Chapter 81 Agreed Friendship
ANNA'S POV
My car slowed to a stop in front of Greenleaf Med, the familiar glass building standing tall and proud like it always had. The driver stepped out quickly and opened the door for me, and the moment my heels touched the ground, I felt that strange tightness settle in my chest. I kept my face neutral as I stepped down.
James was already walking toward me, his steps confident, his lips stretched into that same smile I knew far too well.
“Good morning,” he said warmly. “You look even more beautiful today.”
I didn’t return the smile. “More beautiful than your wife, I’m guessing?” I asked, my tone sharp and deliberate.
He chuckled lightly, as if I had said something playful instead of cutting. “Of course. I don’t need to tell you this, you already know you’ve always been more beautiful than your ex-friend Melissa. Since day one.”
A small scoff escaped my lips before I could stop it. “And yet you still chose her over me,” I said, making sure the words landed exactly where they were meant to.
James cleared his throat and shifted his weight, his smile fading just a little. The confidence he’d approached me with cracked, even if only slightly. He looked uncomfortable, like I had stepped over an invisible line he hoped I wouldn’t notice.
“What’s wrong?” I asked calmly. “You don’t have answers to that?”
“It’s still early in the morning,” he said after a pause. “We agreed to be friends, so can you at least try to be nice to me?”
“I never said we were friends,” I replied instantly. “I said you’re on probation. There’s a big difference. Now, you said you wanted to talk to me about something important, so let’s go.” I gestured toward the entrance without waiting for his reaction.
He sighed quietly, then turned and led the way inside while I followed behind him.
The moment I stepped into the reception area, I felt eyes on me. Curious glances. Lingering stares. None of the faces were familiar, but that didn’t matter. I knew exactly what they were thinking. They had heard stories. Whispers. Rumors. And now the woman they’d heard about was standing right in front of them.
I walked past the desk without breaking stride, my back straight, my head held high. James pressed the elevator button, and we stepped inside together. The doors closed with a soft ding, and the elevator began its ascent.
Neither of us spoke.
When we reached the third floor, the doors slid open and we walked down the hallway, the sound of our footsteps echoing against the floor. He stopped in front of a transparent glass door and turned to face me.
“This is it,” he said, pulling the door open for me.
I stepped inside, my gaze sweeping over the lab. Stainless steel tables. Glass equipment. Screens blinking softly. Everything looked newer, cleaner, more advanced than it had years ago but it was still the same place.
Being back in this lab sent a strange chill through me. This was where I had spent countless hours perfecting formulas. Where I had stayed late, skipped meals, ignored exhaustion. This was where I had quietly built the very thing he later stole.
“I didn’t come up here so you could show me your lab,” I said flatly. “I came here so we could discuss whatever it is you asked me here for. So hurry up with it.”
James turned to me, his brows drawing together. “But we can’t talk if you’re sounding this way.”
“What way?” I asked, genuinely unimpressed.
“You sound like you want to rip my throat out,” he said, then added, “or bury me six feet into the ground.”
The thing is you're very much right, I do want to rip your throat out and bury you even deeper than 6 feet, and I even want to do more worse things to you than you can ever imagine, and soon enough they’ll start playing into action.
If only you knew.
“And if you’re sounding that way,” he continued, “then we wouldn’t be able to discuss what I want us to talk about. What I need to talk about requires us to be calm, to be on the same page… to connect.”
I let out a soft scoff, shaking my head slightly. Hearing him say those words almost made me laugh.
“We actually need to be friends for us to discuss this,” he added. “If that can’t work, then the discussion can’t happen. So what do you say?”
Giving me conditions now? Hilarious.
I paused for a moment, then nodded. “Alright. We’re friends,” I said, lifting my fingers to air-quote the word. “And from now on, I promise not to sound like I want to bury you six feet into the ground.”
His face lit up instantly, relief washing over his features. “Lovely,” he said. “Let’s see where this small friendship leads us to. Have a seat.”
I walked over and sat down, crossing my legs slowly. I placed my purse beside me and lifted my chin, putting on the perfect smile — the one that made people believe I was exactly what they wanted me to be.
“Alright,” James said, pulling up a chair across from me. “So you know my medication for chronic eczema…”
I raised my hand immediately, stopping him mid-sentence.
He blinked, surprised. “Yes?”
“Before we start,” I said calmly, standing up, “I’d like to use the bathroom.”
“Sure,” he replied quickly. “Just head down the hallway and take your first left.”
“I’ve been here before,” I said coolly, picking up my purse. “I still remember.”
Without waiting for a response, I turned and walked out of the lab.
As soon as I stepped into the hallway, my expression hardened. The smile disappeared completely. I walked slowly, deliberately, my heels clicking softly against the floor.
I already knew why he had called me here. I had known from the moment I read his message. And just like I expected, he had fallen straight into my trap.
He wasn’t here to talk about friendship. He wasn’t here to reconnect. He was here because he needed me.
And now, all I had to do was make sure I got every single word of it.