Chapter 4

The words had barely left his mouth when he realized he'd gone too far.

He instinctively reached out to grab my arm, but I didn't give him the chance.

Some words are like knives; once they're out, you can't take them back.

When Marcus returned home, I was packing. He hung his head, wrapping his arms around me from behind, and whispered coaxingly,

"Bella, I know I messed up. Please don't be angry."

"I've already transferred her to a branch office. I promise you won't see her again, okay?"

I ignored him, simply putting my clothes, one by one, into the suitcase.

Seeing this, Marcus suddenly gripped my wrist, his voice soft but incredibly jarring.

"Don't be childish, Bella. Where would you go without me? As far as I know, you don't have any other family here in New York City, do you?"

"Listen to me, you used to not be this willful."

At his words, my movements stiffened.

Marcus knew perfectly well that I had fallen out with my father and left home for him, coming to New York City alone.

On countless lonely nights, I could only pass the time by looking at old photos of my family.

Yet, he used this as his leverage against me, a free pass to hurt me.

I looked at him, and suddenly the man in front of me felt like a complete stranger.

After a long silence, the abrupt ring of a phone broke the quiet. It was Tiffany calling.

Marcus looked at me, hesitated for a moment, then pressed decline.

Soon, the phone rang again.

He declined it again.

It wasn't until the third time the phone rang that Marcus, feigning impatience, finally answered.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me unless it's important?"

"Boss, please help me, they're all making me drink... I really can't drink anymore... I'm sorry, it's my fault for being useless..."

A slightly drunken voice came through the phone. Marcus's brows furrowed sharply.

"Where are you? I'm coming over now."

He paused, looked at me deeply, then turned to leave.

"Bella, this is the last time. She's still an employee of our company, and I can't let her say anything that would damage our company's reputation."

"What if I say I don't want you to go?"

I stared at him directly, but before I could finish, the door slammed shut with a bang.

My heart felt like it was pierced by countless needles, riddled with holes, aching in that instant.

I knew, our story was over.

Soon, the news of the Davies Industries CEO speeding on the highway made headlines.

He barged into a restaurant's private dining room and, without a word, assaulted the male clients eating there, getting into a brawl.

For one night, Marcus Davies saving a beautiful woman dominated local news, but just as it was about to blow up, the story was suppressed.

I was alone at home, my phone still buzzing with Marcus's messages:

[Bella, you must be asleep by now. I'll bring you your favorite pastries from that shop tomorrow. Don't be angry, okay? I swear, she's just a junior colleague I'm looking out for. I love you, wife.]

I lowered my eyes. Even now, Marcus didn't know that I never liked sweets.

When the company was just starting out and we were severely short on funds, I often ate those pastries simply because they were cheap, and the money saved could go towards rent.

I clicked on Tiffany's Twitter profile.

She was live-streaming, tears streaming down her face.

"Today, Boss fought with clients for me. If only I were more capable, I wouldn't drag him down."

"But... he wasn't just protecting me, he was protecting our baby in my belly."

The comments were flooding the screen:

[Moving so fast, I'm shipping them, may they last forever!]

[He feels guilty for not protecting you, you feel guilty for being useless, aww, what a divine, mutually devoted love story!]

I scoffed. Marcus, a child?

The next second, my gaze fell upon her live-streaming location: the police station.

Right, he had caused quite a scene this time.

Without hesitation, I made a call:

"Aunt Vivienne, come pick me up. We're going to the police station."