Chapter 3

Cecilia had known Jeff her entire life.

Back then, Jones Group and Lawrence Group were partners, and her brother, Elias Jones, and Jeff were best friends.

Cecilia was so happy during those times. She had her brother's love and Jeff, her childhood friend who was always by her side.

When she was 17, Jeff told her he loved her. His eyes were shy, full of love. He was determined to stay with her forever.

Those next five years were the happiest of Cecilia's life.

That was until both Lawrence Group and Jones Group wanted the same project, and Jones Group won it by just a little bit.

Jeff's dad had put too much money into it, and when they lost, he had a heart attack and died. Just like that, Lawrence Group went out of business.

Jeff was so angry that he could not stand the Jones family anymore. In front of everyone, he told Cecilia, "It's either the Jones family or me. You have to choose!"

Cecilia loved Jeff so much, and she felt a little guilty about his dad, so she made the hard choice to stop talking to her brother Elias and went with Jeff to start a new business in the capital.

During that first year, Jeff was really touched. He hated Elias a lot, but he never let it show around Cecilia. He even made sure they never talked about anything to do with work.

By the next year, things had changed. Jeff's job was going great, and Yvonne was his new secretary.

Their relationship started to change in a quiet way.

Jeff stopped coming home at night. When he did show up, he would say he had work to do and sleep in the other bedroom.

He was spending more and more time alone with Yvonne.

Yvonne changed too. She went from being all nervous and trying to hide things to acting like she wanted to start trouble.

Cecilia kept telling herself it was not real, until the car crash. It was not a real crash, but it sure felt like one. That was when she knew.

Jeff did not love her anymore. It was the hard truth.

After she asked him that one big question, he stormed out and did not come back.

At that moment, the phone rang.

"Ms. Jones, Mr. Lawrence is really drunk and he's calling for you. Can you come get him?"

"Talk to his secretary," Cecilia said, and hung up.

However, the driver did not give up. After the fourth call, Cecilia could not say no anymore. She went to the club to find him.

When she got to the private room, she saw it. Jeff was not alone. He was hugging Yvonne tight and kissing her like he never wanted to let go.

Their friends were all cheering them on, like that was just another show for them.

Someone who liked to stir up trouble yelled out:

"Jeff, who's better in bed? Your new girl or your old one?"

Jeff just laughed like he did not care, "Who needs the old one when you've got someone new?"

Everyone cheered again.

"Mr. Lawrence, you're the man!"

That was when Cecilia felt it. In Jeff's heart, she was just his old flame who could not stand up to the new one. She was someone he did not even want to touch.

Her heart hurt so bad that she had to hold onto the wall to keep from falling.

In the private booth, Yvonne's voice, sweet and sugary, tested the waters again.

"So, if that's how it is, why don't you just break up with Cecilia?"

"I'll never break up with Cecilia." Jeff's voice was icy and harsh. "She's the only one who can remind me of how horribly my dad died. She's a constant reminder of the terrible things the Jones family did to me."

Cecilia's heart sank like she was plunged into freezing water.

All these years, Jeff had harbored such deep hatred for her.