No More Waiting, She Chooses Love

Will Ernest regret it?

I have no clue, but just the thought of him walking away so decisively sends a sharp pain through my heart.

With each passing second, the pain intensifies, making me toss and turn all night, unable to find any sleep.

Breaking up with Conrad never hurt this bad.

I somehow made it till dawn, got up, got ready, and headed to the office.

There, I'd see Ernest. I wanted to see how well he slept, given the rough night I had.

To cover up my weariness, I put on some makeup and went to the office.

And as fate would have it, I bumped right into Grant Smith at the office lobby. He greeted me with his usual enthusiasm, waving, "Director Hudson, good morning."

Every time he sees me, it's like he's found a long-lost family member, his excitement barely contained, almost ready to hug me and burst into tears.

"Good morning, Mr. Smith!" I nodded slightly.

"How come you're alone? Didn't bring your other half with you?" Grant asked with a grin.

The term "other half" hit harder than if he'd just mentioned Ernest by name. My already aching heart twisted further at his words, and I managed a strained laugh, "Other half? Did Mr. Smith assign me a new one?"

paused, then laughed it off, waving someone over, "Look, isn't that

longer in the fancy clothes from last night, but in his usual casual tee, pants, and

was surprising he still showed up to work

wrong. This was always his

listed all my faults last

true identity, deceiving

fearing I'd be with him just for his wealth,

my anger

my cool, I started to walk away, but Grant called out, "Hey, don't

Ernest, saying, "Mr. Collins, hurry up,

gaze landing on me, but I

wanted to look, but I

could tell something was off between Ernest and

and teased, "Mr.

about you. She doesn't quite recognize your 'other half' status, so you'll need

an awkward spot Yet, he knew how to lighten the mood,

comment

salt today," Ernest finally

"Had some bitter melon stir-fry this morning. Bitter. Now I'm all about