4

Gavin opened his mouth as though to say something.

But Fiona got there first, tears at the corners of her eyes, tugging at his cuff. "Leave it, Gavin. Nora hasn't done anything wrong. I only meant well. I just wanted Nora to try food from a three-star hotel. How was I supposed to know she would take it so badly..."

She lowered her head and dabbed at her eyes as though she'd suffered a terrible injustice.

Gavin fell for her performance at once, his expression darkening further.

He turned and fixed his gaze on me, his tone sharpening. "Nora, the company chose the three-star hotel! You're a senior employee, but instead of supporting the decision, you've opposed it again and again! What exactly are you trying to pull! If you still count yourself part of this company, you should stay in step with the team instead of demanding special treatment."

He snatched my lunch container off the desk and threw it into the trash.

Then he took a glazed stoneware meal set from the hotel's delivery crate and shoved it toward me. "If you want to keep working here, you eat the same thing we do."

The stoneware bowl had barely touched the desk.

A stronger chemical odor hit me, so harsh that my stomach lurched.

That was the last straw. "Gavin, protect Fiona all you like, but don't drag everyone else to their deaths with you!"

The coworkers closest to Fiona erupted. "If you don't want it, then get out! Do you think you're some kind of princess? Are you too good for the rest of us?"

"Exactly. Don't you think a chef at a three-star hotel knows more than your parents' humble home kitchen?"

"That ratatouille your dad makes? I'd be embarrassed to feed it to my dog!"

"I think you're jealous that Fiona is younger and more capable than you. You're twisted!"

The shouting swelled. Even Megan only looked as though she wanted to speak.

In the end she lowered her head, ate her own lunch in silence, and didn't dare make another sound.

I stood where I was without moving and without answering back.

But their anger fed on itself.

Someone snatched an empty desk-tidy off a desk and hurled it at me.

I could not dodge in time. A dull blow struck my forehead.

Warm blood ran down from my brow and dripped onto my shirt collar, blooming into a small dark-red stain.

And Gavin only moved instinctively to put Fiona behind him.

He looked at the blood on my forehead, frowned once, and in the end never took a single step toward me.

Everyone stared as if I were a stray dog that had wandered into their midst.

I wiped the blood off my forehead with the back of my hand and nodded. "Fine. If this is how you all treat me, then I'll go."

I went back to my desk and packed up my personal things.

I walked straight into the boss's office and handed in my resignation on the spot.

Ten minutes later I walked out of the building.

I sent Gavin one message. "We're done."

Then I blocked him on every channel.

When Gavin got the message he didn't take it seriously at all.

He assumed Nora was throwing a tantrum and would come back after a couple of days of coaxing.

But a whole month passed and Nora had vanished off the face of the earth.

His own health began to deteriorate for no apparent reason.

For several mornings, he woke with nosebleeds; during the day, he sat at his desk lightheaded and foggy.

That day he made his coffee as usual, sat down, and was about to open a file.

Then a thud sounded behind him, followed by a scream. "Help! Fiona passed out!"