Chapter 1

It's pouring, and after half an hour in the rain, a cab finally pulls up.

My boyfriend, Harvey Moore, rushes to grab the door before I can and tells the driver, "My friend here has some trauma. Could you drop her off first?"

That friend is his ex, Vivian Blake.

The driver catches sight of me behind him, looking uneasy. "Actually, this young lady called the ride."

Only then does Harvey seem to remember I exist. But he still says, "She won't mind. I'll pay extra."

As Vivian gets in, he instinctively snaps a photo of the license plate and repeatedly asks the driver to make sure she gets home safe.

He doesn't check on me once. He just gets in his own car and drives off.

To keep our personal lives separate, he never gives me a lift to or from work.

So I stand alone in the downpour. Two hours pass, and not a single driver accepts my request.

I open my phone and see Vivian's latest post, containing a dense grid of license plate photos. Her caption reads, "After all these years, he still hasn't forgotten the habit."

I zoom in on the grid. From the day they met until now, Harvey has taken over 1,300 of those photos.

He preaches discretion with me, yet under the guise of being "just friends", he ensures her safety every single day.

He claims he moved on long ago, but his instincts tell a different story.

It hits me all at once.

If my safety doesn't even matter to him, I don't want this relationship anymore.

Chapter 1

Lauren's POV

It was late when I finally got home. I was drenched to the bone after getting caught in torrential rain.

Not a single light was left on for me in the living room.

The study door was half open, and I could hear my boyfriend Harvey Moore's patient voice from inside. "If this project is too much, I'll have a manager walk you through it. Don't worry about it. Or if you'd like to switch to a different position, just let me know anytime."

"That wouldn't be right—" Vivian Blake's flustered voice came through the speaker.

"It's fine," Harvey cut in, his tone gentle. "I'm here. No one will dare say a word."

I stood frozen in the hallway, chilled to the core.

In my five years at the company, I'd brought up promotions countless times.

Every single time, he shot me down immediately. "We need to maintain professional boundaries at work. Are you seriously just trying to ride my coattails to the top?"

I couldn't understand it. I was an experienced team lead, my performance ranked in the top two every single year, and headhunters were constantly trying to recruit me.

Yet with him, under the guise of "professional boundaries", I was expected to play the submissive nobody.

Meanwhile, for the ex-girlfriend he claimed he needed boundaries with, he repeatedly broke his own rules just to pave the way for her career.

Water dripped from my soaked clothes onto the floor.

At the sound, Harvey slammed his laptop shut. When he turned and saw the chill and mist clinging to me, he froze for a moment.

"I told you to pack an umbrella. You never listen. I wanted to drive you home too, but that wouldn't look good."

There wasn't a single word of concern—just another lecture on keeping up appearances.

I was so terrified of making a scene that I worked through fevers and drank with clients despite agonizing stomach ulcers. I wouldn't even speak to him at the office.

Yet he turned around and bought Vivian painkillers, ordering caffeine-free bubble tea just for her while everyone else got standard orders.

His precious boundaries were reserved only for me.

Right then, Harvey's phone rang with a distinct ringtone.

"Got it. I'm on my way."

After hanging up, he smoothed over his expression. "An emergency came up at work. I need to head in."

He leaned over and pressed a brief kiss to my forehead. "Get some rest. Don't wait up for me."

But I caught the unmistakable flicker of concern in his eyes.

I didn't even need to guess who it was because that ringtone belonged exclusively to Vivian.

Before I could say anything, he grabbed his umbrella and bolted out the door, missing the resignation letter tucked in my hand.

I dialed the HR director, Sara Gibson. "Ms. Gibson, please process my resignation. And don't bother telling Mr. Moore."

Chapter 2

Sara didn't hesitate for a second before agreeing to process my resignation. "Entry-level resignations don't require the CEO's approval anyway. I'll get on it right away."

When I opened Vivian's Instagram profile, I noticed she'd already updated her profile picture.

It matched Harvey's.

Her caption read, "Got cornered by a creepy blind date. Thank God someone stepped in to play my fake boyfriend and save the day. Guess some skills never fade when you've done the job before!"

I remembered when we first started dating, I used to beg him to use matching profile pictures. He always shut me down with a barrage of excuses—it was too much work, too childish, too unprofessional, and so on.

Who would have guessed that Harvey, a man who always insisted on a stern profile picture, would swap it out today for a cartoon character?

The next morning, Harvey called me, his tone businesslike and rigid. "Come with me to the business dinner later. Be observant, and remember to help handle the drinks."

I found that odd. His alcohol tolerance had always been high. Why would he need me to drink for him?

Before I could ask, Vivian's playful voice came through the phone. "Not bad! After all these years, you still remember I can't drink? I'll reward you with a sip of my bubble tea!"

Listening to their back-and-forth banter, I gave a numb response.

When I arrived at the restaurant, Harvey was already exchanging pleasantries with the client.

As they discussed the project, he kept throwing sharp glances my way, signaling me to take drinks on Vivian's behalf.

Midway through the meal, a client noticed their flirtatious body language and teased, "You two make quite a striking pair. Mr. Moore, do you have a girlfriend?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Harvey glanced at me, a flicker of hesitation crossing his eyes.

A second later, we spoke in unison. "No."

Even though we gave the exact same answer, he whipped his head around to stare at me, shock written all over his face.

It wasn't until the client stepped out to the restroom that he texted me. "It's just for show. Don't take it to heart."

I let out a bitter smile. There was no point in taking anything to heart anymore.

When it came time to sign the contract, the client cast a suggestive glance at me. His fat hand began probing around my shoulder.

Disgusted, I pulled away, accidentally knocking a glass of red wine right onto Vivian's dress.

Harvey's immediate reaction was to grab a napkin and wipe the stain. He then shot me a sharp, displeased look. "Since when are you so clumsy?"

Vivian waved her hands repeatedly, looking sheepish. "It's fine, Mr. Moore. It's just a dress. It'll come out in the wash."

Harvey paused, his expression clouding over. "Isn't this the dress I bought for your birthday years ago? I had to stand in line forever to get it. Did you forget?"

He completely missed the old pervert groping me, seeing only the stain on Vivian's memory-laden white dress.

After all, he used to say that dealing with unwanted advances on sales calls was just part of the job. So every time a male client tried to lay a hand on me, I relied on the pepper spray in my bag to save myself.

Yet mutual friends had told me about the time he dragged a guy into the police station after smashing a wine bottle over his head because the guy had harassed Vivian.

Back then, he had just taken a sip of wine, shrugged, and claimed he couldn't remember a thing.

Yet years later, he still remembered every detail of that white dress so clearly.

As the chatter around the table picked up again, I kept my head down and scrolled deep into my contacts to pull up a buried number.

"You said there'd always be a spot open for me. Does that offer still stand?"

After I typed out the message, I hit send.

Chapter 3

The next day at the office, the breakroom buzzed with gossip.

"Vivian closed that deal yesterday, and Mr. Moore promoted her first thing this morning. Man, talk about different fates."

"Don't compare yourself to her. Didn't you see they're using matching profile pictures? A dummy could figure out what's going on."

"Oh, it gets juicier. I saw her post yesterday. Looks like they dated each other way back. They're totally getting back together!"

I stood frozen in place, my fingernails digging deep into my palms.

If this were three years ago, Harvey would have put a stop to these rumors instantly.

Three years ago, I worried that drinking would upset his stomach, so I prepared a stomach-friendly lunch and brought it to his office.

He had dumped the food straight into the trash in front of everyone and yelled, "Can't you hear people gossiping about us already? Stop doing these stupid, misleading things."

He docked my bonus and barred me from ever stepping into his office again.

Yet today, I pushed open his door anyway, desperate to know where I fell short.

Harvey didn't even lift his eyes from his paperwork. "The promotion was decided by a shareholder vote, and employees pitched in too. It wasn't just my call. If you didn't get promoted, that's on your own performance."

A bitter smile slipped across my face.

For five years, I treated this company like home, drank until my stomach gave out just to land clients, and consistently ranked among the top performers in every year-end review.

Before I could voice any of it, a chorus of teasing erupted outside the door.

"Go on in!"

"Mr. Moore is your boyfriend. He won't say no to lunch with you!"

Vivian stood in the center of the crowd, blushing furiously. "Mr. Moore is just looking out for his team. Don't go making stuff up."

Hearing the commotion, Harvey didn't fly into a rage as he did three years ago. Instead, he cleared his throat.

"They're just joking around. Don't take it to heart. You know she and I ended things ages ago. I threw out all her stuff. We're strictly boss and employee now."

I let out a self-deprecating laugh. "You've been waiting to get back with her all along, haven't you?"

The air instantly froze. It was so quiet I could hear the heavy thudding of my own heart.

"Lauren Hart! Are you done throwing your little tantrum?"

Harvey slammed his hands on the desk and stood up, furious. "She and I broke up! Why else would I have ended up with you? You're being completely unreasonable! If you're going to keep making up wild stories, you can get the hell out of my company!"

I clenched my fists and turned to leave but couldn't help asking one last question, "Then what are we?"

Silence fell over the room once more.

Colleagues were packed around the glass door, holding their breath for his answer.

Harvey paused for three painfully long minutes. Then, he snapped impatiently, "What could we possibly be? We're just boss and employee, obviously!"

The tension in my clenched hands slowly faded, replaced by an overwhelming sense of relief.

I turned and walked out of the office, fleeing under the scornful gazes of my coworkers.

As the elevator doors slid shut, I watched Vivian happily trot into his office.

I pulled out my phone and typed, "Harvey, we're done."

Chapter 4

Harvey didn't reply to my message until the next day. "What kind of nonsense is this? You're acting more and more like an immature child. By the way, remember to bring the files from my study to the office later."

So he only bothered to check my text because he needed me to run an errand for him.

When I arrived at the office with the files, everyone gave me strange looks.

Vivian was sitting in her chair, wiping away tears.

Seeing me walk in, she clutched a contract to her chest and sobbed dramatically. "Lauren, everything went so smoothly with yesterday's deal. Why did you tamper with all the numbers in the contract? The client is threatening to pull out now!

"I just worked hard for my promotion. You didn't have to do this to me…"

No one doubted her for a second.

After all, I had just fought with Harvey over her promotion yesterday, making me the obvious prime suspect.

I looked at Harvey in doubt. "You think I did it, too?"

He frowned, a flash of disgust crossing his eyes. "You're the only one in the company with a motive. Lauren, I never imagined you were the type of person to pull dirty tricks behind someone's back."

A coworker who had always held a grudge against me chimed in, "Mr. Moore, why don't I head to the security room to pull the footage? That way, she can't keep playing dumb."

"No need." Harvey immediately cut him off, keeping his cold gaze locked on me.

"It's obvious she did it. Why bother asking another department to pull the security footage?"

The realization hit me instantly.

He could have checked the footage to prove my innocence, but he chose to condemn me outright just to maintain his precious "boundaries".

"Starting today, revoke all her bonuses and performance incentives, and transfer her to reception!"

He knew I had fought my way up step by step from reception to get where I was today, yet with a single sentence, he threw me right back to square one.

He tossed aside five years of my blood, sweat, and sleepless nights like disposable trash.

Harvey handled my suspension himself. "You can come back to work once you learn your lesson."

Right after, every client in my contacts unfriended and permanently blocked me. My name was wiped clean from every project I had ever closed, and my commission bonuses were fully clawed back.

Five years of built-up network vanished into thin air overnight.

As I packed up the clutter on my desk, the snide taunts of my coworkers echoed around me.

"The nerve of her trying to steal Vivian's guy. Talk about a shameless homewrecker!"

"How embarrassing. She thought Mr. Moore would keep spoiling her, but she got slapped hard right back into her place."

Vivian's once-innocent-looking face seemed to say, "See? I still won in the end."

As I brushed past her, Harvey walked straight toward me. "Just think of it as a little time off. I handed all your projects over to Vivian. Her performance is better than yours anyway.

"Besides, you started out at reception. You'll be a natural back at the front desk, and the team won't suspect anything about our relationship."

Saying that, he surprisingly reached out to help me carry my things, but I instinctively pulled away.

All these years, precisely because of his so-called "boundaries", I had been viciously ostracized by everyone at the company.

They thought Harvey despised me, so they purposely left me off company dinner invitations and fed me false information about client deals, costing me my bonuses.

Eventually, they took it even further, locking me in the bathroom. "Mr. Moore obviously wants you out of this company. Know your place and get lost already!"

I developed severe anxiety. I sent complaint after complaint up the ladder, but Harvey never read a single one.

I no longer wanted his belated crumbs of concern.

Without giving Harvey another glance, I carried my box straight out of the company and slid into a cab heading to the airport.

A second before stepping onto the plane, I sent Harvey one final text. "We're officially over."

With that, I blocked and deleted his number, then removed my SIM card.

…

Third-Person POV

When Lauren didn't send her usual apology text, Harvey felt a strange, sudden pang of anxiety.

Late that afternoon, he went to HR, intending to reinstate Lauren to her original role.

Sara looked at him blankly and said, "But Mr. Moore, Lauren has already processed her resignation."

His expression froze. Right at that moment, a text popped up on his phone.