Chapter 3

3

I sneered, closed the Instagram tab, and dove back into my writing. But to my surprise, Valerie stormed through the front door that afternoon, looking furious.

The second she saw me, she threw her designer bag hard at my chest.

“Carter, is this your sick way of getting revenge? Did you ruin my business deal on purpose? Are you happy now?”

I listened to her unhinged rant and just felt confused. “What revenge? I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Stop playing dumb! I texted you at noon to bring the proposal files to the office. What the hell did you do?”

“Because of you, my company just lost a massive VIP client! Can you afford to pay for that?” she screamed, raising her hand to strike me again.

I easily caught her wrist mid-air and frowned, stating the cold, hard facts. “You smashed my phone to pieces yesterday, remember? How was I supposed to see your text?”

“Besides, you weren't even at the office to negotiate the deal yourself. You ran off on a romantic trip with your boy toy. How is this my fault?”

Valerie grew even more enraged. She ripped her hand away and kicked me hard in the leg.

“You were spying on me!” she shrieked. “What gives you the right to stalk me?”

“I saw it on Instagram from my laptop. Your little trip was literally trending.” I calmly pulled up the browser history and turned the screen toward her.

Valerie was speechless for a moment. But she quickly recovered and tossed a small gift box onto my lap.

“Tch. I was planning to give you a belated anniversary gift, but you just had to ruin the mood. I might as well throw it in the trash!”

I opened the box. Inside was a bottle of high-end designer cologne.

Meeting Valerie's smug and arrogant gaze, I let out a soft chuckle. “You're right. It belongs in the trash.”

When I was scrolling through Instagram earlier, I noticed the exact same bottle of cologne in Derek's photos. It was a free promotional gift that came with the expensive purchases she made for him.

Derek had even complained in the comments that the cologne smelled cheap and he hated it.

Valerie’s smirk instantly froze on her face. She stared at me in absolute shock. It was as if she couldn't understand why I wasn't weeping with gratitude over her scraps.

Before she could throw another tantrum, I cut straight to the chase.

“You're giving me the unwanted freebies from Derek's presents. Valerie, am I really that worthless to you?”

Her eyes went wide as panic flashed across her face. Having her secret exposed made her visibly flustered.

“What nonsense are you spouting? Why would I give you a freebie?” she stammered defensively.

“If you don't like the gift, just say so. Don't make up crazy excuses.”

I simply opened up Derek's post from noon and shoved the screen in her face so she could get a good look.

“I...”

Valerie stared at the photos, stammering, unable to form a single excuse.

“Don't bother buying me anything ever again. You clearly have no idea what I even like.”

Over the past few years, apart from clothes, Valerie only gifted me corporate business items. I was a home-based writer, so I had absolutely no use for them. I mentioned it several times, but she never cared.

Now I realized that all my gifts for the past two years were actually picked out by Derek. It was his way of slapping me in the face from afar.