The Storm Came Before You

That sentence cut Yara like a knife. It pierced her chest and tore at her already broken heart.

Her deeply scarred heart felt like it was being ripped apart. She felt unbearable pain.

Her mind buzzed, and her eyes were empty and numb.

At some point, everyone in the hall had left. Only the bright lights remained, showing all the marks on her body.

She forced herself to stand. She picked up the coat a kind waiter had left and wrapped it around herself. She staggered out of the hall.

Outside, heavy rain poured. She walked into it without noticing it.

The cold raindrops hit her face and ran down like tears.

But she could not shed a single one.

She did not know where she was going. She wandered through the streets without direction.

A car stopped beside her.

The window rolled down. Marcus’ cold, sharp face appeared.

“Get in.”

Yara did not answer. She dragged her heavy body through the rain.

Marcus frowned and said more firmly, “Get in.”

Yara stopped. She lifted her pale, bloodless face to him.

“Don’t bother, Mr. Quinn. I’m just a secretary.”

Her words were icy and sharp. Marcus’ heart ached at her tone.

He opened the car door and walked through the rain to her. He held her hand tightly.

“What happened tonight is my fault. I have already lost Quiana once. I can’t lose her again. I’ll find a way to make up for the humiliation you suffered. Don’t be angry with me over this.”

Yara was done giving in.

She used the last of her strength to pull her hand free and took a few steps back. Her voice was cold and still.

“You must be joking. An ordinary person like me could never be angry with you or with Ms. Xanthe. I was too naive and foolish before to understand my place. From now on, I’ll always remember that I’m just a secretary. I won’t disturb your life again. Are you satisfied? Can you let me go?”

The more she spoke, the angrier Marcus became.

His face turned cold. His emotions were out of control.

“You know I didn’t mean that! I never looked down on you. I only said those things to calm Quiana. In my heart, you and Yelena…”

He kept talking, but Yara could not hear a word.

The world around her grew blurry. Her eyelids felt as heavy as lead.

Her strength was gone. Her body swayed, and she lost consciousness.

She did not know how much time had passed. When she opened her eyes, Yara realized she was in a hospital.

Her wet clothes had been changed. Her wounds were treated and bandaged. A cup of water and some medicine sat on the bedside table.

A nurse was adjusting an IV. When she saw Yara awake, she gave a kind smile.

“You’re awake? Your boyfriend stayed with you all night yesterday. He just left.”

Yara opened her dry, cracked lips. Her voice was hoarse.

“He’s not my boyfriend. He never was.”

From the start, what they had was only a mistake.

Beyond her role as his secretary, he had never acknowledged any other connection between them.

She had once fooled herself and imagined a future that would never come.

She decided to face reality.

She would leave this place and never come back.