Chapter 2

Our employer's office was so quiet it felt unnatural. He reviewed the surveillance footage, every transaction record, every access log.

When he finally spoke, his conclusion was unmistakable. I had never sold company secrets. Matthew's accusation was nothing but slander.

I expected relief, maybe even a flicker of guilt. Instead, the people outside stared at me as if they were piecing together a riddle. They looked like they were trying to figure out what I had slipped our employer to make the problem disappear.

If our employer had not repeated his conclusion repeatedly, I doubted anyone would have believed I was innocent.

When I returned to my desk, the tension did not ease. If anything, it thickened.

"Matthew was acting in the company's best interest. So what if Alexander was innocent? Why does he look like we owe him an apology?"

"Exactly. Maybe nothing happened this time. But what about next time? Rumors don't come from nowhere."

I had joined the company and reached top performance almost immediately. Their jealousy had taken root long before this incident. I could see it in their eyes. Now that they finally had an excuse to step on me, why would they let go?

Matthew looked worse than anyone. His face was dark, his desk shoved into a mess. He sat there seething, letting out short, cold snorts as if he were the wronged party.

When his gaze met mine, something in him snapped. He shot to his feet, the chair scraping loudly against the floor.

"Fine, Alexander. I misjudged you. I shouldn't have reported you for the sake of company security. Are you happy now? If you're still not satisfied, I'll resign. I'll disappear completely. Will that be enough for you?"

It sounded like a question, but it was not. Anyone walking in without context would have thought I was the one bullying him.

What caught me most off guard was who stood up next—Selena.

"Alexander, that's too much," she said sharply. "We're all coworkers. Do you really have to push it this far? People make mistakes. No one's perfect. Stop being so aggressive."

She was visibly agitated. Sweat beaded at her temples, and her breathing came fast.

A memory surfaced from college. During a basketball game, a teammate had deliberately rammed into me and knocked me down. She had reacted the same way then, standing up for me with unrestrained anger.

Now she was doing it for another man, one she had barely known for any time at all.

It felt absurd.

I looked at her, then lowered my voice. "I don't understand, Lena. I'm the one who got hurt here. Why are you blaming me? Is he more important than me?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, she fell silent. Her gaze drifted away.

I could not tell whether it was guilt or regret.

She spoke softly, as if afraid someone else might hear. "I just think he hasn't had it easy. You know his parents passed away when he was young. He suffered a lot growing up. He started working so early. You grew up in a happy family. Why do you have to go after him like this?"

So that was it. He had a tragic past, a difficult life. And that meant he could pour all his resentment onto me without consequence.

Her voice stayed low, but every word landed like a blow.

Across the room, I caught the faint, mocking curve of Matthew's smile.

A hollow ache spread through my chest. This was what betrayal felt like when it came from the person closest to you.

My heart throbbed dully. A thousand words crowded my throat, but when I looked at Selena's face, none of them surfaced.

Even if I spoke, what would it change?

That was how things went. People changed.

In the end, I only shook my head and stopped arguing.