Chapter 2

2.

When Alyssa finally returned, I was already drifting to sleep.

She tossed a carton of greasy takeout noodles on the nightstand and shook me awake.

“Here. Kyler felt bad about the misunderstanding and went out of his way to buy you your favorite spicy noodles.”

Looking at the box, I couldn’t help but recall the words she once threw in my face.

“How can anyone eat this kind of oily junk food? It’s disgusting.”

Yet the moment Kyler mentioned he loved street food, Alyssa suddenly claimed it was her favorite too.

She even took him to the exact local noodle spot I had once begged her to try.

After that, his social media was filled with photos of the two of them eating all the greasy food she used to despise.

I remembered a night when I brought home barbecue, hoping we could share a nice dinner together.

Alyssa had scowled in revulsion the second she saw the bags on the counter.

“Why do you keep bringing this garbage into our house? Didn’t I tell you never to buy this again?”

Without waiting for an answer, she dumped the entire meal straight into the trash.

Snapping back to reality, I said coldly: “No thanks. I don’t eat this stuff anymore.”

Alyssa scoffed. “As if I don’t know what you like.”

“Stop lying just to salvage your pathetic pride. I hate when you act like this.”

I said nothing, quietly picked up the takeout box, and walked past her.

Before the smug smile could fully form on her face, I tossed the food straight into the kitchen trash can.

“What is your problem?”

Alyssa grabbed my arm as I walked back, her voice tight with anger.

I replied evenly: “Why are you bringing this garbage into our house?”

Hearing her own words thrown back at her, Alyssa’s face darkened.

“You just threw away Kyler’s goodwill.”

I pulled my arm free without a word and walked straight into the bedroom.

To my disbelief, Alyssa fished the greasy noodles out of the trash and threw the messy carton onto the bed.

“Ungrateful bastard!” she spat, then slammed the door and stormed out.

Looking at the stained sheets, I took a quick shower, packed a few changes of clothes, and moved into the club dormitory.

In the past, the second she slammed a door, I would have bombarded her with calls and apologies.

There was even a time when I fell to my knees in front of the entire club staff, begging her not to leave me.

Now, I simply walked away from the mess, leaving the empty apartment behind.

The next morning, the club owner summoned me to his office as soon as I arrived.

When I opened the door, Alyssa and Kyler were already standing inside.

I raised an eyebrow, quietly observing the scene.

The owner handed me a folder. “Alyssa claims Kyler wrote this training program. Take a look and see if there are any issues.”

I opened the folder.

It took me a single second to recognize the comprehensive training regimen I had spent three days drafting.

I turned to look at Alyssa.

She gave me a thinly veiled look of warning.

“Why are you staring at me? Didn’t Kyler write this whole plan?”

“You watched him put it together, didn’t you?”

Kyler had only joined the club a year ago.

The only reason he became the primary assistant to Alyssa, the club’s top star, was because she constantly credited him with my hard work.

Whenever I asked why she kept doing it, she would frown in disgust.

“Kyler grew up next door to me. He’s all alone in this city. What’s wrong with me looking out for him like a big sister?”

Whenever I voiced my frustration, she’d climb onto her moral high ground and call me heartless.

Because I loved her, I kept swallowing my pride.

This time, I held my three-day project in hand and looked Alyssa in the eye with a faint smile.

“I wrote this. The original draft and timestamped files are saved on my laptop.”

Fury flared in Alyssa’s eyes.

“What are you trying to pull? Are you really stealing credit from a junior assistant?”

I ignored her outrage and chuckled softly. “Did you miss what I just said? The files are backed up, and my office has security cameras. Should we pull the footage together?”

Alyssa shot me a venomous glare before dragging a panicked Kyler out of the office.

Once they left, the owner let out a heavy sigh.

“I guess you two have really reached the end of the line.”

He wasn’t blind; he had known about their little games all along.

He had only stayed quiet because I had never pushed back before.

He handed me another file.

Inside was a roster with a single highlighted name.

I looked at him, confused.

“She’s our newest recruit,” the owner explained. “Incredible raw talent.”

I instantly understood what he wasn’t saying out loud.

I nodded calmly. “Understood. Once I wrap up the handover, I’ll take her on.”

When I returned to my office, Alyssa was already sitting inside, her face like ice.