Chapter 132

Vespera’s voice was gentle and light as she spoke, “Derand, what time will you be at the office?”

Gerard replied, “Around 9:00 am, why?”

Vespera continued, “I’m heading to the office today, but I haven’t picked up my access card from MR, and I’m not sure which floor my office is on. Could you please come down and pick me up?”

She knew it was a bit much, but since she had a good relationship with Gerard, she shamelessly asked him for the favor.

Gerard chuckled. “You haven’t left yet, right? I’m at Mr. Reid’s place. Just come up, and you can ride with Mr. Reid to the office.”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.

Vespera responded, “I think I’ll just wait for you at the office.”

There was no way she would go straight to Dominic’s place without an invitation, casually showing up and riding in his car.

The conversation had been overheard by Dominic, who was sitting in the quiet dining room. He placed his juice down on the table with a bit more force than usual.

“Are you her lackey now? She can find HR on her own,” he said, his cold tone coming through the phone and into Vespera’s ear.

She silently groaned in frustration. Gerard had answered the call right in front of Dominic, acting far too casually. Gerard was embarrassed. He thought, “Is it really such a big deal to pick her up?”

Vespera quickly said on the phone, “Nevermind. Gerard, could you just send me the contact for HR? I’ll reach out myself.”

Gerard sighed. “Alright, I’ll send you the HR manager’s WhatsApp right now.”

“Thanks, see you at the office later,” Vespera said brightly before hanging up.

She exhaled deeply, sitting in front of her vanity. She had learned her lesson. It was never a good idea to take such risks. On her first day at work, her boss had found out she had asked a colleague to help her out, and now Gerard was getting scolded because of it.

Her phone vibrated twice—Gerard had sent a message. Vespera hadn’t checked her messages since she woke up. She had been busy with breakfast and getting ready. Now, opening her WhatsApp, she saw Gerard’s message.

Just as she was about to tap it, she noticed a message that had been sent right under his. Everyone’s WhatsApp names were unique, except for Dominic, who used his real name. His profile picture was of a forest, and his status updates were empty, making his account look like a bot.

“Dominic Reid” was the name on his WhatsApp profile. The message she had sent him last night read, “Got it, darling.”

Her mind went blank for a moment. Her heart skipped a beat as panic surged through her. “Darling? Whose darling? My darling? No… No way!” she thought, the word echoing in her mind. But she didn’t have a husband anymore.

Then, it hit her. This was her WhatsApp account. She had called Dominic “darling.” Her heart raced as everything sank in. She had used the word “darling” for Dominic, of all people.

“Ah!” she screamed internally. Her mind went blank in an instant, her eyes flashing erratically as if a storm had hit. Her hands shook uncontrollably, like she was having a nervous breakdown. No, this couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be real; she refused to believe it.

Vespera threw her phone across the room, standing up and stepping back. She covered her mouth with both hands, staring at the phone lying there in stunned silence.

It took her a few minutes to come to terms with the horrifying truth. She sat back down at the vanity. Taking a deep breath, she picked up her phone again and carefully checked the time. He had sent her the message at 1:00 am. She had no idea when she had replied. Maybe he, like her, had set his phone on silent and hadn’t checked his messages yet. The tick next to her message hadn’t been seen. She thought about going upstairs and grabbing his phone to delete the iMessage, but it would be too risky.

In the end, she decided to give it a shot. After all, things were already a mess, so she might as well just dive in and deal with it head-on. She decided to go to his place first and gauge his reaction. With that thought, she grabbed her bag and headed to his penthouse.

PRUDKA 172

When she entered the dining room, the three people inside turned to look at her.

Vespera forced a tight smile, her lips trembling. “Good morning.”

Dominic looked at her fresh, youthful face, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. He said, “Ms. Gildon, looks like you slept well.”

Chapter 133