As the nurse dabbed at Beatrice's wound with disinfectant, Beatrice winced and let out a tiny yelp. Yosef was at her side in a flash. "Are you okay?""Just a scratch," Beatrice said, looking up at him with those doe eyes. "Mr. Webb, what about your shoulder? Does it hurt a lot? You should get that checked."Yosef had taken a hit from the edge of the float while shielding Beatrice."It's nothing." Yosef brushed it off.He fussed over Beatrice's hand. "Keep it dry, okay? We don't want you to get a bacterial infection. I'll get someone to look after you.""I can take care of myself, Mr. Webb. I'm not a kid, you know."Zara watched them with an icy stare. All her fatigue and disappointment had built up like a tidal wave, and it was ready to crash over her.What a joke.Without a sound, Zara eased her injured leg off the bed and onto the floor, bracing herself to stand. A sharp pain zipped from her foot to her heart.Zara was on the brink of being seriously hurt, and Yosef had not
To everyone's surprise, Zara simply said, "Give me ten minutes."Beatrice was caught off-guard, and Yosef's brows furrowed in annoyance.Ignoring the throbbing in her leg, Zara leaned on the hospital bed and limped over to the factory manager. "I need a word. It'll be just between us," she said."Speak," the manager replied, eager to listen.In a hushed tone, Zara said, "Could you reach out to that blogger who was taking photos back at the factory? He helped to bring the injured to the hospital, so he should still be in the ER."The manager blinked, then whispered back, "Sure thing. I'll go bring him over now."Zara gave a grateful nod. "Thanks."The others could not catch their quiet exchange. Yosef watched Zara with a frosty detachment, while Beatrice looked visibly rattled.Was Zara just bluffing, or did she actually have something up her sleeve?It was not long before the manager returned while clutching a black bag. Everyone looked at it, wondering what it was.The manag
It was not until that moment that Zara really looked at Yosef. "This is a bet between her and me. Everyone here is a witness, including you, Mr. Webb. "I'm just following through on the bet. Do you see something wrong with what I'm doing, Mr. Webb? What mistake did I make?"She stood there, as fierce as a hedgehog with its quills up. She looked so different from her usual calm, understated, and almost meek self.Yosef felt like he was looking at a stranger."She's been bad-mouthing me and even trying to pin her schemes on me. For all I know, she could've been the one messing with the rope to frame me. If it weren't for the evidence, I'd probably be wrongly accused—all because of just a few words from her and your favoritism for her."Why should I put up with that? If I'm wronged, why can't I set things right?"Zara's comeback was fierce. Her gaze locked onto Yosef's, unwavering and bold."And what if the client had gotten hurt? If Mr. Smith were to demand accountability without
"I hope she and that jerk have a long and lousy life together!"That day, Zara packed up her things at the office and brought everything home. It caused quite the scene. It could not be hidden from her roommate, Cecil. Under Cecil's relentless probing, Zara spilled the beans about everything that had gone down.Cecil went on a rant, blasting Yosef and Beatrice for a solid 30 minutes. The more she ranted, the angrier she got. Finally, she slammed down a bottle of cold beer in frustration.She spun around to Zara and asked, "So you just quit, just like that?"Zara, who was rubbing ointment on her injured leg, replied without much fuss, "Didn’t you always want me to dump Yosef? Now that I've quit, you think I'm being rash?""Rash? Heck no! I'm thrilled you're out of there! It's just that those two got off way too easy!"After her tirade, Cecil bit her lip and asked in an unpleasant tone, "So what did that jerk Yosef do when you told him you were quitting?""I told him I was done
Gossip spread like wildfire, and Zara's recent flurry of meet-ups with various companies was no secret among insiders.Yosef, who was out horseback riding with his friends on the grasslands for a weekend of unwinding, ended up having to discuss it.James, always a bit behind on the news, blurted out, "For real? Yosef is alright with letting Ms. Lowry leave?""It's gotta be real. My HR manager even reached out to her. Whether it's because of her career plans or the fact that I'm friends with Yosef, she rejected our offer."Harper Young shot Yosef a look, seemingly blaming him for getting in the way of his company recruitment. Yosef was dressed in sleek black riding gear. He was perched on a white horse, looking like an aloof heartthrob. He appeared a lot more laid-back compared to his usual suit-and-tie outfit. They were all talking about Zara, but Yosef seemed unbothered and unfazed. Thinking about it, Yosef had always been this way. Years went by with Zara as his one and onl
Yosef's reply was cold. "You think it's a waste, and you probably think I'm doing her wrong. You'd always thought we'd tie the knot, right?"Ophite had once asked him when he would pop the question to Zara, just like his folks had.With a hint of a tease, Ophite said, "Ms. Lowry's the full package, a real catch. If you let her slip away, there'll be a line of guys ready to swoop in. I just don't want you to end up regretting it when she's off the market."Yosef's tone was flat. "She won't be.""She won't go for someone else? Are you that sure of yourself?"Yosef shot him a look, acting laid-back and indifferent. "Hey, if you're so interested, why don't you give it a shot?""You're such a jerk," Ophite muttered, steering his horse a little farther from him. He understood why Yosef was so full of himself, though. Zara had been nothing but compliant for the last three years.Zara only ever had eyes for Yosef. She hovered around him constantly, barely taking a moment for herself.Y
Zara quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Mr. Kingsley, you're here for dinner too, right? You should try the mushroom soup here. It's pretty good. "And about that thing you mentioned to me before, I'm still thinking it over. I'll get back to you once I've decided."Edward, not wanting to make things awkward for her, shot James a look. He then said, "Sure, I'll give the soup a shot. I'll be waiting for your answer."With that, he walked off to another table with his female companion.Zara turned to James, who blurted out, "No, Zara. Don't think about him; think about me. I mean what I said."Zara raised an eyebrow. "What is it?""I really want to hire you as my secretary! I'm clueless about running my dad's company. I need you more than anyone else," James confessed with sincerity."Don't worry, I'm the kind of boss who doesn’t micromanage. I won't breathe down your back. With me, you'll have all the say!"Zara had been a little annoyed with him earlier, but his straight
Getting into an argument with him would just lead to a never-ending cycle of questions.Anyway, she did not owe him any answers.Dodging the issue, Zara said, "Mr. Moore's on it, so Mr. Sate and Mr. Kingsley should be good. I'm taking my leave."She sounded detached, as if she were talking to someone she barely knew.Yosef gave her an icy stare. It was not until she was a couple of steps away that he said, "A whole week's gone by and you still haven't gotten past it?"Zara stopped in her tracks, and realization dawned on her. He thought she was still upset about being falsely accused at the hospital and that she had lost her cool in the heat of the moment. He thought that by now, she should have calmed down.As she looked back, she realized she had been too emotional by letting out all her pent-up frustration on him. She probably looked like a total clown in his eyes that day.Zara had nothing to say. She had quit her job, and their paths had diverged. She did not need to worry