“I think you’re mistaken, Annie. I don’t see any reason why I should apologize.” Jason’s voice came from beside her.
Annie’s lips curled into a small smile. Slowly, she dropped the tissue in the trash. Then she turned around and faced him. “In that case, I don’t see why you would follow me to the washroom. Aren’t you afraid of what people are going to say?”
Jason’s expression looked complicated. He stared at the girl who had a nonchalant look on her face. For some seconds, he wondered if she was even the girl he had dated before. In his heart was a remnant of the rage of the night.
A small laugh left his lips and he said, “Annie, stop pretending as if you’re a saint. That night, I saw you together with the CEO.”
That night at the parking lot, Jason had just arrived with his car when he saw her entering another car. In the whole of MystiArt Productions, who could own such a car? Besides, he saw the CEO’s assistant outside that car.
Jason had waited. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours. She didn’t come out. A man and a woman spending the night inside a car in a dark parking lot. What else would they be doing?
“I never told you I was a saint.” Annie maintained eye contact with him, the small smile still in her eyes. “However, Mr. Ju’an is entitled to his own opinion. That night at the parking lot…” She trailed off and shook her head, laughing softly. “What’s the point in talking about it? It’s useless to reverse the time anyways.”
Annie thought it was too late. Talking about it was like talking to the air. It wouldn’t mean what had happened could be undone. “By the way, I no longer owe you any explanation, I believe.”
Jason shoved his hands into his pockets, staring at her cold smile. “Annie, we are not enemies.”
“Really?” Annie suppressed her laughter.
“Yes, that day I acted impulsively by not telling you my decision to marry Priscilla. I just want to let you know that my decision has nothing to do with Priscilla or her Dad. I did it out of my own will.”
“So they didn’t give you money?” Annie asked and Jason was speechless.
The man blinked and then shook his head. “Whether they give me money or not, it doesn’t matter. Annie, I am here to ask you not to give us any trouble in the future. What happened at the altar cannot be changed. I’m not asking us to be friends, let’s respect each other’s boundaries.”
“As long as Mr. Ju’an will restrain his wife, you won’t see even my shadow near her.” Her words were supposed to be reassuring, but Jason could sense some warning in them.
Annie was about to walk past him and he held her arm. “You can still call me Jason, you know.”
“We are no longer friends.” Annie shook her hand off. “Didn’t you just say that yourself, Mr. Ju’an?”
“Do you want me to apologize for dumping you at the altar?”
The word ‘dumping’ sounded funny to Annie’s ears. She couldn’t stop her laughter this time. The whole washroom resonated with her voice. “I wonder what your wife is going to think when she knows you have followed me to the washroom.”
Without waiting for his reply, the girl simply walked out, not even looking back to spare him another glance.
Jason watched her back. The man shook his head and let out a heavy sigh. “You gave me no choice, Annie. I could fight for our love, but did you ever love me?”
…
At the Cafeteria, Layla rapidly looked around the place for any sight of her friend. Annie was taking too long and she wondered if something had happened to her.
Layla’s apprehensive instincts were on high alert. When they all left the department, there were only two people left. Her brother and that witch Priscilla. Did they happen to walk into Annie?
Layla was still thinking when her eyes strayed to the elevator and she sighted Annie coming from it. “Annie, here!” In the vast cafeteria, Layla waved her hand and called out, dragging others’ attention.
Annie sighted Layla and went straight to the table she was sitting at.
“What took you so long, Annie? Can you believe I almost finished your food? If not for the angel in me asking me to stop, you would have met an empty plate.”
While Layla talked nonstop, Annie was silently eating her food. Her eyes were on the food, yet, she looked as if she was deep in thought.
Layla stopped speaking and watched the girl quietly. As Annie was fond of spacing out recently, she decided not to speak further. She couldn’t get any word out of the girl anyway. And another thing… Annie might be thinking about her brother. So she was lost at what to even say to the girl.
While Layla waited for Annie to finish eating, she put a straw in her mouth and sipped on her remaining juice, silently watching the girl.
Annie was halfway through eating when some footsteps came from their sides. Annie didn’t look up. Only Layla glanced at the person that just stopped at their table. In that second, Layla’s expression changed.
“What are you doing here?” She gave the girl a pointed look. She couldn’t even remember the girl’s name. The only thing Layla remembered about her was: This girl almost made her lose her job three months ago.
“Ms. Ju’an, I’m so sorry for intruding.” The girl gave Layla a small smile. “I just wanted to know if I could sit here.”
“I don’t own the cafeteria and I obviously don’t own this table. By the way, what do you want?”
Layla’s sharp words didn’t stop the girl from smiling. She carefully lowered herself onto a chair and placed her food tray on the table.
“Hehe, Ms. Ju’an, how about we let bygones be bygones? We can be friends, right?”
“I don’t even know you.” Layla scoffed. “Hey, if you’re up to anything, I must warn you to be careful. I don’t take shit from anybody.”
“Ms. Ju’an, come on. Alright, I apologize for what I said about you and Ms. Lin that day. I also apologize for lying to the HR Department’s Manager about what actually happened. I’m sure Ms. Ju’an will be generous to let things slide.”
“I don’t hold any grudge against you,” Layla answered. “Sure, I forgive you. But that shouldn’t give you the freedom to disturb me.”
“Thank you so much, Ms. Ju’an.” The girl smiled widely. “Erm, can I call you Layla? You can call me Stacy too.”
“Whatever.” Layla wasn’t really paying attention to the girl. She was still looking at the silent Annie.
Stacy, on the other hand, was smiling too sweetly. When she thought back to that day, she couldn’t help but have a feeling that these girls might be close to the CEO.
Annie’s scandal started with the CEO the moment the man assumed his position. And that day, the CEO’s assistant came in time to save Layla from getting fired.
If she could be close to these girls, would she not enjoy the benefits too? “Ms. Lin, can I call you Annie also? You can call me by my name.”
Yet, Annie seemed as if she didn’t hear her. On the girl’s mind was the memory of that night. At the parking lot inside the car, that man had clung on to her as if his life depended on it.