The Rival I Left Behind

Vera stopped tapping her fingers on the table.

She didn't seem to expect me to actually take the glass.

I closed my eyes and forced the liquid down my throat. The mixture of alcohol and hot mustard felt like a ball of lava, searing its way down my esophagus before exploding in my stomach.

"Nice! Mr. Morass is certainly a good sport!" Diane led the applause.

Vera suddenly stood up. She stared at me, her face darkening with a terrifying intensity.

"Mylo, you’re disgusting." She threw the words at me coldly and turned to leave.

I couldn't care less about her insults. I shoved through the crowd and stumbled toward the restroom.

Once inside a stall, I could no longer suppress the metallic, bloody taste surging up. I heaved, vomiting violently into the toilet. The pain in my stomach was so intense my whole body spasmed, leaving me curled on the floor, gasping for air.

I fumbled through my bag, found a painkiller, and swallowed it.

I can't die. Not yet. I haven't bought a plot for my father's grave, and I haven't cleared those debts.

Just then, I heard footsteps outside.

"Vera, weren't you being a little too hard on him? Mylo looked like he was in really bad shape."

It was Cole White’s voice.

Cole was Vera’s current fiancé and had been my intern three years ago. Back then, he had begged me to mentor him. I taught him how to build strategies step by step, only for him to steal important data under Vera’s orders.

"He brought it on himself." Vera’s voice was still cold, though it held a trace of irritability. "People like him never learn their place until they’re taught a lesson."

I hid in the stall, listening to them, feeling nothing but irony.

I stayed in the restroom for a long time, waiting for the dizziness to fade. When I finally pushed the door open, Cole was standing in front of the mirror, fixing his hair.

He saw me in the reflection and looked startled before flashing a fake, sympathetic smile.

"Mylo, are you okay? I saw how much you drank earlier. I was genuinely worried."

I ignored him and walked straight to the sink to rinse my mouth.

Cole saw I wasn't talking and his eyes flickered. Suddenly, he let out a gasp.

"Ahh! My suit!"

He intentionally leaned over, dragging the hem of his jacket against the running faucet I hadn't turned off yet. The expensive, custom suit was instantly soaked, looking a mess under the lights.

"Mylo, how could you? I know you’re upset, but Vera had this suit custom-made for me. I have to see an important client tonight."

Cole’s eyes turned red as he lowered his head, looking like the victim.

Vera walked in at that exact moment. She looked at Cole’s soaked clothes, then at me, and her expression turned black as coal.

"Mylo, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. He—" My explanation died under Vera’s freezing stare.

"Mylo, has your mind really become this twisted?" Vera’s voice was menacing. "Apologize to Cole."

"I’m not apologizing." I straightened my back, even though my stomach was still throbbing with pain.

"Vera, you’ve been in the industry long enough. You seriously can't see through a setup this pathetic?"