13
“Bastian…”
Seemingly unable to believe what she saw, Isabelle called out again.
But Sebastian’s expression remained the same, making her suddenly feel panicked. The man spoke coldly.
“Why did you do this?”
She didn’t react.
“What are you talking about, Bastian?”
But the next second, the man shouted as if he had gone mad.
I’m asking you why you did this! Why did you slander Aurora!”
Although frightened by his tone, Isabelle was still very confused when she heard the secretary’s name.
“Isn’t she just a secretary, what’s the big deal, Bastian, why are you so angry? Didn’t you yourself say that she was just a secretary?
She said it so righteously that Sebastian suddenly lost all his fight.
“Yeah, I was the one who made her leave back then, so why am I so angry now?
Isabelle walked closer, wanting to hug him.
“Don’t be angry anymore, Bastian, shall we go eat?
But hearing that overly sweet voice, Sebastian’s irritation grew, and his mind was filled with Aurora’s wronged face; he had actually chosen to hurt her again and again instead of trusting her.
“How sad must she have been then?
The more he thought about it, the more he felt breathless, without even the patience to put on a good face, he pushed Isabelle away.
“If you want to eat, go eat by yourself, I’m not in the mood right now.”
He didn’t push hard, the woman took a few steps back, but her face was full of disbelief; the man who had been so compliant with her these days actually pushed her away for someone else, and that person was Aurora, a secretary who had already resigned. Isabelle’s emotions suddenly exploded.
“Sebastian, what are you doing! You’re treating me like this for Aurora, a secretary! Are you going to break up with me and
go
chase that
secretary back
next?!
Isabelle’s words made Sebastian incredibly uncomfortable. He didn’t even know what he was doing right now, why he felt uncomfortable, why he felt sad. Shouldn’t he be happy that Aurora was gone? They shouldn’t have started anything in the first place.
But now, he could only dench his fists, desperately trying to control his emotions.
J
Tm just too tired. Go eat by yourself first.”
Isabelle scoffed, no longer bothering with him, and turned around to leave.
Facing the mess in the office, Sebastian felt a splitting headache. He didn’t ask for food to be sent again, instead throwing himself into work, wanting to make himself forget those things.
He was busy from afternoon until evening, finally resolving the company’s issues during this period. What was laughable was that more than half of them were caused by Isabelle. To clean up her mess, almost all of his company’s profits for this year were lost.
He sat up straight, leaning back in his chair and taking a deep breath.
It was already dark outside. He checked his phone again, no messages.
His heart felt empty, an unspeakable weariness and loneliness welling up.
Now, he was the only one left in the company. He couldn’t help but speak.
‘Aurora.”
This was the first time he had called out her name since she left.
These three words seemed to carry a curse; once uttered, he couldn’t help but think of more things about her.
No matter how late it was before, she would always stay with him to work, arranging everything perfectly.
< 13
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They would intertwine in front of the office’s floor–to–ceiling windows. Aurora’s face would be flushed crimson from shyness, as if covered by the evening glow, incredibly adorable. Her eyes were as innocent as a fawn, and whenever she was bullied too much, they would gather a watery sheen. But she didn’t know that such an expression would only provoke more impulse.
More and more memories flooded his mind, and he could no longer control his emotions. He picked up his phone and dialed his sister’s number.
Dozens of seconds passed, which felt longer than half a lifetime to him. Finally, he heard the call connect on the other end and spoke impatiently.
“Lydia! Do you know where Aurora went!”
His sister let out a sarcastic laugh.
“Sebastian, you’re already so loving with Isabelle, why are you still looking for Aurora?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he tightly gripped his phone with difficulty.
“I know everything now. All those things that happened before, Izzy staged them herself. I want to… bring Izzy to apologize to Aurora. She can come back, and from now on, I won’t let Izzy make things difficult for her, I…”
His words were cut off before he could finish, his self–righteous apology interrupted as Lydia sneered.
No need. Aurora doesn’t need your apology anymore, and you’ll never find her for the rest of
With that, Lydia hung up the phone.
your
life!”
Listening to the busy signal on the other end, a rush of regret and powerlessness surged into his chest. He furiously slammed his phone onto the ground. Immediately after, he heard the sound of the office door opening.
He stood up abruptly, thinking the person he missed had returned.
“Aurora.”
He looked hopefully towards the door.