CHAPTER 33: MERCILESS GOSSIP

That was when I realized that there was no way that I could leave the mansion with my luggage. I narrowed my eyes slightly at him while thinking that that wasn’t at all enough to stop me from leaving.

"Are you trying to run away from me?" his voice was icy cold.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, as if I had no idea what he was referring to.

"You don’t have to run away from me. I won’t do anything to you... that you don’t like..." he said before showing me another one of his enticing smiles.

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh of resignation. Raphael was surely taking his role of my guardian and elder brother too seriously.

"Fine," I muttered darkly.

Everything would be fine as long as I stayed away from him.

...

It felt like many years had passed since the last time that I entered my office building. I looked up at the large building before entering the usual lobby and heading towards the elevator that I always use. Everything felt so familiar, and I found myself missing my workplace a little. Despite my fallout with Sam, I couldn’t deny that the office still held many good memories. I had some friendly and understanding colleagues and a supportive boss. I was filled with a sense of guilt for suddenly quitting this way but I still thought that it was the right decision.

I found it quite hard to believe that I used to look forward to coming to this place every single day. They say that people’s feelings are as fluid as water, and at that moment, I had to agree because I couldn’t deny the fact that my feelings have changed. The familiar atmosphere of the office felt oppressive and suffocating to me now, and although I have many good memories there, I also felt bitter feelings now that my relationship with Sam was over.

"I should quickly get out of here," I mumbled to myself before stepping out of the elevator.

I agreed with my boss to come during the lunch break when everyone wouldn’t be busy. If I could clear out my things before the lunch break came to an end, then I could also avoid running into people. I had mixed feelings about leaving without saying a proper goodbye to my colleagues, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to face them as well given that they must have learned about Sam’s marriage and our obvious breakup.

Luckily, the team seemed to be out for lunch by the time that I arrived. I quickly headed over to my desk to pack my things into a box. Honestly, there wasn’t much for me to pack, and I managed to clear my desk without any difficulties before heading to return my company laptop at the IT department. Standing behind my desk brought back many memories, and I suddenly started feeling sentimental.

While I was lost slightly and thought, I heard the door open before the loud sounds of people chatting entered the room. I glanced over to find that I was no longer alone and that pretty much my entire team had just made it back from lunch. My colleagues looked quite stunned to see me at my desk.

“Abby!” A few of them called out my name at the same time.

“Hi...” I said in a light whisper as a few of them approach and surrounded me. The way that their eyes lit up as they stared intensely at me told me that they were demanding for an explanation either for my sudden resignation or they wanted to know more about my break up with Sam. Regardless of what it was that they wanted, I didn’t want to tell them anything.

“I’m just here to pack up my stuff...” I said although it was already pretty obvious.

“It’s so shocking that you’re leaving so suddenly,” one of my colleagues said.

“I guess...” I murmured before plastering a smile on my lips.

“Did you hear that Sam just got married?” Another woman suddenly asked.

“Of course, I was there at their wedding,” I replied while wondering just how much longer I needed to endure this.

This was exactly why I didn’t want to come to the office unless I could help it. I wanted to run right out of there but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“Oh, you were there?” Another colleagues expressed her surprise with widened eyes.

“I was invited so I decided to turn up,” I replied while trying my best to sound casual.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect Sam to end up marrying the daughter of the owner of this company. It’s so surprising and so sudden. I mean, I thought you two were going strong...” she said before showing me a sad face and a look filled with sympathy.

The last thing that I needed from them was sympathy.

“I think they make a pretty good pair,” I said before smiling brightly.

I honestly thought that they did make a good pair. They were both liars and cheaters so they should just end up together so that they wouldn’t cause harm and hurt to other more decent people out there.

“I guess it was pretty shocking for you to find out that Sam got married right after you two broke up,” one of my colleagues said before making a sad face.

By that time I wasn’t certain whether they were empathizing with me or they wanted to rub my misery right into my face. I had clearly forgotten just how they surely liked to gossip and weigh in on the drama as if they were addicted to it.

“Thank you for worrying about me but I’m just fine. Things are over between us now, and I’m moving on quite well. Thanks for your worries,” I quickly brought a conversation to a close.

Whether or not they truly cared about me didn’t matter. I felt like staying any longer would just taint all the good memories that we had as colleagues and it would be better for me to leave right away. I lifted the box up into my arms while rapidly saying my goodbyes before quickly striding towards the door. I told myself that it was only natural that people working at the company would congratulate Sam’s union with Emily. After all, who would dare gossip or say anything bad about the daughter of the company’s owner.

–To be continued...