Chapter 1
Aaron Murphy never knew how to beat around the bush.
I'd spent two whole hours picking out a dress for our date, but the second he saw me, he turned his head away.
"Ugly. Don't wear that again."
I'd pulled all-nighters for two straight months to finish that project proposal, and he flipped through barely two pages before tossing it aside.
"Unreadable garbage. Rewrite it."
Even the soup my mom had made from scratch? He just sniffed it and scowled.
"Fishy. Don't bother making this again."
At first, I'd screamed, argued, thrown full-blown tantrums.
Every time, he just stared at me coolly while I fell apart.
"Anna, you know I don't sugarcoat things. This isn't news."
I'd thought about leaving more times than I could count, but the next day, a gift would be sitting on my nightstand.
So I kept reassuring myself.
He was just blunt, I told myself. It didn't mean he didn't love me.
Then one day, after I finished working overtime, I walked past his office.
Bella Gonzales, the new intern, was standing off to the side, timid, her eyes red-rimmed like a rabbit's.
I was just about to knock and go in to bail her out, but my hand froze mid-air.
"This part could use a few more examples. Deleting the data in this section would make it more professional.
"You're already doing a great job. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask Anna. She's not good for much else, but she's pretty good at finding information."
Aaron's voice was gentle and patient—a tone I heard only in bed.
So he did know how to be tactful. He just couldn't be bothered to be tactful with me.
If that was how he wanted it, I was done forcing it.
*****
Bella glanced toward the office door.
When she saw me, she was so startled that she stumbled backward and landed right in Aaron's lap.
I stared at Aaron's hand instinctively closing around her, and my heart felt like it had been pricked by a needle.
I stepped into the office.
The room was filled with the scent of Bella's jasmine perfume.
I had worn it once too.
That time, Aaron kicked me out of the conference room in front of the whole company.
"Did you get that cheap fake perfume from a street stall? Can't you smell how harsh it is?"
Because of that, my coworkers laughed at me for a year.
Later, I put away all my treasured perfumes and never touched them again.
At that moment, I asked him, trying to sound casual.
"Don't you think it's harsh?"
Bella finally seemed to react, and she hurriedly climbed off Aaron's lap.
She stood awkwardly to the side and explained in a panic.
"I... I'm sorry. I sprayed too much perfume."
Aaron gave me a disapproving look.
"What are you making a fuss about now?"
Then he turned to Bella and soothed her gently.
"It's nothing. Your vibe suits lighter woody scents better."
Bella ducked her head shyly, her ears turning red.
A lump formed in my throat, and for a moment I couldn't say anything.
Aaron's gaze rested on the dress under my coat for two seconds, then he looked away.
"Same dress, but you two look like the catalog photo and the customer photo."
I looked down and realized I was wearing the same dress as Bella.
Bella blushed and tried to smooth things over.
"Anna looks much better in it than I do."
Aaron clicked his tongue.
"Her waist is more than twice the size of yours. It completely ruins the dress's slender beauty. Anna, you need to lose weight."
My fingers suddenly tightened.
He never bothered to sugarcoat anything with me.
Now he was even putting Bella on a pedestal while tearing me down.
Bella blushed harder and spoke in a soft, sweet voice.
"Either way, Anna has more experience than me. I still have a lot to learn from her."
Aaron waved his hand, his tone a little mocking.
"You have a master's from a prestigious university. What could you learn from someone who graduated from an ordinary school? If it weren't for me, she'd only be doing cleaning work at the company."
Bella couldn't help laughing, then quickly covered her mouth and lowered her head.
I blinked hard to hold back the sting in my eyes, my voice choked as I asked, "Aaron, do you really have to talk like that?"
He frowned slightly, his tone casual.
"I've always talked like this. You know that."
But just now, he had chosen every word so carefully with Bella, afraid of hurting her.
I thought he was just certain that no matter how harsh his words were, I would still stay where I was.
Aaron raised his hand and checked his watch.
"Did you need something? If not, head home. The subway is about to stop running. I need to take Bella home."
Bella immediately waved her hands.
"There's no need, Mr. Murphy. I can take the subway by myself."
Aaron frowned a little.
"It's too dangerous for a girl to get home this late on her own, especially with all the creeps hanging around the subway."
Bella bit her lower lip, pretending to be innocent as she asked, "But what about Anna..."
"Anna's used to it. Besides, at her age, she wouldn't interest those perverts."
My hands clenched into fists.
I stared fixedly at Aaron.
"I'm breaking up with you."
