamed, Don’t say anything stupid; just play along.

“This is my friend, Nelson,” she finally said, still standing protectively in front of me, as if she was too embarrassed to introduce me to him.

She even smoothed my tie and gave me a sweet smile before facing Hector.

“Your friend—” Hector began, but his wide eyes stopped him mid-sentence.

Of all the people I didn’t want to see, Hector was definitely one of them. Judging by his reaction, the feeling was mutual. His shock was written all over his face—not just in his widened eyes but in the way he seemed to hold his breath.

I was momentarily taken aback, too, but I recovered quickly. I knew that returning to this country meant running into ghosts from my past. I’d prepared myself for this. I steeled my nerves.

I smiled. “Long time no see, Hector! You look surprised.”

I stepped closer, and Dorry immediately moved to stand beside me.

“I get it, Hector. You weren’t expecting to see me again. And yes, I’m Dorry’s friend,” I said with a smirk, pulling Dorry closer by the waist. She immediately swatted my hand away.

“Do you know each other?” Dorry asked, confused, her gaze darting between Hector and me.

I squinted at Hector. He didn’t move, just stared at me, pretending not to recognize me.

“Yes, I know him well. But I doubt he remembers me,” I replied, watching as Hector swallowed repeatedly.

His reaction didn’t surprise me. Seeing a ghost from your past does that to you.

But really, fate has a twisted sense of humor. In just a few hours back in this country, I’d already run into two people from my past. First, Dorry, and now this pompous fool.

“Dorothy, he looks familiar, but I don’t think I know him,” Hector said, shaking his head.

What a liar! I thought, but I couldn’t help laughing. “As expected,” I muttered.

“Nelson…” Dorry scolded, pinching my back. She was desperate to maintain her image in front of this pretentious monkey.

Did he really think wearing a suit and trousers pulled up to his chest made him look dashing?

“You said it—you don’t know me. I won’t argue. Just make sure you stick to that story,” I said with a grin, winking at Dorry.

Hector clenched his jaw but made sure Dorry didn’t see his furious expression. The moment she looked at him, he forced a smile.

“Shall we, my friend?” I asked Dorry with a smirk, earning another glare.

But then she smiled and turned to Hector.

“Hector, thank you for allowing me to work with your company,” she said sweetly, extending her hand to him.

“It’s my pleasure, Dorothy—”

“Let’s go! Enough with the chit-chat!” I slapped Hector’s hand away just as it was about to shake Dorry’s. Their shocked expressions were priceless.

“Continue your conversation tomorrow, when there’s no one outside dying from the heat or getting bored waiting,” I said, pulling Dorry by the waist and practically dragging her out.

I didn’t care that her high heels made it hard for her to walk. Serves her right to smile so sweetly at another man. And when it’s me she’s facing, all she does is glare.

“Are you insane?! Why did you do that, Nelson? You’re so rude!” Dorry scolded as we exited the building.

“Fine, I’m rude. But that lunatic is worse!” I pointed at the building as if Hector were still standing in front of me.

“I don’t care about your feud! And I definitely don’t care who’s ruder between you two. What you did was still wrong, Nelson. He’s my boss!”

“Boss? What kind of boss? A boss who wants to get you in bed?” I shot back.

Her eyes narrowed, and she let out a bitter laugh before exhaling sharply. “What does it matter to you if he undresses me with his eyes? It’s just looks. But you…” She trailed off, glancing down at my hand still on her waist. “You’re getting too comfortable!” She slapped my hand away.

“You should be grateful it’s just my hand, not my body!” I shot back before running off.

When I turned to look at her, she was furious, ready to throw her bag at me. But she stopped when she saw Hector watching us through the office’s glass wall.

I waved at him, adding a cheeky grin.

“Let’s go, Dorry. Your parents have been waiting,” I said as I got into the car.

I saw her wave at Hector, who responded with a flying kiss. Ugh, what a pest.

And Dorry? I wanted to pinch her. Smiling like that!

“How do you know each other?” she asked as she got into the car.

I frowned at her, and she glared back.

“Didn’t you get what Hector said earlier? He claimed not to know me. So I guess I’m the only one who knows him,” I said as she started the car.

“Yeah, I got it! But please, Nelson, don’t ever do that again. Stay out of my affairs. You ruin my plans, and now my job, too!”

I let out a bitter laugh. “At least it’s just your plans and job that got ruined. Me...my entire life!”

She looked at me briefly. “Why are you blaming me for the bad things in your life? You’re an adult, Nelson. We were both capable of making our own choices back then. If your life got messed up, that was your choice, not my fault!”

“You never stop talking! Did I say it was your fault? I admit, you messed up my life for a while, but Dorry, there’s so much you don’t know about me. So don’t assume my world revolves around you. Just like you, I ended up on that island to forget my past,” I replied as the car came to a halt.