Chapter 1

Three years ago, after discovering that my best friend Chloe and my boyfriend Ethan had been flirting behind my back all along, I cut them both off without hesitation.

I moved to London. Started fresh.

Three years later, several top firms in the industry were competing to bring me on board.

The moment my plane touched down, my phone lit up with a video call request from Chloe.

She squealed with delight.

"Emma! I finally got through to you! You just disappeared three years ago without a word—Ethan and I have been going crazy trying to find you!"

A familiar face leaned into the frame.

"Emma, come on—it was just an accident that your performance review proposal got deleted. Chloe already said she'd help you redo it."

"With your skill level, having a senior like Chloe help you out? You should've been grateful."

Chloe giggled and swatted his arm.

"Stop it, I told you not to bring up Emma's abilities again. If you scare her off a second time, I'm not eating lunch with you for a whole week."

As she said it, her eyes practically glowed with smugness.

"Emma, you probably don't know yet, right? Ethan and I both got into Meridian Group! Congrats are in order!"

Ethan knocked her on the head.

"Meridian is the top company in the industry. Someone like Emma, who couldn't even land an offer back then, might not understand what getting into Meridian means. Why bother telling her?"

I smiled faintly.

What a coincidence.

The company where I was about to assume the role of Chief Strategy Officer was Meridian Group.

…

Chloe clamped both hands over her head, pouting. "How many times have I told you? Stop hitting my head."

"What if you make me dumber and nobody wants me?"

Ethan laughed it off. "What? You were already dumb. Don't pin that on me."

I watched them bicker, just like three years ago.

Except back then, it felt like a thorn lodged in my chest—painful at the slightest touch.

Now, I simply smiled. Polite. Distant.

"I have things to take care of. I'm hanging up."

On the other end, Chloe visibly froze for a second, then plastered her smile back on.

"Wait, don't hang up! Emma, you just got back to New York, right? Let us take you out to dinner—welcome back!"

Ethan chimed in from beside her: "Yeah, let's do it right downstairs from Meridian HQ. You can get a look at our company cafeteria. At whatever little company you've been at, you've probably never seen what a top-tier workplace looks like."

Chloe gasped and shoved Ethan lightly.

"Can you not provoke her?"

She turned back to the camera, her tone soft and sweet:

"Emma, if you haven't found a job yet, I could refer you internally for an admin assistant position. The requirements aren't too high—you should be able to manage, barely."

Ethan frowned. "Do you have any idea how competitive Meridian is? If you go around recommending random people, what happens to your probation review?"

Chloe nodded enthusiastically. "You're right, my bad. I was only thinking about hooking my bestie up."

"Three years without seeing her, and Emma won't even point her camera anywhere but the airport ceiling. She's probably even heavier and frumpier than before—probably too embarrassed to let us see how she's fallen."

"If it ends up affecting my review, that'd be a real loss."

I glanced down at the notification flashing on my phone.

A message from the CEO's executive assistant at Meridian Group:

"Ms. Emma, your car has arrived at Terminal 4, Arrivals Level, Exit B. License plate ending in 888."

I looked up at the two of them laughing cozily on screen and let the corner of my mouth curve.

"I'll pass on both the job and the dinner."

"As for the Meridian cafeteria—I'll try it on my own."

Chloe blinked, covering her mouth with a giggle:

"Meridian's security is super strict—visitors can't get in without an employee badge. Just tell me before you come, and I'll bring you in for a look."

I couldn't be bothered to explain. My tone was flat.

"We'll see."

As if stung by my indifference—or perhaps because I hadn't delivered the wide-eyed admiration she was hoping for—Chloe's eyes suddenly went red.

"Emma, are you still holding a grudge about that performance proposal from three years ago?"

"Aren't we best friends?"

Ethan's expression darkened.

"Emma, you said back then that you lost your job because the proposal got messed up. But even if nothing had gone wrong with it, can you say for sure you would've passed?"

"Is it really worth holding a grudge this long?"

He shot Chloe a sympathetic look.

"Just apologize to Chloe already."

I couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.

"You know what? It's actually kind of funny. Three years apart, and you two haven't changed one bit."

One plays the victim, the other rushes to her defense.

Back then, he was my boyfriend—but he'd already become her knight.

Chloe sniffled. "I knew it. Even after three years, you still blame me…"

I raised an eyebrow and decided to lay it all out.

"Blame you for what?"

"For 'just happening' to sit next to Ethan every time the three of us hung out?"

"For 'instinctively' grabbing his arm whenever you crossed the street?"

"For insisting on sitting between us at the movies and then 'screaming and grabbing the wrong person' to throw yourself into his arms?"

I shook my head.

"At first, yes, I blamed you. But by the time I left, I didn't anymore."

I simply wrote off my former best friend and former boyfriend as a lesson in who they really were.

Chloe's smile reappeared instantly. "See? I knew it—Emma is always the bigger person!"

"So where are you working now? Don't tell me it's still one of those tiny companies?"

"Small companies are really no good—low pay, no future. Honestly, it's embarrassing just to say it out loud."

She was getting loud.

I hung up, bent down, and slid into the car.

My phone lit up.

Chloe's messages chased after me—three in a row.

"I just saw you get into that car. Looked expensive?"

"Tsk, since when do airport car services go that hard?"

"Anyway, gotta go eat. Ethan's been bugging me. Emma, you really should keep your boyfriend in check."

I glanced at the screen and sent back one line.

"We broke up three years ago. He's all yours now."

She replied with a single "?"

I didn't respond.

Whoever wants to pick through the garbage is welcome to it.