Chapter 3

He was right — I never should have cared in the first place. There was nothing left to care about even then.

I cut ties with every company chat group without a second thought.

As the sky began to lighten, I made my way home but ran into Marvin at the elevator. He glanced at me like I was nothing, scorned, and quickly looked away.

"Spent the night here mulling things over? Come to any realizations?"

I hit the elevator button, my voice dripping with indifference. "Yeah, I've had an epiphany. I'm done."

Marvin whipped around to face me, arms folded, taking in my ragged state from head to toe.

"You never wanted to be my right hand from the get-go. Guess what? That other company you're eyeing? They wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole now. Last warning — think before you let anything else slip."

He was not wrong.

Back when I was fresh on the job scene, I had options. However, Marvin, in the early days of his venture, was alone and scared out of his wits.

He pleaded with me to join him, to weather the storm together. I could not stand to see him worry, so I said yes without a second thought.

We signed a secret pact to keep our work partnership from getting tangled up with personal ties, thinking it would keep things clean.

He always acted like feelings and careers were apples and oranges.

I thought by sacrificing my own path and sticking by him, he would eventually see my worth.

That he would need me after all our time together.

I was so wrong.

Right from the start.

"I've already thought this through," I said, inhaling deeply before stepping into the elevator.

However, Marvin lunged for the closing doors, yanking me back out and gripping my arm like a vise.

"Tracy, what's with all this talk lately? Is it because I celebrated with someone else?

"I've told you a million times, Wendy's the ace up our sleeve right now, I need to keep her on board. With the market this cutthroat, you're not the help I need. Can't you just back off and-"

His phone cut him off mid-rant.

Marvin's frown deepened, and it did not take a genius to guess who was on the line.

From the moment Wendy started at the company, there were many times when she and Marvin kept in touch. It was unavoidable.

Marvin was told more than once how much it bothered me. I even begged him not to do it when I was around.

However, he brushed me off, thinking I was just being dramatic, not getting the bind he was in.

This time, though, I did not say a word nor lift a finger to stop him.

I just took the elevator down and headed home.

When I got there, the place was spotless. That was a relief. I went straight to the guest room to rest.

I was sure I would be tossing and turning all night, but I crashed out and slept like a rock.

That was, until evening came, when that wicked stomach pain hit me out of nowhere. It was so bad I could not even stand up straight.

I popped some painkillers from the nightstand, hunched over, and made my way to the hospital.

Holding the doctor's report, I was in a daze. I was about to book it out of there when I saw Marvin, holding Wendy close. She was wearing my jacket.

Wendy spotted me first. Her eyes flickered with surprise before she shuffled over.

"Tracy, what are you doing here so late?"

"I had loads for dinner last night and it messed me up. Marvin's been looking after me all night. He even grabbed my ID from the office first thing this morning and has been running around with me at the hospital all day.

"I've always been kind of sickly, but usually I'm okay. Marvin just worries too much. He called me his treasure and had to bring me here just to calm his nerves."

I gripped the doctor's report so hard my knuckles went white. I managed a tight-lipped smile. "It's not often you find a supervisor who cares that much."

Marvin gave me a hard look. "You haven't answered her. What are you doing here?"

I looked away, slipping the report into my pocket when I thought they would not notice.

"I was just out there, casually job hunting. I'm no treasure, after all, I have to find a way to make a living. "

I had no interest in small talk with the person before me, so I sidestepped them and made my exit.

Wendy spun around and caught my arm, her eyes brimming with urgency.

"Tracy, I'm so sorry about not bringing you along yesterday. It's been eating me up. You have to stick with us — it's freezing, and taxis don't come by that often.

"I gave Marvin an earful yesterday, trust me. He's given his word, if I'm saying yes, anything goes with him."

I curled an eyebrow, took a quick look at the man behind her, but did not bite.

Marvin closed in, his tone heavy with reproach, "Tracy, why do you have to be so thankless? When people reach out to you, why do you reject their kindness?

"You're spinning tales now. Forget your age, even your younger self wouldn't land a job here. Making up stories about job hunting comes way too easy to you.

"I haven't seen any resignation from you. You've got no special status here, your words mean nothing. Who gave you the nerve to just up and quit?"

I avoided his gaze, just gave a robotic nod.

"Say what you will, I'm done. I've got no interest in your spiel. If I don't quit, I'll just skip work — forever."

"You!" Marvin lunged, finger aimed at my nose.

I inhaled deeply, not in the mood for a spat, and headed to the department I needed, as per the instructions.

"Hi, I need to schedule an abortion as soon as possible."