One of the men turned to Wyatt, giving the signal. “Sir, you may proceed.”
“Let go!” I demanded.
I kicked the bodyguard square in the groin, dodged to the side, and grabbed Wyatt’s arm. Raising my hand high, I snapped, “You’re just an assistant. Who gave you the nerve to act like this?”
“Stop right there!”
Suddenly, a sharp voice cut through the parking lot.
I looked up and saw Darcy marching toward us, her face cold and tight.
“Darcy!” Wyatt broke free from my grip and, eyes red, rushed to her side. “He tried to hit me! Look at my face…”
Paint still streaked my own face as I turned to her, eyes indifferent.
“Y-You’re here to back him up, President Coldwell?” Wyatt asked, staring at her.
“I am,” she answered. To my shock, she shoved Wyatt aside.
“Darcy! He started it! He’s the one who messed with me!” Wyatt complained.
“Bryden,” Darcy called, looking at me. To my surprise, her eyes reddened.
“Bryden?” Wyatt froze mid-breath.
Darcy reached up and gently wiped the paint off my face, her gaze turning ice-cold as she turned to the team of security.
“Which one of you did this?” she asked through gritted teeth.
They exchanged uneasy glances, not daring to breathe. One of them instinctively looked toward Wyatt’s son.
“President Coldwell!” Wyatt quickly pulled the boy behind him. “He’s just a kid! He didn’t know any better—he was just playing around.”
“Oh, so he thought it was fun. And as his father, you thought it was fun too?” Darcy shot back.
“His father?” I cut in coldly. “What the hell is going on here?”
Darcy looked as if she were unaware of what had happened. She even started introducing the kid to me.
“Bryden, this is Wyatt’s son. His wife… There was an accident.”
“I—” Wyatt tried to speak, but Darcy cut him off.
“Have you completely lost your mind? Have you forgotten who helped you when you had nothing?” she snapped.
“But—” Wyatt tried to defend himself.
“Even if Bryden hadn’t come today,” Darcy pressed on, “are you saying this is how you usually go around throwing his name around to act all high and mighty?
Disappointment filled her eyes as she glared at him. “If he hadn’t called me just now, would you still be out here abusing his reputation?
She didn’t let him argue. “Weston’s still so young. Is this the kind of example you want to set for your son?!”
Wyatt’s eyes turned red again while Darcy’s gaze dropped to the little boy. Her first reaction was to roll up his sleeve and check the inside.
When she saw the initials stitched there, her perfectly shaped brows furrowed deeply.
“President Coldwell, I… I…” Wyatt scrambled to explain.
“Wyatt,” she cut in again, “I only let you stay on as my assistant after my husband went abroad because I pitied you.”
She sighed before she continued, “I even let you use his parking spot so you could conveniently bring your kid. And this is how you repay me? Repay him?”
Wyatt bit his lower lip hard, on the verge of tears.
‘So… Darcy really didn’t know?’ I wondered.
I was just about to ask when she spoke first.
“You’re done here. Wash your uniform and go to finance to collect your final paycheck.”
“What? President Coldwell, please—no!”
Panic spread across his face. He lunged forward to plead, but Darcy stepped in front of me protectively and signalled the security to stop him and his son from coming any closer.
“Bryden, I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
Her eyes were filled with worry, so gentle—just like the first time we met.
My eyes stung, and just like that, the anger inside me eased.
We had loved and known each other for fifteen years and had never once fought.
Even during the five years I was away, as long as I called—even if she was in the middle of a board meeting—she’d pause everything, just to give me one minute on a video call.
My clothes were still soaked in the paint Weston had thrown at me; Darcy brought me home to clean up.
But just as we exited the parking lot, a small homeless kid by the roadside caught my eye.
It had been five years, but that birthmark on his arm… That couldn’t be mistaken.
I pulled away from Darcy’s hand and stepped forward.
