Chapter 2

　　Lillian's breath suddenly paused. 　　Ashley followed her gaze and smiled. "This is a gift from my boyfriend, a second-anniversary present." 　　She had a boyfriend. 　　Lillian's tense shoulders relaxed. A quiet laugh escaped her lips. She'd been overthinking again. 　　Jeffrey wasn't the only person in the world who bought that style of bracelet. 　　She let out a breath and took Ashley's hand. "Your boyfriend has a good memory." But she secretly thought to herself, "Jeffrey used to remember every special occasion too, with roses and necklaces. Over time, the magic just ... faded." 　　Ashley blinked her eyes and said, "You know, men only remember things they care about." 　　Lillian was slightly startled, and when she came back to her senses, Ashley had already let go of her hand and turned away. 　　Lillian frowned and followed her into the building. 　　As soon as they entered, Ashley was taken away by a manager. 　　Outside the office, only she and Caleb were left. Caleb shouted, "Lillian." 　　He lowered his head and hesitated for a while, then stammered, "Last night, a colleague bought us milkshakes." 　　Lillian stopped mid-step. Seeing through Caleb's clumsy cover-up act, she silently walked past him into Jeffrey's office. 　　Jeffrey was holding a design draft and looking at it attentively. 　　Lillian keenly saw the logo of Irides Studio on top. 　　This design was not outstanding and quite immature. 　　It was hard to imagine how such a design draft could have been delivered to Jeffrey. It should have been rejected during the initial review by the Larsen Group project team... 　　Jeffrey saw her coming in and put down the manuscript in his hands. "What brings you here?" 　　"The design drawings." 　　Lillian averted her gaze and placed the file bag containing the design drawings on Jeffrey's desk. 　　Jeffrey opened it and glanced at it. "Caleb can do it." 　　His tone was textbook formal, every word surgically precise. 　　Lillian was at a loss for words for a moment. 　　She pursed her lips, and out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw a sticker stuck on the corner of Jeffrey's desk. 　　It was a lovely cartoon cat, very small, but the color stood out in Jeffrey's neat office. 　　Her heart skipped a beat and she immediately asked, "What is this?" 　　Jeffrey glanced at her and said, "Nothing." 　　His voice was lazy and flat, like he couldn't even pretend to care. 　　Lillian's heart trembled. "How come I don't remember you liking this?" 　　Jeffrey finally lifted his eyes from the manuscript and looked at Lillian, his gaze turning cold. "In the office, we are just business partners." 　　Lillian's face instantly turned pale, and she was about to say something, but the door was pushed open. 　　"Mr. Larsen, I made the changes to the unsatisfactory parts you mentioned last time..." 　　The one who came in was unexpectedly Ashley. When she saw Lillian, she appeared very surprised and quietly asked Jeffrey, "Do I come at the wrong time?" 　　Jeffrey glanced at Ashley and said, "You go out first." 　　The cold voice was lowered and surprisingly had a hint of gentleness. 　　Lillian's heart skipped a beat, and then she saw Ashley blink her eyes and say, "Okay, then I'll treat you to a milkshake." 　　She set a milkshake on the desk without another word. It was pink and achingly familiar. 　　Lillian felt a chill creeping up her spine inch by inch, and she stiffly said, "You never used to drink milkshakes before." 　　Jeffrey paused for a moment and said, "Tried it. Not bad." His voice went cold. "You can leave now." 　　Lillian stared at the man she thought she knew. Her entire body turned to stone, every vein pumping not blood but jagged ice that cut from the inside out. 　　As she walked to the elevator after leaving the office, Caleb caught up and asked, "Lillian, are you okay?" 　　Lillian stared at him blankly, and her intuition told her that there was something unclear between Jeffrey and Ashley. 　　Caleb had been working for Jeffrey for seven years, so there were certain things he knew very clearly. As long as she pressed him, she would be able to get an answer. 　　But she opened her lips, only to hoarsely say, "I'm fine... Thank you!" 　　There was only Lillian in the elevator. 　　She watched the elevator numbers blink downward, each red digit stealing a piece of her heart until it hung weightless in her chest and then plummeted. 　　Her eyes turned red unconsciously. 　　In the past two years, she had doubted whether Jeffrey had kept a mistress as he worked overtime more than usual, coming back in the middle of the night with a faint scent of perfume on his body... 　　She used to think that she was just being suspicious, but it turned out that those suspicions were not unfounded. 　　The next day, Lillian arrived at the office early in the morning. 　　As soon as she entered, Stela rushed anxiously towards her. 　　"Lillian, our design draft was returned by the Larsen Group this morning! 　　"They said we plagiarized!"