Her words drove straight into the rawest nerve I had, and before I could think, the wedding favors in my hand were already flying at her face.
She yelped, her expression crumpling into wounded innocence：“Eva, what are you doing? I was being nice, giving you wedding favors out of the goodness of my heart. How could you treat me like this?”
Murray was at her side in an instant, pulling Iris into his arms. His brow furrowed with displeasure as he looked at me：
“Team Leader Cox, I'm going to need you to apologize to my wife. Now.”
I lifted my gaze to his. My hand curled into a fist at my side：“And if I don't?”
His expression darkened：“When you do something wrong, you apologize. Even a child knows that. Surely I don't need to teach you, Team Leader Cox?”
“Or maybe you're telling me you'd rather not be involved in the final stages of ‘Starlight’?”
I stared at him in disbelief, my lashes trembling. He knew better than anyone what ‘Starlight’ meant to me.
I had poured countless sleepless nights into ‘Starlight’, revising draft after draft, reworking every detail until the lines blurred.
On a freezing winter night, I had camped outside the client's office. They pointed at my face and called me shameless, and I took it, all for the chance to present my design concept.
The day the client finally approved ‘Starlight’ and the project officially moved into production, my body gave out. I collapsed at my desk.
When I opened my eyes, Murray was sitting beside me, his eyes rimmed red. His voice had been so tender：
“Eva, as long as I'm in this position, I promise you'll always be the lead creator of ‘Starlight’. Your name will be listed first.”
And now, barely two years later, Murray was using ‘Starlight’ as a weapon against me.
My voice came out raw：“I'm the original creator of Starlight. I'm one of the key people who built it. What right do you have to threaten me with ‘Starlight’?”
Murray's gaze went cold, laced with warning：“Because I'm the general manager of this company. And because Iris is the newly appointed director, with co-creator credit and decision-making authority over ‘Starlight’.”
The words knocked the breath out of me. Co-creator credit? Decision-making authority over ‘Starlight’?
‘Starlight’ was my original work. My name was the one that belonged in the creator field.
I opened my mouth to argue, but Murray's voice dropped low, cutting me off：
“Eva, Iris only needs a secondary-creator credit. You're still the lead. That doesn't change.”
“But if you make a scene, I can't guarantee your name will appear on ‘Starlight’ at all.”
I clenched my teeth, my fists tight at my sides. ‘Starlight’ was days away from completion. I couldn't watch two years of work go up in smoke.
I forced the tears of humiliation back behind my eyes and spoke, each word bitten off separately：“I'm sorry, Iris.”
Iris nestled deeper into Murray's arms and smiled, magnanimous：“It's okay, Eva. I know you have feelings for Murray too. But love has to go both ways, you know?”
I kept my head down, the whispers closing in around me：
“So that's what this is about. Jealousy.”
“I've seen her throwing herself at Mr. Hughes more than once. Homemade lunches, hangover soup, the whole routine.”
“Tsk tsk……chased him like a lost puppy and ended up with nothing.”
Tears blurred my vision. Then my phone buzzed, pulling me back. I looked down at the screen and saw the word ‘Brother’ flashing across it. I ducked my head and rushed into the restroom.
I steadied my breathing and forced something light into my voice：“Hey.”
Frank's warm laugh came through the line：“Eva, we're going to see each other soon. I've got a surprise for you.”
I murmured a quiet ‘okay’, and after a few more words, he hung up.
“Eva, back there, my hands were tied. You don't hold that against me, do you?” I was about to turn around when Murray's voice rose from behind me.
