Chapter 3

Had Samuel needed to snatch the soup away from me? I'd have punched that bastard in the face if not for the fact that he was under Luna's protection. "Samuel Jones, don't fool yourself into thinking that Ms. Sherwood favors you a lot," I said coldly while staring at Samuel's face, which bore a small resemblance to mine. But Samuel just waved the contract in his hand with a smile. "Look at this. Isn't this enough to prove Ms. Sherwood's favoritism toward me? My three-month internship has come to an end. From tomorrow onward, I'll be working in the company as a full-timer." Samuel was in the midst of his latest brag when he heard the sounds of Luna walking out of her room. He immediately changed his tune. "Edward, thank you for securing the contract for me. Even though I've already done a lot of prep work, I might not be able to snag the contract without your help. Seriously, thank you so much." I had never seen a guy acting this pretentious before. There really was a first for everything in life. Luna brushed past me at that moment. She said to Samuel, "Let's go to the company." Of course, she chose to ignore me. Before leaving the house, Luna finally turned around to glance at me. "Edward, clean up the kitchen before going to work." I sank down to a seat before the dining table while staring at the mess. Then, I began clearing the table numbly. The moment the table was finally cleared, I couldn't take it anymore. I ended up coughing up blood instead. I didn't even know if it came from my lungs or my stomach. The flecks of blood splattered across the white surface looked pretty ghastly. Whatever. Since the surface was dirty once again, I still had to clean it. Once I went to the company after dealing with the mess, I saw Samuel being crowded by the other coworkers. They were all congratulating him for securing the deal. Samuel spotted me standing outside the crowd. His lips immediately curled into a mocking smirk, as though he was making fun of me for being pathetic and weak. What a haughty bastard. I'd like to see just how long he could keep the smug facade up. I just squeezed through the crowd and returned to my office. There, I began preparing for my tasks of the day. Truth be told, there was no preparation required for my work. All I had to do was follow Luna's orders and serve her coffee. At that moment, Luna called me on the phone. "Elsa and Jennifer are in the waiting room. Serve them some coffee." Elsa Lindt and Jennifer Fay were Luna's best friends. Whenever they got together, they'd gossip for days to come. Elsa, whose family was the wealthiest among her friends, began mocking me the moment she saw me. "Oh? Aren't you Luna's submissive and demure husband? That man has been acting so smug and haughty all this time, yet you're still in the mood to serve us coffee!" I slammed the cup onto the coffee table heavily. Then again, I couldn't be bothered to bicker with Elsa. "The coffee's temperature is just right. Have fun drinking." "Is the coffee you brew even sanitary enough for consumption? Will I get sick just by drinking it?" Elsa continued to insult me. Jennifer looked at me. Then, she decided to stop Elsa. "Elsa, Luna will get mad if she hears you." I got up to leave the room. Still, I could hear Elsa's voice. "Just look at him. He thinks he gets to put on airs just because he's handsome. Since when has he treated us nicely, huh? "Luna wouldn't have sacrificed everything just to protect him if not for the fact that he looks like Chad!" "Shush, Elsa! He hasn't even gone far yet!" Jennifer tried to appease Elsa. But Elsa didn't give a rat's ass about me. "Why can't I bring it up, huh? He did something so despicable in the first place! Am I not supposed to talk about it when he's around?" I hastened my pace in leaving the area as I didn't wish to listen to the women's discussion about me. When I recalled the past, all I could feel was the flare of strong pain coming from my chest. So, I curved into a nearby washroom and began coughing violently. I spent the next few minutes coughing. Only then did the feeling of discomfort slowly ebb away. Was that Chad guy the childhood friend whom Luna had been longing for all these years? My heart kept constricting on its own, making me feel extremely uncomfortable. I was going to die soon, anyway. Once I dealt with all of my work matters over the next two days, I'd get a divorce from Luna after saving enough money. That way, she wouldn't become a widow. Widow… What an awful term. "Based on the way you coughed, are you feeling unwell, Mr. Richardson?" A man's voice floated from within one of the cubicles. That was when I realized I wasn't alone in the washroom. It was Samuel, who was the star of the crowd just now. He stood before the sink while grooming his bangs, which were smeared with hair gel. "Mr. Richardson, pretending to be sick just to gain sympathy is my signature move. Don't tell me you're planning to imitate me in order to get Ms. Sherwood's attention." I regulated my breathing before walking over to the other sink to wash my hands. "The things that you obtained through lying will never last forever." Samuel didn't seem to mind at all. "I don't know what you mean by lying, Mr. Richardson." "You know what I'm talking about." I dropped the hint while wiping my hands clean with a paper towel. After that, I balled it up and threw it into a nearby trash can. Then again, Samuel was still riding off the high from his moment. How could he possibly understand what I meant? "Ms. Sherwood had organized an afterparty for me in Springside Restaurant tonight. It'd be awkward not to invite you there. After all, you did contribute your efforts into securing this contract." I just huffed coldly. Last night's drinking wasn't the only contribution I had made. Three days ago, I found out that my project drafts had gone missing from my desk. When I got the contract signed last night, I found out that the contents of the contract were similar to my drafts. My guess was that Samuel had stolen my drafts before tweaking them to make them his own. That was how the contract got approved by Mr. Hutton. "Of course, I'll show up at the afterparty," I replied coolly. Samuel didn't expect that I'd agree to attend the event. Anxiety fleeted across his eyes instantly. "Mr. Richardson, if you attend the afterparty, you'll just feel even more uncomfortable being there. Ms. Sherwood won't believe you no matter what you say, anyway. She'll just think that you're trying to exaggerate your contributions." "You're overthinking it." I never cared about partaking in jealous spats over Luna. Like I said, the things that Samuel had obtained through lying would never last forever. Even if he could secure the contract, he still had to follow up with the project when it officially began. Not only that, but he'd also have to host an introductory meeting on the project's progress. Since Samuel didn't have the complete copy of the project proposal, how was he going to pull that off?