Chapter 2

Perhaps because I'd been silent the whole ride, Anne glanced at the rearview mirror and unusually offered an explanation.

“Shawny's been fighting a cold these past few days. He couldn't get caught in the rain. Don't get the wrong idea."

What a considerate superior. She could remember her assistant's minor cold, yet forget that her boyfriend's injured shoulder wasn't supposed to get wet.

I pressed a hand against the shoulder that had begun to ache, instinctively wanting to argue.

But when the words reached my lips, all that came out was, "It's okay."

What else could I say?

‘He's just your assistant. Why do you care whether he's sick?

‘Why did you give me the shrimps he left behind? Why were you so afraid he'd get wet?’

I'd asked those questions so many times that even I was tired of hearing them.

Ever since Shawn joined the company, things like this had happened every day.

I still remember the first time he mixed up our names. It was during a project with a major client.

Since it was our first collaboration, the company treated it seriously. I spent seven sleepless nights finishing the proposal.

When Anne met with the client, however, Shawn had put his own name on the presentation.

Afterward, I asked Anne why she hadn't corrected it.

She said it would create a bad impression, afraid that the client might think the company lacked professionalism. As long as everyone inside the company knew it was my work, that was enough.

When the project ended, the ten-thousand-dollar bonus went to Shawn, and the industry accolades and recognition went to him as well.

I confronted Anne and she privately transferred thirty thousand dollars to me, saying only three words.

"Is that enough?"

Those three words swallowed every grievance I'd been holding inside, leaving behind nothing but bitterness.

From then on, Shawn getting our names mixed up became a norm.

Anne asked him to buy me a watch and the recipient ended up being Shawn.

At a business gala, the name card beside Anne's seat bore his name too.

Every time, Anne had an excuse, saying he was younger, that he didn't mean it, and that I shouldn't be so petty.

But I never imagined that she wouldn’t even care about the banner wishing us a lifetime of happiness.

I supposed, our relationship was never meant to last.

The car pulled up outside a building, but the rain showed no sign of letting up.

"We're home. Get out."

I didn't move. My gaze fell on the new rabbit charm hanging inside the car.

"What happened to the little tiger I gave you?"

She chuckled.

"Shawn said the old one looked worn out, so he gave me a new one. Isn't it cute?

"It's just a cheap little trinket. Don't overthink it."

The old thing wasn't the charm, but the person.

I said nothing more and reached for the door. Only then did Anne realize she'd given the only umbrella in the car to Shawn.

She hurriedly offered me her suit jacket.

"It's pouring. Use this to cover yourself."

I lowered my eyes to the thin jacket.

I didn't take it. Instead, I got out and ran upstairs through the rain.

When I got home, I carefully showered without getting my wound wet and changed the dressing.

It wasn’t until I stepped out of the bedroom did Anne notice the fresh bandages.

She froze for a moment as a rare trace of guilt flitted across her face.

"Sean, you’ve had a rough day today."

The very next words she spoke, however, were colder than the rain I’d been caught in all day.

"As compensation, hand the Cloudview Project you're working on over to Shawn.

"You've been working too hard lately. This is a good chance to take a break."

I almost burst out laughing in disbelief.

I'd spent four months on that project. The client demanded perfection, and I'd revised even the smallest details countless times. Now that it was finally about to be finalized, she was telling me to take a break?

"Why?

"I won't agree to it."

The guilt in Anne's eyes disappeared, replaced by impatience.

"Why? Because this is my company, and you're just an employee.

"Sean, why are you always so stubborn!

"Can't you learn something from Shawn? Your names sound the same but can you be any more different than him?"

It felt as though something inside my chest quietly shattered.

Back when we started the company, she'd held my hand and told me I was capable. She'd asked me to help her and said that one day we'd live in a big house and drive the finest luxury cars.

Now that she could afford all of those things, there was no longer any place for me in her eyes.

I smiled.

"Fine. Give it to him. Then I quit. It'll be a good opportunity to change jobs."