Chapter 3

3

It didn't take long for the harsher truth to come out.

That night, Vianna organized a team-building dinner.

It was held at an exclusive private club.

Gideon showed up too.

He sat right next to Vianna, blocking drinks for her and putting food on her plate.

He was incredibly attentive.

It was as if they were the only two people who mattered.

I, on the other hand, was tucked away in the furthest corner.

During the meal, Vianna kept aiming her words at me.

"Nia, I heard you were a great artist in college and even won awards?" she asked with a smile.

"That's all in the past," I replied tonelessly.

"I remember Gideon funded your education too, didn't he?"

She said it like it was just a casual thought.

The atmosphere at the table turned awkward instantly.

Gideon frowned and said, "Let's just eat."

He didn't want Vianna to be upset.

So he chose to shut the topic down.

I lowered my head and ate the food in front of me.

It tasted like cardboard.

Halfway through, I went to the restroom.

I passed a private lounge with the door slightly ajar.

I heard the voices of Gideon and his best friend, Zack Preston.

"Are you really just using Nia as a placeholder for Vianna?" Zack asked.

"What else would she be?" Gideon's voice was full of mockery.

"She's just a poor girl. I gave her an opportunity, and she should be grateful."

"If her eyes didn't look a bit like Vianna's, I wouldn't have looked at her twice."

I froze in my tracks.

So, even that tiny bit of favor wasn't because of me.

It was only because I looked like her.

"So what's the plan now? Vianna is clearly bothered by her."

"I already made her move out."

"That's not enough," Gideon's voice grew cold.

"She needs to disappear from my world entirely."

"I'll tell her tomorrow to go find a boyfriend."

"That's the only way Vianna will feel completely secure."

I leaned against the cold wall, my whole body shaking.

In his heart, I was just a piece of trash to be discarded.

And once he was done with me, he wanted to find a new bin to dump me in.

All to avoid staining his precious lily's territory.

I went back to the room as if nothing had happened.

Gideon glanced at me.

His look was the same one you'd give to a lifeless object.

The next day, he called me into his office.

He said the exact same words I'd heard the night before.

"Vianna is a bit bothered by the fact that I had a thing with you."

"Go find yourself a boyfriend."

I looked at his handsome but heartless face.

I whispered, "Okay."