Page 44

Jacob returned from his business trip around noon, but he'd been busy for hours, and we hadn’t had a chance to meet. Around 4 pm, I was in my office, already preparing to call it a day. My head was leaning back against the chair, and I was battling wave after wave of pain coursing through my body when my assistant knocked on the door.

"Sir, I ran into our CEO in the elevator. He asked me to let you know he’d like to speak with you now," he said, his mousy little face full of apology, like he was sorry for existing at all.

A jolt of nerves shot through me.

Was this it? Was it finally happening? I stood up and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror-like surface of a cabinet. My face looked normal, composed. No one would guess my whole body was aching. I was dying of longing.

I stepped into the hallway, walking like… a man heading to the guillotine. But I kept my back straight.

I took the elevator to the executive floor. So familiar. I’d been up here hundreds of times over the years, back when Jacob and I worked side by side, shaping the vision of DevApp, closing deals, plotting strategy. This company had been like a second home to me. Walking that hallway now, I was silently saying goodbye. But even that pain didn’t compare to the one gnawing inside me.

Jacob’s office was dim, he’d left the windows polarized, casting the space in a shadowy half-light.

Fitting. A moody setting for an execution.

The CEO of DevApp was standing near a shelf, looking at the long row of photos in sleek black frames.

One of them was of Sariel. How poetic.

You didn’t need to be a psychic to feel the tension in the air, but I kept my game face on. I squared my shoulders, loosened my arms, and walked toward him with an easy, casual step.

He turned to face me, and for the first time since I’d known him, I noticed faint traces of Sariel in his features. I’d always thought Sariel was a carbon copy of his dad, but now… there were subtle details that sent a chill through me.

Our eyes met. I inhaled—

And there it was. I suddenly understood everything. Just like with Finn, I smelled him, his pheromonal Allure , and realized our level of mateship. And it shocked me…

But I didn’t react. Mostly because I’d sprayed myself with pheromone-masking deodorant, so it wasn’t an issue for him, he couldn’t smell me back. And it should definitely stay that way.

With a forced smile, I said, trying to start things on a polite note, "I’m glad to be back, Jacob. And I appreciate you letting me return to my old position."

I gave him a slight nod, a respectful gesture, meant to show both gratitude and deference.

Something passed over Jacob’s face. Bitterness? Anger?

I realized how differently I perceived him from Sariel. Sariel was an open book, I could read every flicker of emotion in his body. Jacob, though… he was a mystery. His emotions lingered just on the surface, and that surface could lie.

"I’m glad you’re alive, Winter," he said, his tone formal, almost like a statement for the record. "I couldn’t forgive myself for sending you both to Japan. It was my direct order… and it was like you lost your lives because of me."

Then he turned and walked toward the window. He brushed his fingers across the frame, and instantly the window’s polarization lifted, flooding the office with bright daylight.

A great reveal. It was coming now.

And then he said it.

"There were times when I wondered if your return to this company was the right decision."

His voice was strange, flat, robot-like.

Here it was. The truth. Or at least the next installment of it. The first part had already been served to me, wrapped in psychobabble, mid-flight.

Jacob continued, "I asked myself that question while watching the drone footage."

As he said that, his voice deepened, becoming resonant, almost vibrating.

"I was so elated when they called to tell me they’d found you both alive, and sent me the recording. Only then did I see your kiss."

Thud, thud, thud.

My heart was so loud I had to focus extra hard on his words, they were becoming barely audible.

"For that reason, I wasn’t sure if it would be healthy, for either of you, to be working here together."

Something coiled tight inside me, like wire being wound too tightly. I stood frozen near the shelves, and from one of the photos, teenage Sariel looked back at me with those wide eyes.

Jacob shot me a brief glance, like he was testing my reaction, but when he saw how carefully I kept my composure, he turned his eyes back to the city skyline.

"Then I realized—I’m a businessman, first and foremost. And without you, this company isn’t what it used to be. Lorens and Durden are decent managers, but they’re not your replacement. And the rest of the directors? They’re just yes-men. They don’t have half your brain or your work ethic. It wasn’t until you were gone that I truly understood what I’d lost."

I didn’t know exactly where this speech was headed. But I knew one thing: I had to stay perfectly calm and show no emotion. Jacob hated displays of nerves. He had zero tolerance for people who lost their cool, and I knew making a good impression on him could still matter.

"…That’s why, despite what I saw on the drone footage, I’ve decided to restore your position."

Another short glance. Unreadable and cold.

"I want you to know, though, Sariel is no longer your subordinate. I’ve transferred him to Werner’s division, two floors separate you. As you know, it’s a small department, but completely independent from the other directors. I think that’ll be a healthier arrangement. You two won’t have to run into each other every day."

I still didn’t say anything. The technical details he was throwing at me were just a smokescreen, something to hide the real issue underneath. What he was really addressing was his absolute disapproval of the closeness between me and Sariel.

How… not surprising.

Eventually, maybe because of my silence, Jacob stepped away from the window and walked back toward me, pinning me with his eyes. I hadn’t moved. Still standing in the same position.

"I want to tell you something. Maybe you already know it, maybe you suspect it. But I feel I should say it out loud, and perhaps offer you a better way to handle this… because I believe I’ve chosen the right path myself."

His voice turned icy now, like that island where I’d spent three weeks. And just like that island, Jacob had a volcano in him too, ready to blow at any moment.

Then the words came:

"All these years you’ve worked here, I’ve liked you, Winter. Not just as an employee."

Of course, I didn’t respond. He wasn’t telling me anything I hadn’t already guessed, though hearing it from his own lips was… surreal. That harsh, disciplined face saying those words, such a strange contrast.

How do you tell someone you like them, while making it crystal clear that everything about those feelings is wrong and shameful? Jacob had perfected it.

"Still, not once did I ever act on it. I never crossed that line, even though I wanted to. Believe me."

He paused, like he was offering me a chance to speak. But I didn’t give him the satisfaction. I just looked at him, keeping my face as unreadable as his.

"I expect the same level of restraint from you, Winter."

His dark blue irises, intense, bored into me like steel blades.

"And let me assure you, it is possible. To feel drawn to someone, and still do nothing about it." He raised his chin with pride. "I’m a man who believes in principles. In honesty. In integrity. I would never betray my husband, no matter what my biological nature might crave."

Slowly, he lifted his hand and laid it on the photo frame with Sariel’s picture inside.

"I understand that your situation with my son is different. Because of that island, you both went through a whole other level of intensity. But I still believe it’s not a situation beyond control." His eyes narrowed, his brow furrowed.

"Can you promise me that, Winter? That you’ll show the same restraint with my son?"

A quiet puff of air left my lungs.

I wanted to laugh. In his face. I also wanted to cry. But I didn’t.

My face stayed calm, even though the ground had just shifted under my feet. I looked toward the window, toward the distant skyline, the clouds, the jagged tips of skyscrapers… It was the same gray, unwelcoming sky that had hung above me and Sariel on that island, when it was just the two of us—and everything had been so tragically simple.

This was the moment. I had to choose:

Deny Sariel.

Or deny the entire life I’d built over fifteen years in this company.

My hand moved on its own, rising to my chest, where I felt the faithful pounding of my heart, so alive, so passionate. The heart that had never given up. That kept going forward even when it felt like the whole damn universe was against us. When I’d walked down that beach, half-dead, searching for Sariel…

It was my heart that had carried me here.

"I’m sorry, Jacob," I said quietly, softly. "But I can’t make you that promise. So consider this my official resignation. Thank you for all the opportunities, for every chance to grow professionally, and for being such a good boss all these years."

Then I stepped back, gave him a respectful nod, turned around, and walked out of that office, leaving Jacob standing there with wide-open eyes and parted lips, as if cut off mid-word.

At an even pace, I walked to my office, calmly opened the cabinet, and took out the few personal things I kept inside. I cleared out the drawers too. I emptied one of the supply bins I used for spare folders and transferred all my stuff into it. My movements were steady, measured. I didn’t feel anxious. I felt completely at peace. I knew this was the right decision, my heart also knew it, without a single doubt.

Then I opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

As I walked toward the elevator, Manager Lorens caught up with me. He didn’t even notice the box in my hands, he was too seized by some strange excitement.

"Did you read the interview? With Sariel? It’s in today’s issue of East Times!"

My heart sped up, my breath catching in my throat. But before I could answer, he blurted out,

"You’re truly a hero, Director. The boy told everything in the interview. What you did. I guess it’s hard to imagine what people are capable of, how heroic they can be. But who ever does, until the time of trials and tribulations comes?" He grinned innocently, but his eyes were wide with respect.

Then, spotting another employee farther down the hallway, he added, "Sorry, I’ve gotta run, I need to talk to Devon about that January report. But I’m really curious if Jacob’s seen it yet. It just went live a few minutes ago. Might be quite the revelation for him, haha…" An awkward giggle slipped out.

Without waiting for my reply, he spun around and hurried off.

A little dazed, I kept walking. When I stopped next to the elevator, I hesitated. Should I read the interview now?

Would it even change anything?

Because I had already made up my mind.

Nothing could sway me.

Nothing.

When I reached the first floor and stepped outside, the wind hit my face, fresh, full of spring, full of the noise and scent of the city at rush hour. I drew in a deep breath.

My heart beat calmly and confidently in my chest, reaffirming what I already knew—I’d made the right choice.

Because there never could’ve been any other, not when it came to Sariel.

***