Chapter 2

That was the reason I had been tormented endlessly every single day for five years.

When I woke up at night, I'd slap myself for screwing up such an important contract.

How did I fail to find those typos even after checking over a dozen times?

But now, at the very end, I found out that it was all a lie and, on top of that, my punishment.

Giles fired our old friends just to screw me over, but that still didn't satisfy him, as he blamed me for that too.

How tragic.

I laughed in exasperation so much that tears came to my eyes.

Still, I soon broke into a flop sweat; my stomach churned, and it felt like I was stung by a hundred needles inside.

Not caring to argue, I picked up my phone, ready to deduct more pay to order takeout.

I hadn't been paid for five years, as Giles would just take it away and call it reimbursement.

Now, I only had the bare minimum of ten bucks in my balance.

While I rummaged through the pantry for anything I could eat, Sue suddenly slipped on the perfectly flat floor, pushing me.

Losing my balance, my right hand caught the steaming hot microwave.

Hiss!

With an audible sizzle, my skin was burnt, leaving a bulging boil.

The worn phone Giles had given me also shattered into pieces on the floor, completely broken for good.

I promptly reached for the tap, intending to ease my pain.

However, Sue was raising her brow and scoffing, "What? Do you have to burn yourself when it was such a light bump, Ms. Singer... Oh!"

She gasped out loud, raising a finger as if she had just realized what she was saying. "I get it! You're hurting yourself to make yourself look good in front of Mr. Smith! Sorry I ruined it for you, but you can continue!"

Giles was going to help me, but his face turned cold right then as he turned off the tap. "Water costs money too. And you have the least cause to waste the company's money.

"Quit being such a manipulative snake and focus on work. Your performance is clearly taking a dip—five proposal backups dropping to one? What's your problem?"

It was true that I had been so depressed after the cancer diagnosis and couldn't work as hard as before.

Smack!

Before I could defend myself, Sue suddenly slapped herself, sobbing in grief, "It's all my fault! I sprained my wrist playing tennis, and Mr. Smith gave me the day off, even coming over to take care of me.

"Ms. Singer must have been jealous and started to think too much about getting his attention back and got distracted at work..."

And with that, she gave the perfect reason why I even got hurt, while personal grievance was determined to be the reason for my work negligence.

As if I really was causing trouble over mere jealousy.

Worst of all, Giles believed all of it and was glaring at me furiously. "I have been too nice for five years, haven't I? Is that why you keep screwing around?"

He shoved me, hard.

I was already ill and had been starving the whole day, and collapsed instantly, gasping when I felt my back hit something painfully.

Giles snorted in disappointment and stepped on my burnt hand. "Still trying to lie when you were caught? When will it really end with you?"

As my back arched in agony, Giles raised a brow, but he finally lifted his foot, his expression cold as ever. "Your debt is paid, but you still wasted five years of the company's time. That wouldn't have happened if you didn't make such a blunder.

"We never really recovered from it, and forget employee benefits—everyone's salary was docked because we can't afford it.

"If you don't make up for that billion-dollar loss, I can't marry you. And don't you dare accuse me of being demanding—I just don't want you to be burdened by guilt for life, but you can do whatever you like."