A Hopeless Love

Before I could reply, Nora retracted the message. I had grown tiresome of this little game of hers.

Ever since she returned, she had been sending me photos of her and Miles in intimate moments.

I remembered the first time I confronted Miles about it. He glanced at me briefly, then smiled indulgently. "Nora? She's just trying to tease you. Even after all these years, she's still so mischievous."

"Miles, what are you saying?" I stared at him in disbelief.

His smile faded, and he let out a faint scoff. "Don't come to me with this nonsense again. If Nora and I wanted to be together, we would've done so long ago."

This time, I quietly blocked Nora.

I casually opened another chat and, after some thought, sent a message to him. "I'm planning to join a water conservation project in Affenheim. Maybe I'll spend the rest of my life there."

…

After graduation, I gave up staying at the university to become Miles' secretary. Then, Miles arranged for Nora to join the company when she returned. I had become redundant to him not only in our relationship but also at work.

I arrived at the office with my resignation letter, only to find myself sharing the elevator with Miles' nephew, Carter Graham. He was two years younger than me but had already established himself firmly in the company, standing as an equal to Miles.

After a few moments of silence, Carter finally spoke in surprise. "Little damsel, are you really going to Affenheim?"

"Don't call me little damsel anymore. Your uncle and I will soon have nothing to do with each other," I replied in exasperation.

Carter chuckled lightly at my response.

I smiled faintly. "Later, I'll need you to help me finalize a contract."

After Nora took over my position, Miles stopped paying attention to whether I stayed or left. I was even transferred to Carter's department. Although Miles still saw me at the company daily, he never realized I had already stepped out of his sphere of influence.

Carter said in a low voice, "It'll be hard for us to see each other again."

Looking at my reflection in the elevator doors, I replied, "Let's leave it to fate."

As the elevator doors opened, Miles and Nora were standing there, chatting intimately. The moment Miles saw me with Carter, his expression darkened instantly.

"Leilani Jabs, are you so desperate for a man that you're talking about 'fate' with someone younger?"

I simply smiled faintly at him, unwilling to respond.

Carter cleared his throat. "Uncle Miles, you misunderstood Leilani. Don't you have someone else now anyway?"

Nora's lips curled into a satisfied smile. Then, Miles took a deliberate step away from Nora in response, his expression unchanged. Nora's smile quickly faltered.

A hint of mockery flashed in Carter's eyes. Nonetheless, I found the entire exchange utterly boring.

After leaving Carter's office with my signed resignation letter, I bumped into Miles storming toward me. I calmly flipped the document over to hide its contents, but Miles still caught a glimpse of the word "resignation".

His brows furrowed deeply as he said, "What were you doing with Carter? What could you possibly have to talk about with him? Are you trying to use resignation to threaten me? Can't you think bigger? I'm only looking out for an old friend—"

Feeling exasperated, I interrupted him, "A colleague asked me to deliver a document for Carter to sign."

Miles fell silent. He simply rubbed his nose to mask his embarrassment.

"Anything else?" I asked expressionlessly.

Miles hesitated before remembering why he had approached me. "Nora's coming with me to meet a client. You don't like going to these things, so she'll handle it in your place."

I stared at him quietly.

After a moment, he added, "She said your nails are beautifully done and wanted you to help her with hers."