"Tristan!"
"Let me explain!"
She grabbed my hand.
I turned to look at her and remembered how thrilled she’d been when I secured the company’s first partnership deal.
"Tristan!"
“You’re amazing! You’re my savior! Without you, the company would’ve gone bankrupt next month.”
That night, Wanda got drunk. As she leaned against my shoulder, she murmured, "Meeting you is the happiest thing that has ever happened to me!”
"From this moment on, if anyone tries to bully you, I’ll be the first to stand up for you!”
“You’re mine and no one can take you away...”
Her flushed cheeks were breathtakingly beautiful, like the evening glow on the horizon.
But not this moment. She felt like a stranger to me.
When she saw me not saying anything, she continued with a hint of reproach, “With all those employees around earlier, I had to keep things professional. Otherwise, who would respect me?”
"Please, try to understand me, okay?"
At the end of the words, she showed a pitiful expression, as if I had wronged her and made her suffer great injustice.
“Is that all? Isn't it because you care about Julian more than me?" I asked seriously.
“What are you thinking!”
She hastily denied it. "Don't overthink. I only think Julian is talented. I admire him and want to keep him ...”
Before she finished speaking, Julian's voice sounded.
She left after saying, “After the annual meeting, let's take a boat tour around the city to watch the fireworks.”
Then she turned and hurried away.
As I watched her, I shook my head in disappointment and muttered to myself, "Do you think I'm an idiot?"
In fact, there were some warning signs before today's incident.
Yesterday, when I went up to the rooftop to smoke, I accidentally overheard two executives talking.
They said Julian had asked Wanda to replace me as general manager and she had agreed. She even told him to find any excuse and bring it to the annual meeting.
With so many people around, it would be easy to pull it off.
She also told him not to worry and said she and I were only engaged.
Whether we would get married was still uncertain. Then she encouraged him to try even harder.
At the time, I dismissed it as ordinary gossip and didn't give it much thought. Little did I know reality would slap me in the face so hard.
Perhaps I should have realized long ago that their relationship was more than just business.
Take Julian's meal allowance, for instance—it's ten times higher than others. Another thing, Wanda was a very private person, so no one, including me, could enter her office freely, except for Julian.
Julian and I shared the same birthday, but she chose to attend his birthday rather than mine.
Every time I wanted to talk about it, she would use the same familiar line. "Julian is talented. I want to keep him, so of course I have to put in more effort."
“It’s not for me—it’s for the company.”
“Please try to understand me, okay?”
Paired with that signature pitiable gaze, it always melted my heart.
At the same time, I couldn't believe Wanda had changed her heart.
Because privately, she always declared her love for me, curling up like a kitten in my arms.
And whether at work or in life, I did my best.
In three years, we signed thousands of contracts and designed hundreds of hit products!
So countless prestigious family businesses extended olive branches.
When countless heiresses threw themselves at me, I didn’t spare them a single glance.
Wanda could not drink alcohol, so I always took her drinks at social events, landing in the hospital multiple times.
Wanda loved Mexican cuisine, so I learned to cook it and let her order whatever she wanted every day.
She said she wanted to wait until the company was more established before marrying and I patiently waited.
