My Tough Armor

After getting back to my dorm, I took out my documents and stuffed them into my suitcase. I had fewer than seven hours left. With each document I put away, I kept reminding myself that time was ticking, and I had to leave at the end of the countdown.

I took the company keycard and boardroom access card to Grayson Group. As I stepped into the building for the final time, I could feel a huge weight on my chest.

Since I had made up my mind to leave, I had to make sure not to leave any traces.

Just as I'd reached the office, however, I heard a few hushed voices whispering to each other.

"Did you hear the news? Mr. Grayson is getting married, and his bride is his childhood best friend!"

"I always thought that Mr. Grayson had the hots for his assistant, Ms. Summers. After all, they always spend every waking hour together, whether it's lunchtime, working overtime, or going on business trips."

"Don't be dumb! Ms. Summers is an orphan. Mr. Grayson is way out of her league! The Graysons run the biggest mafia organization in the country, and every marriage must of course only be political!"

"Samara Horton comes from a family of financial tycoons from Waltz Street. If she marries into the Grayson family, the company will be brought to a whole new level altogether!"

I felt my heart being ripped out of my chest. I did my best to lift my head high and pretend that these gossips didn't get to me. Still, I couldn't stop the tears from gathering in my eyes. Although I'd never been formally introduced as Vernon's girlfriend, I still naively used to think that I was his one and only.

I passed my resignation letter to the Human Resources department. The department head, Joanna Dyson, looked at me in shock.

"Aren't you about to graduate from college? You'd be confirmed as an official employee once you're done with this internship. Why would you give up on such a wonderful opportunity like this?"

"I'm going overseas to further my studies," I answered calmly, as if I'd already thought it through for a long while.

Joanna stared at my resignation document and suddenly narrowed her eyes as she singled out a signature on it. That was because Vernon had also signed my document, confirming my resignation.

Of course, Joanna would never know that I'd tricked Vernon into signing it by pretending it was one of his business procurement documents. If he knew that he was signing my resignation letter, he would never have allowed it to happen at all.

The entire office descended into a loud hush. A few colleagues lowered their heads and remained silent for a while, while a few others looked at me with confusion in their eyes.

I could feel that they were just feeling sorry for me. Something told me that they all simultaneously guessed correctly that I was the third wheel in the relationship who'd now been discarded.

When I left, one of my colleagues whom I used to be closer to, Connie Belrug, ran out after me and grabbed my hand. Her eyes were a little red at the edges.

"You should have woken up sooner, Callista. Mr. Grayson is the most dangerous person in the entire Duke City. He's also the most sought-after bachelor in the country. His marriage can only be part of a political merger between powerful families. You… You never stood a chance."

She paused for a while, as if worried that I was going to crumble, then continued, "You should leave him. That's the only way to preserve yourself."

I smiled at her, neither disagreeing with her nor bothering to explain anything to her. I just bade her goodbye.

…

With only an hour left before my departure, I was already at the airport, waiting.

I dragged my suitcase with me and went into the nearest convenience store to buy a pack of lemon drops. After getting pregnant, I found out that I was craving this sour candy a lot. It also somewhat helped with suppressing the bitterness I felt in my chest.

Just at that moment, my phone screen lit up with a video message from an anonymous number.

Samara was featured in the video, wearing a beautiful wedding dress and smiling widely before the mirror. Meanwhile, Vernon was bent over next to her, patiently puffing out the train behind her and rearranging them nicely.

Vernon, the cold, aloof, calculated mafia boss who could make anyone in the underground organization or the business industry shake in their shoes, was now behaving so gently and lovingly with Samara like he was a prince from a fairytale.

"The groom is such a genius! He actually designed the wedding dress all by himself, and the design is even more stunning than anything our own designers can—"

The video ended right there, cutting the sales associate off mid-sentence.

I stared at the screen with my heart in my throat. I could feel a tight, stabbing pain in my chest. Obviously, this was a video that Samara had purposely sent to me.

She didn't even need to say a word to me. All that was needed was just the look in her eyes and this anonymous video to tell me that Vernon had always belonged to her.

My hands shook. Finally, I couldn't stop the tears from blurring my vision once more.

Soon, the airport announcer announced that it was time for us to board my flight, interrupting me mid-cry. I inhaled deeply and prepared to board the plane.

I gritted my teeth and smiled bitterly as I turned off my phone before throwing it away in the trash can.

Deep breaths.

The countdown was over. It was time to board my flight.

I didn't want to see Vernon Grayson again for the rest of my life.

The final boarding call was announced.

Just at that moment, a cold, icy hand suddenly wrapped itself around my wrist.

I immediately jerked backward to look and felt my heart stop.

It was him—the one person I dreaded seeing the most.