William’s pitch went up a notch as he grabbed Rachel’s shoulders, shaking them hard. He glared at her with red-rimmed eyes.

Rachel could feel her brain shaking in her skull. She tried to bear the discomfort.

“William, calm down and hear me out!”

That was when William stopped shaking Rachel. She bit her lips hard, her eyes just as cold.

It had been so long since she returned home, yet William showed her no concern about whether she was injured. His suspicions about her relationship with Tyler were most likely due to the photos he saw online. William knew that something had happened when they were at the bar last night, and even Tyler got hurt and was sent to the hospital. Yet, he didn’t bother checking in on her and asking if she was fine.

It was vastly different from how much he overreacted to any slight discomfort Samantha felt, be it a headache or gastric pains. William took a deep breath before letting go of Rachel. He sat down on a chair and poured himself a glass of wine, which he downed.

“Speak.”

Rachel composed herself and tried to figure out what to say.

“You claim that something is going on between me and Tyler. If you believe everything you hear outside, why don’t you take the rumors about you and Samantha seriously?”

William was stunned for a moment.

Then, he said, “I’ve already explained my relationship with Samantha. I just find her pitiful. Since we used to be schoolmates, I want to help her to the best of my abilities. Now that you’ve quit, she’s the only one I can work with.”

William said it so helplessly, as if he was forced to promote Samantha at work.

Rachel sneered. What a tear-jerking performance he was putting up! Who would believe that Samantha was the only one he could work with in that huge company of his? She didn’t know if even William believed what he was saying.

Instead of refuting his words, Rachel played along and said, “Is that so? That makes things difficult. It’s troublesome if you have no one else you can work with in the office.”

The anxiety and worry in William’s eyes faded at the sight of Rachel being so agreeable.

“Rachel, can you consider coming back to work?”

Rachel forced a smile on her face. She didn’t know if it was William who couldn’t bear for her to leave the company, or if he simply thought that there would be no one around to cover Samantha in her absence. At the end of the day, she was nothing but a useful tool he could keep around and use.

Rachel’s eyes lit up as she switched the subject to talk about Samantha. “William, you know about the rumors in the office between you and Samantha. Even if I trust you, you can’t block out the nasty gossip spreading in the office. My resignation is a good thing for both you and Samantha. If you really want me back, you can transfer Samantha to another department for the time being.

“For example, the marketing and sales department. As long as the three of us are in different departments, no one would be able to spread any rumors.”

Rachel was making it very clear that if William wanted her to stay on in the company, he had to separate her and Samantha. The office of the marketing and sales department was located very far away from William’s department. It was akin to completely separating the two of them. It was up to William whether he was willing to forsake his lover. Rachel was forcing him to choose between the two.