Chapter 2

All of a sudden, my colleagues began speaking up for me. "Ms. Schneider, it was just a misunderstanding! There's no need to be so petty about it!" "Besides, Mrs. Jackson outranks you! You should show some respect!" I wasn't angry at all. I just smiled faintly and asked, "If that's the case, give me your boyfriend's PayPal information. I'll explain things personally and pay him back double for the flowers. How's that?" Sierra smirked as she pulled out her phone, ready to give me her boyfriend's details. Harold furrowed his brow at her actions. He pulled Sierra aside and transferred five thousand dollars to her account before holding my hand. "There. I've paid you triple the amount. Now stop making a fuss here! We have an anniversary to celebrate," he said coldly. I couldn't help but scoff inwardly. Harold didn't get mad when Sierra humiliated me and called me a thief. He didn't react when she kept taunting and disrespecting me. Why would he only flare up now? He was definitely feeling guilty. To think of it, Harold always flared up when Sierra was involved in anything. There was one time that he wanted to fire Sierra just because she coincidentally wore the same clothes as me. I used to tease him for being overprotective, though I secretly liked it. But in hindsight, he was clearly overcompensating to hide his guilt. Sierra teared up after Harold snapped at her. "You're right, Mr. Atkins. I'm in the wrong here. I'll leave now, so go enjoy your date yourselves," she choked as she ran off. Harold's grip tightened around my hand for a moment, then relaxed. He gave me a soft look. "Come on now. Wouldn't want to be late for our date, right?" As usual, I got into the car, and Harold fastened the seatbelt for me. Clearly, he was out of it. He didn't even realize that he had fastened it into the wrong slot. He even swerved multiple times along the way. I just pretended not to notice all of it. Once we got to the amusement park, Harold suddenly stopped in his tracks and forced a smile. "Darling, I forgot to bring your surprise gift! Be a dear and wait for me, okay? I'll be right back." I couldn't even be bothered to call him out on his atrociously bad lie. I simply nodded and grunted in response. After Harold drove off, I called for a cab to follow him. As expected, he had gone to Sierra's home. Sierra's eyes were red from crying. She reached out and shoved Harold out the door. "Why are you here? Didn't you say I was making a fuss? Let's break up since I'm such an embarrassment to you! The baby and I don't need—!" Harold pulled her into an embrace and kissed her before she could finish her sentence. At first, Sierra desperately fought back. But she eventually wrapped her arms around Harold's neck in a deep, passionate kiss. They only pulled away after quite some time. Harold tapped the tip of her nose lovingly and said, "Sweetheart, I've been gifting Susie fakes all these years. The real gifts always went to you. "Besides, I specifically left Susie so that I could come visit you and the baby! Is that not enough to forgive me?" I froze, clenching my fists as my nails dug into my skin. Not only did Harold cheat behind my back, but he even had a child! Sierra pouted, still not satisfied. "You want me to forgive you? Break up with Susie then! It's killing me to see the two of you being lovey-dovey every day!" Harold hugged Sierra even tighter. "Sweetheart, I know it's been tough on you. But the company depends on the designs that Susie made. The design copyrights are still hers," he explained. "Just bear with it. I'll trick her into transferring them to me and get rid of her. Then, I'll make you my wife and give you and the baby the life you two deserve." It felt like my heart was torn into two, making it hard to breathe. I couldn't stop the tears from falling. After all those years, Harold had been faking everything just to get the design copyrights that I owned. All those years of love were nothing but an act. After that, the two walked inside together. I wiped my tears and smiled bitterly. Unfortunately for Harold, his plan would never come to fruition. He played with my feelings and still wanted to steal my design copyrights? There was no chance I'd let that happen!