Chapter 3

Linda's POV

Exactly two minutes later, Sarah unsent the message.

She apologized, "I'm so sorry, Ms. Rye. I sent that to the wrong person. You didn't see anything, did you?"

A dull ache settled in my chest.

I couldn't be bothered to play along, but before I knew it, I'd already opened her Instagram. Photo after photo filled the screen.

Sarah had been back for an entire month. And throughout that month, Gerald had taken her everywhere.

Thinking back, I realized those were the very same days he'd told me he didn't want me overworking myself and had assigned my projects to other employees instead.

The Ivoryspire, Silverpeak Mountain, Moonveil Valley—every destination was somewhere I'd once begged Gerald to take me.

He would always pull me into his arms and smile, telling me, "Soon. Once work settles down, we'll go wherever you want."

I waited eight years for him to find the time, but he never did.

Yet Sarah had only been back for a month, and somehow, he wasn't busy anymore.

Everywhere they went, Gerald let Sarah take countless photos of the two of them together.

Yet in all the years we'd been together, he'd never once let me point a camera at him.

"If my sister ever finds out I stole her best friend away, she'll kill me. Besides, you're my secretary. Office romances only give people something to gossip about. I don't want you getting hurt," he said.

But when you truly love someone, how could you ever hide it?

I should have realized it sooner.

For eight years, Gerald had gone out of his way to keep our relationship in the shadows.

It wasn't because he wanted to protect me. It was because he never loved me.

I was about to close the app when a new post from Sarah appeared at the top of my feed.

The photo had been taken in a bedroom.

Dressed in a silky camisole, Sarah rested her slender hand against a man's sculpted abdomen.

It was a live photo. The moment I clicked on it, a voice I knew all too well drifted from the speaker. "Honey…"

I'd heard Gerald call me that countless times before.

Only now did I realize he had never been calling my name.

My vision blurred as tears finally spilled over, one drop landing on Sarah's caption.

She wrote, "Last night was unforgettable. He said no substitute could ever measure up to the real thing."

I wiped my eyes and hit the Like button.

As I stepped out of the office building, I ran into my best friend, Luna, who had stopped by on an errand.

Without thinking, I told her I was leaving—that I'd be going home to get married.

For the past eight years, Gerald had insisted we keep our relationship a secret. Whenever Luna tried to pry into my love life, I'd always found a way to steer the conversation elsewhere.

But now that I was leaving, I couldn't disappear without at least saying goodbye.

Luna blinked at me in shock. "Wait… you're leaving? Just like that?"

Then she frowned. "Doesn't that mean we're barely going to see each other again?"

All I could do was nod.

She immediately took my arm and pleaded, "Linda, every time I ask you out, you tell me you're buried in work. My mom's been wanting to meet you forever—you are my best friend, after all."

She tightened her grip on my arm and flashed me a pleading smile. "You're leaving, so no more excuses. You're coming to dinner with me tonight, and that's final."

And just like that, Luna whisked me away to the family dinner her parents were hosting that evening.

I'd always turned down Luna's invitations because of Gerald.

He used to tell me that when the time came to make our relationship public, he'd be the one to take me home and introduce me to his parents—as the future daughter-in-law of the Scott family.

Eight years passed, and that day never came.

Instead, I stepped into the Scott residence for the first time only after I'd decided to leave him.

By then, a banquet was already well underway. Gerald stood beside Sarah and his parents, accepting congratulations from the city's elite as they celebrated his engagement.

So that was what tonight was about.

The Scotts were officially announcing his engagement.