Petals Shed in the Night

Anna Stark spent ten years finally winning Neil Irons's heart—an anonymous admirer bearing unrequited love, now at last Neil's fiancée whom he personally acknowledged.And yet, just two weeks before the wedding, she gave up."Hey, chief," she said calmly, putting the filled form on the supervisor's desk. "I'm volunteering to transfer to the northwestern research center—just add me to the list."The supervisor looked up in shock behind his computer. "Wait, I thought you were marrying Neil next month! And we all know you're here for him in the first place, but you're saying you're heading northwest now?"Anna felt the lump in her throat but spoke up before the supervisor could continue further, "Just approve it, chief." Those around her knew how hard she clung to Neil over the years, giving up on promotions just to stay with him as his assistant. He always kept people at arm's reach, but she possessed extraordinary patience. It took him ten years to get used to her hovering aro

Neil frowned. "What?"But he didn't even have time to be shocked as Josie came running down the hallway, "Neil! There's a problem with specimen number 3!"Neil promptly turned to her. "What happened?""The threshold is shooting up! Come quick!" Josie cried, tugging on his sleeve.Neil turned back to Anna, his tone flat again, "This takes precedence. We can talk later after I'm done."Without giving Anna any time to respond, he quickly followed Josie and disappeared, while Anna stood there and watched them leave, impassive.She wasn't surprised—to Neil, anything and everything else mattered more than her.Even if he did say they could talk later, he didn't mean it—he never cared about any arrangement for their wedding, only paying up when she asked.Now that she had told him she was calling it off, she had fulfilled all her obligations.The house she bought for the wedding was being sold through an agency, and she had already vacated her previous rental, leaving her suddenly ho

The next few days were calm enough.However, Anna was just packing up and leaving for the day when the lab door swung open, and Mrs. Swan came running in, "Anna! Come, quick! Your mother and brother are freaking out at the front gates, and security can't stop them!"Anna's heart sank. She'd cut off financial support to her family after leaving the other day, but they were already here, knocking on her door. From afar, she could hear her brother cursing and ranting out loud while her mother wailed. The doorway was packed, with Gina sitting on the floor, smacking herself as she bawled, "It's an outrage! My rotten daughter doesn't even care about us just because she succeeded in life!" Nearby, Yannick was poking the security guard and snapping, "Get out of my way! I have every right to get my sister's money!" Anna was fuming even as she pushed through the crowd and snapped at them, "That's enough! What do you think you're doing here?!" "What are we doing!?" Yannick shoved th

Despite seeing Neil standing there, Anna didn't move aside to let him in.She didn't say a word, only staring at him and waiting for him to speak.Neil himself was silent for a while, and eventually began, "I rejected Josie…"He trailed off, and eventually finished, "Don't worry about it."Anna was surprised, as she expected him to tell her that he and Josie were now together.But now he was telling her that he had rejected Josie? Even telling her not to worry about it?She calmly replied, "Doesn't matter. It's none of my business."Neil's eyes were wide with surprise at her indifference.But she really didn't care and said, "If there's nothing else, I'm going to bed.""Anna." Neil placed his hand on the door, stopping her from closing it. "You're being weird."Anna didn't speak as she averted her gaze and shut the door in his face, shutting up the person she had admired for ten years.Leaning against the cold door, she breathed a long sigh while a dull ache shot through her

Neil's words were a knife, plunged into Anna's heart and twisting inside just for good measure, while the scornful looks from the crowd further cemented her humiliation.After all, she was just an assistant who handled Neil's daily schedule and documentation. She had no credentials, let alone the skill to independently complete this research.He hadn't just publicly denied her individual merit—he had trampled her dignity under his foot, all just for another woman's career progression.She didn't miss the brief smugness in Josie's eyes, piercing Anna's last shred of reason.Blood rushed to her head—rage and resentment all swelled into an impulsive drive, and she sprang to her feet as she strode toward the stage.However, she almost reached it when Neil strode down, grabbing her by her wrist so tightly it hurt."Let go!" Anna struggled, her voice trembling with rage.Neil didn't even look at her, only nodding at the crowd. "Sorry, I need to run something by my assistant."With