Chapter 3

Vanguard Consulting was located in a towering skyscraper in the heart of the financial district.

At 9:00 AM sharp, I was sitting in the conference room for orientation.

After HR introduced us to the company structure, they led the new hires to the main floor.

"This is the head of Project Group Six, Julian Vance."

I looked up.

A man in a charcoal-gray button-down stood in front of a whiteboard, marker in hand.

He turned around, his sharp gaze sweeping over us. His voice was cool and commanding.

"I’m Julian Vance."

"In my team, I care about results, not seniority. If you have a problem, tell me directly. I don't do office politics."

After assigning our desks, Julian handed me my first task.

I had to clean up and compile a competitor analysis report for the new energy sector.

The data was massive and incredibly messy.

I immediately sat down, broke down the numbers, and started building the model.

By 5:00 PM, I sent the completed report to his email.

Ten minutes later, he walked over to my desk.

"Avery."

I stood up.

"I reviewed the report. Your logic is clean, and you hit the key metrics perfectly."

Julian looked at me, his expression neutral.

"Good job."

I blinked, momentarily stunned.

"Is there a problem?" he asked.

"No, nothing."

I shook my head. "Thank you, Mr. Vance."

He nodded and walked back into his glass office.

I sat down, my palms slightly sweaty.

Growing up, Tyler and Chloe's feedback was always:

"You’re just a bookworm." or "What’s the point of doing all this? You’re still just a nerd."

Even during college group projects, they would take my written reports and present them on stage.

They got the praise, while I was treated like a background extra.

This was the first time in my life someone recognized my work directly, as an equal.

No backhanded compliments, no degrading remarks.

On the subway ride home, I received a text from Sarah, our college class president. It was a screenshot of Chloe’s Instagram.

It was a selfie of her and Tyler at the airport, both looking exhausted and miserable.

Caption: "Ten years of friendship, destroyed over a tiny misunderstanding. Some people just drift away. Maybe we weren't worth it."

Below, Tyler commented: "Some people just don't know how to appreciate you. You still have me."

Sarah messaged me privately: "Avery, what happened between you guys? Chloe was throwing major shade in the class group chat today. Everyone's asking me about it."

I looked at the hypocritical post, my fingers flying across the keyboard.

"Sarah, please don't send me anything about them anymore."

"Also, I am completely done with both of them."

I closed the app.

When I stepped out of the subway, it was raining.

I didn't have an umbrella, but I didn't run.

I walked home slowly, letting the cool rain fall on my shoulders.

It felt incredibly refreshing.