Chapter 217

Anastasia didn’t want to feed Tamia some bullshit about how “your parents love you too, they just focus more on your brother because he’s younger.” Maybe that’s what Tamia secretly wanted to hear, since she couldn’t really escape that family dynamic. If she truly didn’t care, she wouldn’t be this hurt. But the harsher reality was, the more she needed to wake up. Otherwise, that family would literally bleed her dry.

“If that’s how it is, then stop loving them. Give all your love to me instead! As your best friend, I’ll take care of you and support you for life,” Anastasia said.

Tamía let out an exaggerated “aww” and hugged Anastasia, playfully saying, “Well then, I’m counting on my rich bestie!”

“You got it, babe,” Anastasia laughed.

Tamia laughed too, but despite looking happy, her heart still felt heavy.

Anastasia suddenly suggested, “Come on vacation with me tomorrow.”

“Vacation? I can’t, I have to work tomorrow.”

“Work on a weekend? Is your boss some kind of slave driver? That’s exploitation! Want me to call and report him?”

“No, no, no! I need this job. I finally made it to sales manager after all these years. I don’t want to start over,” Tamia protested.

“You’re not still trying to save money for your family, are you?”

“Hell no, I’m done with that! But I gave them everything before, so now I’m broke and it sucks. I need to save money for myself.”

“A day or two won’t make a difference. Relax first. Besides, you’ve got your rich bestie to fall back on.”

Tamia grinned. “You’re right! How could I forget about my sugar mama best friend?”

“Take a personal day tomorrow and let’s go have some fun!”

“Deal.”

The next morning, Tamia was waiting downstairs at Anastasia’s building bright and early with her bags packed. She’d even brought fresh donuts from the bakery near her place—still warm, crispy, and delicious. Tamia wasn’t sure if Cassian would like them, but she’d gotten some for him too.

When Anastasia and Cassian came downstairs, they immediately spotted Tamia.

“Tamia! You’re here so early! I was planning to pick you up,” Anastasia said, surprised.

“Couldn’t sleep. It’s been forever since I’ve taken a vacation, so I wanted to get here early,” Tamia explained.

“I brought you donuts too.”

“I love the ones from that bakery near you—so crispy and fresh.”

“Have as many as you want. Got some coffee too.”

“Thanks, honey.”

Tamia’s smile faltered slightly as she leaned close to Anastasia and whispered, “Um, maybe don’t call me ‘honey’ in front of your husharu? He might get jealous.”

Despite speaking quietly, Cassian still heard and said, “It’s fine, I don’t mind.”

“Here, have a donut,” Tamia offered him one.

Cassian took it. “Thanks.”

Tamia could tell he seemed a bit reluctant. She suddenly realized that someone like Cassian probably wasn’t into this kind of street food that regular people enjoyed.

“You don’t have to force yourself,” she said awkwardly.

Cassian glanced at Anastasia, who was enjoying her donut, and said, “No, I want to try it.” If Anastasia liked it, he should definitely give it a taste.

Tamia was stunned, looking at Anastasia in disbelief. Jasper had always hated when Anastasia hung out with her because of Tamia’s background—she was a farmer’s daughter, not refined in speech, and pretty blunt. Jasper would always give her dirty looks and sometimes loudly ask Anastasia why she’d brought “her” along, right in front of Tamia’s face. It made her furious, but she didn’t want to put Anastasia in an awkward position, so she’d just grit her teeth and bear it. Looking back, Jasper’s attitude toward her was really about Anastasia. Because he didn’t truly love or respect Anastasia enough, he looked down on her best friend too.

But Cassian was different. He loved Anastasia so much that he embraced everything about her world.

After a quick bite, they headed to the airport for their flight to the Maldives. Anastasia hadn’t traveled with her coworkers because she was bringing Tamia, and she didn’t want people accusing her of taking advantage.

When they arrived in the Maldives, the temperature was gorgeous—brilliant blue skies with puffy white clouds and sunshine everywhere. Everything was perfect. Their hotel was right on the beach with its own pristine private stretch of sand, perfectly maintained and spotless. The white sand, turquoise ocean, and endless blue sky were absolutely breathtaking.

Anastasia and Cassian had arrived early—the company group hadn’t gotten there yet.

That’s when Yinsen showed up. When he saw Tamia happily walking toward Anastasia with a complimentary drink from the hotel, his expression changed dramatically.

“Ms. Summer, what are you doing here? I thought I gave you vacation time,” he said.

Tamia jumped, her hands shaking and spilling some of her drink. The cold liquid snapped her back to reality.

“B–boss,” she stammered.

Anastasia turned to look at Yinsen, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Yinsen suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He turned to see Anastasia glaring at him with pure fury. His heart skipped a beat. When the hell did I piss off Anastasia?

Anastasia marched up to him angrily. “So you’re her slave-driver boss?”

“Slave driver? What are you talking about?” Yinsen was completely confused.

Tamía quickly rushed over to stop Anastasia before she actually threw hands.

“Ana, you’ve got it wrong!”

“You called him boss!” Anastasia protested.

“Yeah, but he just became my boss recently. My company merged with his, so now he’s technically my boss.”

That’s when Yinsen understood. “Anastasia, I swear I’m innocent! I never mistreated her. When I got the employee files, I was shocked to see she hadn’t taken a single vacation day in years and was constantly working overtime, even weekends.”

“I actually talked to her about taking breaks and not burning herself out. But she said she didn’t need rest, that she was fine and could handle it.”

“When she texted last night asking for time off, I panicked and thought she was sick. I was relieved when she said it was for vacation.”

Yinsen frantically explained, terrified of any misunderstanding. With Cassian around, he was genuinely scared for his life.

Anastasia’s eyes narrowed as if she was plotting something.