"Why?" I waspletely taken aback. Scarlett had personally asked me to handle this, and Alex had no valid reason to interfere. He couldn''t just boss me around with nothing but his words.


    "You should return to your previous office," Alex said.


    I frowned at him. "The assistants'' office is running smoothly right now, and there''s nothing urgent that requires my attention. Why are you insisting on transferring me back?"


    "And the R&D department requires your attention?" His voice suddenly sharpened.


    "I promised Scarlett I''d oversee the Schneider Group project from start to finish," I exined.


    "Schneider Group, Schneider Group-it''s always Schneider Group!" he snapped, his anger ring out of nowhere. "Are you doing this for the project or just so you can see Lucas more often?"


    Being unfairly targeted like this instantly fueled my own frustration. "Everything I''m doing is for thepany! The new productunch is right around the corner. Do you even realize how much thepany will lose if we don''t get the materials on time?"


    I let my anger spill out, expecting him to get even more furious. But instead, he just stared at me.


    "I have a proposal to write. I''m leaving." I walked out of the meeting room as if I were escaping after grabbing my things.


    Back at the R&D department, I was immediately met with curious faces.


    "Serena, you''re finally back!"


    "What''s going on?" I ran a hand through my hair.


    "Word is you had a fight with Mr. Hastings," Patricia whispered. "You''ve got some guts."


    I froze. "Who told you that?"


    "You guys were so loud in the meeting room. Half the office heard you guys."


    I stiffened, half impressed by how fast rumors spread around here and half regretting my outburst. Alex was thepany''s president after all. had let my emotions getthe better of me.


    I pulled out my phone, thinking about sending him a message to apologize, but after staring at the screen for a while, I had no idea what to say.


    "Forget it." I put my phone away. "He''s the one who started it. Why should I be the one to apologize?"


    Still, the argument lingered in my mind, leaving me restless and distracted for the rest of the day.


    Efter work, I wandered around


    daze, feeling like a ghost.


    "Serena? Serena!" A voice called from behind me. I stopped abruptly and turned around only to see Julian standing there.


    The shift in my thoughts was too sudden. I hadn''t even processed it before he was already in front of me.


    "Serena, what''s on your mind? I''ve been calling your name for a while, but you didn''t react at all," he said.


    "I..." I instinctively wanted to exin, but my brain quickly caught up. "What do you need?"


    "Serena." He stepped forward, and I immediately took a step back to keep a safe distance between us.


    "I came to apologize," he continued. "And to ask for a chance to make things right."


    "I really know I was wrong," Julian said, looking at me with a pitiful expression. He took another step forward with his arms slightly open as if to embrace me.


    "Stop," I cut him off. "Julian, I ept your apology, and I forgive you. But there''s


    nothing to ''make right.'' From now on, we''ll go our separate ways."