Rachel''s face flushed as she stammered, "Mr. Burton, you''ve got it all wrong... I-I didn''t have lunch, just wanted to grab a bite with Haynie..."


    Mr. Burton wasn''t having any of it. "I''m giving you one hour, Rachel. If you''re not back by then, you''ll stay an extra hour today. Two hourste? You''re staying four hours extra."


    Haynes frowned, "Mr. Burton, isn''t that a bit harsh?"


    "Rules are rules. As thepany president, would you allow your employees toe and go as they please?" Mr. Burton replied sharply.


    "But she''s not your employee," Haynes countered.


    Mr. Burton smirked, "I''m treating her terminal illness for free, and she can''t even run errands for a few days? If she doesn''t value her own life, how can she expect others to save it?"


    Haynes had no reply.


    Rachel felt a surge of frustration, ready to expose Mr. Burton as a chatan right then and there. She was sure he was purposely making it hard for her. But she couldn''t confront him without revealing her own lies.


    It had to be Ste. Ste must have joined forces with this old geezer to torment her. Rachel''s resentment towards Ste deepened.


    Haynes turned to Rachel, "Do you want toe with me to get checked out, or stay here?"


    Haynes wasn''t naive. He had noticed that Rachel''s hand injury wasn''t serious. It didn''t even require a bandage, as the wound had already scabbed over.


    Rachel had hoped to use this as an excuse to leave, but Mr. Burton''s ultimatum trapped her. She''d already spent half the day here, and leaving now would mean making up the entire dayter, which wasn''t worth it.


    Forcing a smile, she said, "No, Haynie, you go ahead. I''m fine."


    Haynes checked his watch. He had a meeting to get back to and couldn''t linger. Seeing Rachel''s resolve, he nodded.


    "Alright, then. I''ll head back to my meeting."


    With that, Haynes turned on his heel and left.


    Rachel turned to see Ste watching her, a mocking smile ying on her lips, as if to say, "Is that all you''ve got?"


    Rachel bit her lip in frustration. Haynie had forgotten all about her missed lunch.


    ...


    As the day dragged on, Rachel gritted her teeth and soldiered on, helping Marvin with the tedious task of sorting herbs. The herbs were collected from the wild, mixed with dried twigs and thorny vines. Every time Rachel identally pricked herself, she''d let out a small hiss and draw back her hand, on the verge of tears.


    By the time dusk fell, Marvin had sorted through three batches of herbs, while Rachel hadn''t even finished one.


    As darkness settled, Mr. Burton called it a day, and they all headed out.


    Outside, Jasper was waiting with his shy sports car, leaning against it with a cigarette in hand. At the sight of him, Rachel rushed over as if he''de to rescue her.


    "Jasper..."


    Ste gave them a sidelong nce before leaving with Marvin. She didn''t need a crystal ball to know Rachel was off toin.


    ...


    The next day, Ste arrived to find Rachel still absent. About half an hourter, the sound of hurried footsteps and Rachel''s tearful voice echoed from the entrance.