Lahat ng Kabanata ng You Chose Secrecy, I Chase the Light: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 9

My voice was loud enough for every coworker around us to hear clearly.For a moment, the entire room fell silent.Then, Mark Perrette spoke in that same gentle voice, except he was talking to Katrina Palmer.“Kat, are your feet hurting from standing so long? Let me carry you.”Without missing a beat, he withdrew his hand and swept Katrina into his arms.It was as if nothing had happened, and he had not heard a word I said.It was as if I was not even there.That familiar sense of helplessness washed over me again.He was treating me like I was invisible again.Mark always said we had to keep our distance around our coworkers.So, unless it was about work, he would deliberately ignore everything I said.Then, he would somehow turn it into yet another excuse to fuss over Katrina.Once, when I was running late, I asked him to hold the elevator. Instead, he asked if Katrina was cold from the draft and promptly pressed the button to close the doors.Another time, I had a cold a

When I returned to the apartment, I threw my filthy wedding dress into the trash and began to pack.Mark had always insisted that keeping our relationship secret meant leaving no trace of me anywhere, not even in the home we shared.For eight years, we had slept in separate rooms. Mine was a converted storage room tucked out of sight. Even my clothes had to be plain and gender-neutral.Once, on our anniversary, I had put on a beautiful dress just for him.He had accused me of jeopardizing everything he had worked so hard to protect, then stormed out and slammed the door behind him.After that, we never celebrated another anniversary.With a bitter laugh, I stripped every last black, white, and gray outfit from the closet and tossed them into the trash, packing only the essentials.After eight rootless years, everything I owned fit inside a suitcase.Just as I was about to head out the door, I ran straight into Mark coming in with Katrina.When he saw my packed suitcase, he sto

At those words, Mark froze as if he had just heard something impossible.“Resigned? Who approved her resignation? Why wasn’t I informed?”The HR representative sounded confused. “I sent Emily’s resignation letter to you last night. You signed it yourself.”Mark suddenly remembered the document he had received.During the after-party, someone from HR had briefly mentioned some paperwork from Emily. Mark had immediately assumed that she was trying to compete with Katrina for the promotion.After persuading Emily to step aside and let Katrina have the management position, he had signed the document without even reading it.He had thought he was authorizing Emily’s temporary transfer.He never imagined that he was approving her resignation.Only last night, he had believed Emily was finally learning to be compliant and reasonable.It finally clicked for him. Her compliance had looked more like the numb acceptance of someone who had given up. Or perhaps it was the quiet resolve of

Mark staggered back and released John. His face burned with humiliation.John immediately turned to Katrina, clinging to her as his last hope.Katrina forced a smile. “Mark, don’t be so harsh. I’m sure he didn’t mean it. Firing him seems extreme. Why not transfer him to the North Vale project team for now instead…?”Before she could finish, Mark cut her off with an icy look.“Say another word in his defense, and you’re fired too.”Katrina had never heard him speak to her like that before.Katrina froze on the spot. Tears welled up in her eyes.Realizing that Mark would not change his mind, John hurled the bags of groceries onto the floor.He shot Katrina a resentful look. “Some Mrs. Perrette you are. You can’t even get him to listen to you.”The title struck a nerve. Mark’s voice turned even colder.“Don’t call Katrina my wife. She’s just a friend. Emily is the woman I love. If I hadn’t been trying to keep our relationship out of the office, I would never have asked Katrina t

In the days that followed, I showed up, did my job, and went home.Unless it concerned work, I ignored every question Mark asked and every favor he requested.Even when he merely asked me to pass him a mug or hold a door, I acted as though I had not heard him.Before long, everyone around us noticed how coldly I treated him.Several coworkers suggested that he ask for a different supervisor, but Mark steeled himself and refused.He knew that he was merely getting payback for the eight years of coldness he had shown me.Mark did not fully grasp the contrast until Jonathan Law, an old friend from graduate school, joined the company.Jonathan had been a year ahead of me. We had studied under the same adviser and worked in the same research area, so conversation between us came easily.Whenever Mark tried to join us, he found himself politely but firmly shut out.As more of my attention shifted toward Jonathan, Mark began inventing reasons to make himself noticed.Whenever he had