Zaria glanced at Ryan in disbelief. Was this explosive man whose words made no sense actually her friend? Letting out a slight smile, she picked up the bag she had set at the side and silently walked out.

When the door shut, Ryan felt as though his heart had been struck. He wanted to run after her, but his feet felt as though they had been glued onto the floor. Feeling a burning glare on him, he looked down and met with his sister's unhappy gaze.

"What? Are you blaming me?"

The girl said nothing, but her eyes were full of complaint.

He crouched to her level and tousled her hair. "Forget about her, Nina. She doesn't love you. She will only keep hurting you."

Nina didn't say a word to this either, but she wondered with her head tilted, who exactly is hurt?

___

The next morning.

After tossing and turning for the better part of the night, Zaria woke up with her eyes swollen. No matter how much she wanted to pretend to be nonchalant about Ryan's behavior, she knew deep down that she was bothered.

Did someone threaten him to stay away from her?

That was too melodramatic. If anyone did that, she knew that Ryan would beat the crap out of them. It was even more far-fetched to think that he was indeed that angry because of her broken promise.

Could it be that after the loss of his parents, he and Nina had become more sensitive? Was he worried that if she started seeing Nina less often than promised, she would suddenly leave them like their parents did?

That would have made sense if it was just Nina, but Ryan…

She shook her head and dragged herself out of bed. The situation would drive her nuts if she kept thinking about it.

She had woken up at the usual time, but because her skin was not in the best condition thanks to her sleeplessness, she had to take longer doing her makeup and was almost late.

Initially, she was in a good mood after taking a cup of coffee, but Marion had to appear again.

"Bitch, you finally decided to wear revealing clothes, huh? Pretending to be innocent yet dressing up specifically to seduce the boss?" The woman was as venomous as ever, pointing her unnecessarily long nails at Zaria's halterneck, short black and white dress that had a lacy hem.

Zaria scoffed inwardly. While her dress was indeed short, it couldn't compare to Marion's deep V dress that might not be long enough to cover her backside. It made one wonder whether she was here to work or strip-dance.

"Cat got your tongue? You were pretty smug yesterday, though."

Zaria was not in the mood to act out some brainless office drama with her. She raised an eyebrow. "I gave you a chance, Marion, but you did not treasure it. Don't blame me for being heartless."

"Ha? Don't make me laugh." Marion burst into laughter.

"Trust me. I'm not about to do that." Zaria smiled and continued, "I will not talk about your wealthy family because they are not your business, but your decisions are. You have to be responsible for them."

As if she had long prepared for this, she sent a message to someone and an intern assistant soon came rushing with a document in hand. Zaria took it and opened it.

"Marion Cooper, you have been using your identity as the stepdaughter of Alex Cooper to oppress your colleagues. Since you are a rich princess, Preston and Fort Group does not deserve you. I will give you the golden chance to follow your father and work for him. As the daughter of Cooper International, you will have every right to control your father's employees. No need to thank me!"

When the meaning of Zaria's words sunk in, she let out a sarcastic laugh. "Now, Zaria. Do you really think you have the right to fire me? Who do you think you are?"

"Someone with the authority to fire you. Am I wrong?" Zaria was indifferent. She glanced at the petite intern beside her, and the girl took out a dismissal letter and slapped it onto the reception desk behind Marion.

The latter read it with a scoff but shook her head in shock. "No, this is impossible!"

But no matter how impossible it sounded, she could clearly see the initials D.F beside Desmond's signature. There was even a stamp…

"You witch! You forged Desmond's signature! I will show this to him!"

"Go right ahead." Zaria was unfazed. She knew that as a former employee who had been fired and blacklisted by Preston and Fort Group, Marion would never have the chance to see Desmond, much less show him what she thought was a fake dismissal letter.

While she was still throwing a tantrum, Marion received a call from her stepfather, who furiously called her back home.

She stared at the phone after the call ended, then at Zaria in disbelief. Impossible…

How could she be fired?

Everyone knew that Desmond was friends with her elder step-brother and had hired her on account of their friendship, so it was obvious that she could never be fired.

She had long used this fact to do as she pleased in the company, but no one ever dared to say a word, much less fire her.

Although he had never said a word to her during work, she still delusionally thought that he would one day notice her.