Chapter 5
Howard stepped out of the hospital room, his face tense as he stared at his phone. Suddenly, he broke down in tears, and in that moment, my heart ached for him.
He didn’t call me, but after a long while, he sent me a message:
“Sally, I will explain everything to you. Wait for me!”
Yet, confronted by this cherished yet troubled figure who held a special place in his heart, I felt I had no chance of winning him over.
That night, I moved out of the wedding suite.
I didn’t return to Howard’s company,
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transferring all my work to my assistant.
Leaving Los Angeles behind, I found a seaside cottage where I began my new routine: running in the morning sun and beachcombing at sunset.
Half a month passed without a word from Howard.
The next time I would hear news about him, it would probably be about his marriage to Celia.
A few days later, my butler, Warren, called to tell me that my father was unwell and urged me to return home.
To avoid my father’s arranged matchmaking, I had stayed away after graduation.
Then, after getting together with Howard, my
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father refused to accept him, believing he was just a small–time boss.
“You’re my only precious daughter; how can I bear to see you suffer?”
After a falling out with my father, it had been nearly four years since I’d last visited San Diego.
“You don’t even plan to inform your father about your wedding? You’ve really made a name for yourself!”
As soon as I stepped inside the house, my father’s booming voice startled me.
“Dad, are you pretending to be sick?”
“You didn’t even bring that little brat back to show your dad. If it weren’t for Warren catching a glimpse of your wedding photo in
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Los Angeles, how long did you plan to keep this from me?”
Once I confirmed that my father was indeed fine, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.
“What’s the point of seeing him now that we’ve broken up?”
“Is that little brat cheating on you? Now that his company is going public and he has some money, he thinks he’s something special. I’m going to Los Angeles to sort him out!”
Worried that my father’s blood pressure would spike, I quickly tried to calm him down.
“Dad, I’ve already lost my mother. If you keep getting worked up like this, do you want me to be an orphan?”
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The mention of my mother immediately softened my father’s demeanor.
“Sally, Dad just doesn’t want you to be wronged.”
“Besides, the Bax family, the richest in San Diego, has a son who isn’t dating anyone. You two could-”
“Dad, have you forgotten why I avoided coming home after graduation?”
Seeing the sharp look I shot his way, my father fell silent.
After spending a few days at home, being waited on hand and foot, I received a call from my best friend.
“Where have you been? I went to your place,
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and Howard said you moved out. Are you really going to break up with him?”
I replied with a soft “Hmm.””
“Don’t! I mean, you know, Celia took some of those psychiatric meds, right?”
“Howard took her for a psychiatric
evaluation, but she flat–out refused. Then she staged a dramatic scene at the hospital and went viral again.”
After hanging up with my friend, I fell into deep thought.
Celia was most likely lying. After all, it was hard to explain her sudden marriage to a foreigner just a day after Howard’s accident as a mental health crisis.
Only someone blinded by the glow of love,
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like Howard, would believe her without a moment’s doubt.
He chose to remain silent, perhaps just looking for an excuse to break up with me. The return of his beloved first love was reason enough!
I tried to distance myself from the aftermath of their drama, but then I stumbled upon some juicy gossip about me in a class group chat.
“I never expected Salena to be this kind of person. She actually sold her fiancé’s company secrets for money!”
“It’s said that Celia and Howard broke up because of her interference, with Salena stepping in as the other woman.”
“They also say Celia’s mental illness was
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forced upon her by Salena–she’s so heartless!”
I immediately opened Twitter, and sure enough, various gossip accounts were already stirring the pot. As a high–ranking executive of a public company, my scandal was bound to affect our stock prices significantly in the coming days.
I was sure someone was orchestrating all this.
Just as I was thinking of hiring a private investigator to uncover the mastermind behind this, I saw Howard holding a press conference as the president of the Caldwell Group.
He unilaterally announced the termination of our engagement and dismissed me from my vice president position, claiming my actions
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severely harmed the company’s interests. He publicly condemned me.
The document I had signed, supposedly selling out the company, was made public.
Along with it came a screenshot showing that two million had been transferred to my
account.
The informant? Celia.
It felt as though everything had conspired to cement my guilt in selling out the company.
