Chapter 1

The moment I submitted my resignation, Mom’s call came through.

“Chloe, how are your resignation procedures going?”

“I’ve submitted the application. I should be officially free in about a month.”

“That’s good, that’s good,”

Mom’s voice lightened.

“Mom and some of our friends in town have been busy looking for potential dates for you. Come back soon and meet them, let’s try to get you settled down this year.”

She sighed as she spoke.

“Just stop thinking about Damian Blackwood. He’s too high-class, Chloe, from a completely different world than ours.”

My throat felt choked, and my eyes welled up.

“Mom, don’t worry, I know. I’ll come back and be with you once I’ve handed everything over.”

Hanging up, I started cleaning out my desk.

After all these years at Blackwood Corp, I had accumulated so much stuff.

I was only halfway through when my phone vibrated again.

Veronica sent me a location, with a single word: “Come.”

The address was clearly Damian Blackwood’s villa.

Twenty minutes later, I stood in front of the villa door.

The main gate was slightly ajar.

I pushed it open and saw Veronica standing in the living room, holding a bracelet.

My heart instantly clenched.

I remembered clearing out everything when I moved out of this villa. How could I have missed anything?

Before I could react, Veronica raised her hand and **SLAP!**

“I’ve been trying to find out who was with Damian after I went abroad, and I never in a million years thought it would be *you*, my best friend!”

“With that plain face, that scrawny figure? How could you possibly seduce Damian?”

I trembled all over, the humiliation washing over me like a tidal wave.

“Veronica, it was just an accident between us. And our… friends-with-benefits situation, that was only during your breakup with him. Before that, I never crossed a single line.”

“SLAP!”