"Elena Wilson, it seems like you're having fun without me!"
His deep voice echoed along with his firm footsteps, causing me to reflexively let go of Felix's embrace.
"Aldrich! How did you get in?" I panicked, seeing Aldrich's gaze radiating an aura of extraordinary anger for the first time.
Instead of answering, Aldrich approached me, pushed Felix back, and pulled my hand forcefully.
"Aldrich, let go! What's wrong with you? That hurts!" I complained. I tried to free my arm from Aldrich's grip, but it was useless.
On the other hand, Felix didn't just stand there. He followed us and, right at the door, he managed to stop Aldrich.
"You hurt her, man!" Felix said, patting Aldrich on the shoulder until he turned to look at him with a deep gaze.
Aldrich removed Felix's hand from his shoulder. "Mr. Felix Maxwell, since when did you start meddling in other people's business?"
"Elena may be someone else to you, Mr. Aldrich Dixon. At least you two are ex-lovers. But Elena is my friend, and she doesn't need you," Felix reminded him again. Now he released Aldrich's grip on me.
"Come on, Elena, kick him out of here. Isn't that what you want?" Felix spoke again.
"No, Elena. You know, I've been looking for you for three years. There are some things you need to know," Aldrich spoke up.
The two of them continued to talk and argue without giving me a chance to speak. Fed up with both of them, I interrupted.
"Stop!" I shouted, and they both fell silent.
"Get out!" I pointed towards the door.
"Elena, I know you're still mad at me. But can't you—"
Not wanting to hear anything from Aldrich, I immediately interrupted him, "Stop! Get out now. Don't make me hate you even more, Aldrich Dixon!" I said without looking at him.
"No. If I don't say it, how long will this misunderstanding continue? You have to listen to my explanation," Aldrich pleaded, his eyes, which had been dark, now sad.
I was almost fooled. Luckily, Felix understood my situation and dragged Aldrich out.
"Calm down, Elena. Let me take care of this jerk,"
The door closed. My body instantly felt weak, causing me to sit down on the floor.
I bent my knees and hid my face there. I cried my heart out.
My chest felt tight. Actually, a small part of me still hoped for an explanation from Aldrich, but for some reason, his selfish attitude made me angry.
Who did he think he was? I kept asking myself. Maybe I still liked him like I did five years ago.
"Am I that stupid?"
I kept thinking about Aldrich's words. Before returning to City X, I was determined to forget everything, but in reality, just a few words affected me.
Several days have passed since my meeting with Aldrich. Even though I am busy with work at the company, and going back and forth between the company and the factory, the fact is that my mind is sometimes not where it should be, and I occasionally remember Aldrich's words. He is really like a ghost. Even my busy days cannot escape the little things about him.
"I think I'm going crazy," I complained after sipping a cup of Earl Grey with just the right amount of sugar, which I associated with Aldrich because he used to make it for me when I was working late on my college assignments.
I leaned back in my chair and chose to close my eyes for a moment. I felt so tired these past few days. This afternoon, I was still in my office, unable to take a lunch break like the other employees who took the time to go to the cafeteria.
Soon after, there was a knock on the door. "Ms. Wilson, there's a food delivery for you."
Food? Since when did I order food online? I furrowed my brow, wondering if someone had deliberately sent it to me. Felix, perhaps. Was it him?
"Come in," I replied.
Ava Garcia, the person I recently hired as my secretary, came in carrying a package. She stood in front of me and said,
"Ms. Wilson, someone left some food for you with me when I was in the cafeteria."
"Do you know who sent it?"
Ava shook her head, "No, miss. He just left the package with me and told me that the food had to get to you. What should I do with it?"
"Just put it over there. I'll eat it later. Maybe it's from a friend."
"Okay, miss. Is there anything else I need to do?"
I remembered the sketches I had accidentally made. I had casually designed several bag models when I was still in a small town. I happened to bring them with me because I wanted to mass produce and market them if the products were in line with current trends.
I handed the notebook to Ava, "Give this to the supervisor and ask him to discuss it with the design and production teams. If the designs are suitable, I want to mass produce them next month."
Ava took the notebook, "Yes, Ms. Wilson. I didn't expect that you also design the products that will be marketed yourself. I will convey your message to the supervisor."
Ava bowed and left my office.
Now I was alone again, and my stomach suddenly growled. How embarrassing. Luckily, there was no one else in my office.
I got up from my chair and went to the sofa table to see what Felix had brought me to eat.
I opened the package, and inside were several slices of my favorite roast beef sandwich, along with mustard and tomato sauce. It was the perfect combination for my hungry stomach.
I smiled when I saw it. I picked up my smartphone from my desk and called Felix to thank him.
"Hi, Elena. Do you miss me?" Felix said on the other end of the line.
"No. I want to thank you. You sent me lunch again. You know, I'm busy and don't have time to go to the cafeteria. Luckily, you asked someone at the office to give me my lunch. You saved me from starvation, Felix,"
I said enthusiastically to my lunch savior.
"I sent you lunch!? No. It wasn't me, Elena. I haven't sent you lunch today. I was just about to order it,"
"It wasn't you? Don't joke around,"
"I'm serious. It wasn't me. Maybe someone else you know, like Aldrich?"
"Him? Since when has he been so attentive to others? Especially his ex,"
I couldn't believe it. Aldrich is still that attentive.
"Who knows. From the way he got angry that time, even I, as a man, realized that he still likes you, Elena."
"He must be crazy. He thinks I'm a toy that he can throw away and pick up whenever he likes. He's my brother-in-law. It's crazy if he really still likes me,"
I argued. My mouth said no, but when I touched my own chest, I could feel my heart still beating irregularly.
"You're lying, Elena. You still like him."
"Then, if I still like him, what should I do? He belongs to my sister, and that's the reality. Felix, I don't want to hear that anymore. Let me be calm, at least you're my friend. Don't make me even more upset."
After saying that, I hung up the phone.
My appetite immediately disappeared. The sandwich that had made me smile no longer appealed to me.
"Ava, come in!" I called to Ava who was in the next room.
A short while later, Ava came in. "What is it, Miss?"
I closed the food container again and handed it to Ava. "Ava, I don't want to eat it. You can throw it away or eat it yourself. And one more thing, please order me some food from outside. I'm hungry."
Ava looked at me strangely, as if she wanted to ask me something, but she remained silent. "Okay, Miss. I'll order the food. Excuse me."
Ava left. And now I was left with an empty stomach, filled only with tea that was starting to get cold.
"Argh! I'm hungry. Why did I give the sandwich to Ava? If only I had lowered my ego a little, I wouldn't have had to wait this long for food. Elena, you're useless." I muttered, cursing myself for being so stupid.