Chapter 2

Yvette halted in her tracks. As she turned, she recognized the person who had called out to her. It was a former business partner who had been persistently trying to work with Liam. She couldn't help but let out a sigh. She was hesitant to reveal her identity and was contemplating how to handle the situation when one of Zachary's friends looked her over and snickered, "Why are you speaking to her so formally? She's just a nobody. Do you think her entire outfit costs more than 300 dollars? That's laughable!" A wave of laughter erupted at his words. They weren't speaking in Fianese, so Yvette understood their jibes perfectly. Yet her expression remained the same. Zachary, instead of responding verbally, gave his friend a cold, warning glare. His friend felt small and scolded under Zachary's intense gaze and curbed his mocking behavior. The rest of the group also quieted down after noticing Zachary's glare. The commotion died down, and no one pursued them. Yvette followed Zachary, and they went home in silence. When he got home, he removed his coat and hung it on the rack. "Sweetheart, I think you shouldn't come to those meetups with me anymore." She stayed calm and not let her feelings show on her face. Despite the subtle exclusion from his social circle, she didn't appear affected. She simply asked, "Do you think I'm embarrassing you?" He chuckled and reached out to tousle her hair, but she swiftly avoided his hand. Zachary explained helplessly, "What are you talking about? I just don't want you to be treated like that." "But there's a difference in our social standing. Eventually, we'll have to deal with situations like this. Hasn't your family pushed you toward an arranged marriage?" Yvette asked, searching his features for any sign of guilt. When Zachary heard the term "arranged marriage", he tensed briefly. But he quickly composed himself and explained, "Yve, the important thing is that you're the one I love. I'll handle the rest of the issues." If she hadn't been paying close attention, she might not have noticed anything different about him. After finishing his sentence, Zachary headed to the bathroom to freshen up. As she watched him walk away, she remained silent. Yet a thought crossed her mind. Was his idea of a solution to just follow his family's demands? Was he really going to get married and keep her as a secret lover? Just then, a notification sounded from Zachary's phone on the bedside table. He had never kept his password a secret from her, so she had no trouble unlocking it. She quickly looked through his messages and found one from Jasmine. "Zachary, our families are meeting tomorrow. If you don't spend the night with me, won't our parents discover our fake marriage? "I know you're in love with your girlfriend. But please, we need to act like a loving couple for the next few days, alright?" Yvette recognized the underlying motives despite the seemingly modest words. Initially, Jasmine would use their parents as a reason to spend time together. Then what would happen next? She would continue to use this excuse, inching forward with each step. However, Yvette was no longer concerned. She had already decided to move on. With this thought in mind, she marked the message as unread and set the phone aside. Shortly after, Zachary emerged from the bathroom. He casually picked up his phone and looked at his messages. Then he turned to her with an apologetic look. "Yve, there's an urgent issue at work that I need to attend to. I won't be back tonight. Please take care of yourself and get some rest." He left in a rush, not pausing to see her reaction. He didn't even notice that Yvette, who usually saw him off at the door, begging him not to go, didn't try to stop him this time. She simply watched as his retreating figure. Shortly after Zachary left, her phone buzzed with a message. "With just a single sentence from me, Zachary rushed to my side. Our families are meeting tomorrow. Once we're officially married, what will you become? Maybe… a hidden lover who must remain in the shadows?” Jasmine's words were cutting, but Yvette was unphased by them. She only felt true pain as she realized it was Zachary who gave Jasmine the confidence to act this way. She couldn't believe once believed she could trust on him completely. Zachary likely didn't realize that even if she hadn't stumbled upon that invitation, she would still find out his scheme to wed Jasmine. The day after she discovered the invitation, Jasmine had messaged her. Ever since then, Jasmine had been bombarding her with all sorts of suggestive pictures. There were images of Zachary with Jasmine as she tried on wedding dresses. There were even snapshots of them choosing diamond rings together, and pictures of them touring wedding venues in tandem. Each picture killed off the love she had for Zachary. That night, Zachary didn't return. Yvette couldn't have cared less. The following day, upon waking, she got ready and headed directly to the company to submit her resignation. She managed to finish all the resignation processes that same day. During her lunch break, she joined her colleagues for a meal. Upon learning that she was resigning, a coworker playfully said, "I noticed a trend lately with videos suggesting that colleagues who abruptly quit are doing so to return to take over their family's company. "Yvette, your resignation was so sudden. Are you actually leaving because your family has a fortune waiting for you?" The colleague made the remark offhandedly, but Yvette nodded softly. "Yes, I'm going to take over my family's company." For a brief moment, everyone was taken aback. But then they all started laughing, assuming she was joking, and didn't give much thought to her words. Yvette just smiled without offering any further explanation. Once lunch break was over, she gathered all her belongings into a box and headed straight home. Zachary was at home when she arrived. Observing her enter with a box, he felt a bit puzzled. "Did you quit your job?" She nodded and casually went to her room with the box in tow. He quickly stopped her in her tracks. He asked her with furrowed brows, "Didn't you really like that job? Why did you quit so abruptly?" Yvette merely looked at him and smiled. "Because there's another job I want to pursue even more."