Chapter 2

I didn’t go home.

At two in the morning, I sat alone on a bench by the sea, my stomach burning and stinging from the alcohol.

That was when Adrian finally called.

“Where are you? Why aren’t you back yet?”

“Had too much to drink.”

Twenty minutes later, Adrian’s car pulled over to the curb.

He got out and walked up to me, and the second he saw the bottle in my hand, his face darkened.

“Claire, have you lost your mind?”

He pulled off his coat and draped it over my shoulders, an irritation in his voice he couldn’t quite hold back.

“Don’t you know your stomach’s bad? Who told you to drink?”

I said nothing.

He bent down to look at me.

“Why were you drinking?”

I lifted my head and looked at him.

“Because I walked past The Laurent.”

Adrian went still.

“I saw you and Vivian,” I said softly.

He was quiet for a few seconds, then quickly regained his composure.

“Since you saw us, there’s nothing for me to hide.”

“Vivian’s been doing well on the branding project lately. I’m planning to move her to the president’s office.”

“She’s never been in a setting like The Laurent before. She can’t come along to meet clients knowing nothing about any of it.”

“I have to show her the ropes.”

I looked at that familiar face and let out a thin smile.

“Show her the ropes... Does showing her the ropes require a necklace worth hundreds of thousands of dollars?”

Adrian frowned, a trace of impatience crossing his face.

“Claire, don’t be so petty. It’s just a necklace.”

“And then she won’t look shabby wearing it out with me. That’s called an investment.”

Then, as if he didn’t want to keep talking about it, he turned and pulled a bag out of the car, holding it out to me.

“Chestnut cake from The Laurent.”

“You always wanted to try it, didn’t you? I grabbed you one on the way out.”

I looked at the paper bag and didn’t take it.

He frowned.

“Claire, that’s enough.”

“It was just a meal. There’s no need to be so sensitive.”

“You said you’d had too much to drink, right? Eat something. It’ll settle your stomach.”

The words had barely left his mouth when his phone rang.

“Go on and eat. We’ll head home after.”

Then he walked off a few yards down the beach and answered the call.

The waves were loud, but I still heard every word.

“Mm. Arrange the dinner seating the way I told you.”

“Vivian sits next to me.”

“Claire? She doesn’t like these events. Just put her at the staff table.”

I looked down at the chestnut cake, then silently dumped it into the trash bin beside me.

A soft plop.

And with it, I threw away the last shred of hope I had left in him.

Adrian came back, saw the empty cake box, and only then gave a satisfied smile.