Trouble in Paradise

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The hospital doors opened and closed again. Beth cut off everything behind her, her steps noticeably lighter.

The lingering pain in her legs made her feel like they had never healed, but today she could finally tell herself she was well again.

She walked toward Nicholas's car but found she couldn't pull the door open. She moved to the driver's side, tapping on the window. However, the driver remained silent.

Suddenly, Beth seemed to realize something. She stepped to the side of the road, deciding not to get in the car. Inside the car, the atmosphere was heavy. Nicholas propped his head up with one hand, his mood at its lowest. The window slowly rolled down. He opened his eyes and coldly stared at Beth.

His chilling voice drifted from the car. "How long have you worked for me?"

"I've been by your side since you joined Hawk Corporation, a total of 14 years, Beth lowered her eyes and answered respectfully.

"Your leg became like this because of me, so I won't hold it against you. Send me your transfer application tomorrow. You'll be reassigned to a branch office. The benefits will remain the same."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hawk." Beth bowed deeply, not lifting her head even as the car drove away.

As she crouched on the ground, the past 14 years flashed before her eyes like a slideshow.

She hadn't cried when people pushed her around, nor when clients forced drinks on her. She didn't shed a tear when Nicholas promoted her to chief secretary, nor when she was rejected by him. Even when Claudia's people dragged her into the ward and beat her, she didn't cry.

But now, after 14 years in the corporate world, Beth finally couldn't hold back her tears.

She had admired powerful people since she was young. Nicholas was the most exceptional man she had ever known. She had feelings for him and had even fantasized about being with him.

After a social event, emboldened by alcohol, Beth confessed her feelings to Nicholas. The next day, she was given three months of leave.

"Think it over and come back. If you can't, then don't bother."

Those were Nicholas's words to her. But she didn't actually take the full three months off.

She knew that if she waited, someone else would take the secretary position. Her sick mother and younger brother in high school needed her support, so she returned to work in just a week, burying her feelings deep inside.

She became a bystander, watching as Nicholas repeatedly turned down his admirers. She comforted herself, thinking that someone like him would never fall for anyone.

Even when she attended his wedding, she saw that his relationship with me was nothing more than polite respect. I even spent less time with him than Beth did.

It was as if Beth had made a bet with herself. It didn't matter if she won or lost. She simply wanted to prove that it wasn't her inadequacy that led to Nicholas rejecting her. No one could ever win his heart.

But one day, everything changed. Nicholas no longer allowed her to sit beside him in the car. Instead, she was asked to sit in the passenger seat, with a divider raised between them.

Although she couldn't hear anything, she knew what was happening in the back.

It was an expected outcome after she had schemed against me, the woman who shared those intimate moments with Nicholas.

Late at night, while Beth was filling out her transfer application, Nicholas returned to Coral Villa. He didn't even bother turning on the lights.

He stripped off his clothes, walked straight to the bathroom, and submerged himself in the bathtub.

What was normally a quick ten-minute shower stretched into two hours. By the time he emerged, his skin was reddened from the prolonged heat, and the scars on his forearms appeared even more grotesque.