Chapter 4

Dorothea rolled two suitcases out of Albert’s villa. Reese, the housekeeper, came back from grocery shopping and paused in surprise when she spotted her.

“Dorothea, are you going on a trip for work p>

Dorothea smiled, just a hint of humor in her eyes. “Yeah, work trip p>

“Oh, I just bought groceries. Let me know when you’re coming back and I’ll make your favorite dishes p>

Coming back? Dorothea’s smile softened. Soon, someone else would be living here. She had no plans to return.

“Thanks, Reese. I’m heading out p>

Reese watched her go, a strange feeling settling in her chest. She couldn’t say exactly what was off, but something definitely was.

Once inside, Reese started putting groceries away and noticed how much was missing. All those cute little decorations Dorothea liked were gone. She went upstairs to the walk-in closet and checked the wardrobe. Dorothea’s clothes were still there, which eased her mind a bit. What Reese didn’t realize was that everything left behind had been a gift from Albert. Dorothea hadn’t taken any of them. She only packed up the things she’d bought for herself.

Still uneasy, Reese grabbed her phone and called Albert in Switzerland.

“Albert, Dorothea came by today and took a lot of her things p>

Albert paused, his brow tightening. “Where did she go p>

“She said she’s going on a trip for work, a few days maybe p>

A work trip? That didn’t make sense. He wasn’t even in the country, and as his personal assistant, Dorothea had no reason to travel without him. Their last chat sat untouched from days ago. He glanced at his phone and saw several missed calls from her. His thumb hovered over the screen, ready to call her back, but then Carola let out a sudden cry from the kitchen.

“Ow, that hurts p>

He hesitated. Dorothea was fine back home. What could possibly have happened? Maybe she was just upset because he hadn’t answered her calls. He put his phone down and hurried toward the kitchen.

“What happened, Carola p>

She was standing at the counter, cutting fruit. She held up her hand, a small cut on her finger. “Albert, I’m so clumsy. I just wanted to cut some fruit for you p>

He immediately got the first aid kit, gently bandaging her finger. He ruffled her hair, his voice soft. “I like you just the way you are, even when you’re clumsy p>

Carola blushed and looked down, her tone teasing but quiet. “Albert, when we get back tomorrow, can I invite Dorothea over p>

Albert’s eyes flickered with something unreadable. He knew Dorothea was Carola’s stepsister.

“I thought you and Dorothea didn’t get along p>

Carola’s eyes sparkled as she blinked up at him. “We don’t, not really. That’s why I want to try fixing things. Mom’s always tense with Dorothea because of me, and I want to do something for her p>

He smiled warmly at her. “You’re so kind, Carola. But let’s not worry about that just yet. We’re going home tomorrow. I want us to enjoy it p>

Carola’s gaze dimmed a little. “Alright p>

She’d always known Dorothea was just a stand-in. Once, Albert had left his phone unlocked, and Carola saw Dorothea’s messages. That’s when she realized they’d been secretly seeing each other. After that Carola learned to play her cards right. Every time she acted up, Albert would drop everything and fly to see her. The Twitter post from two days ago? That was her doing too. Now, with her return home, it was time for Dorothea to disappear.

The next day, Dorothea went to work to finish her handover. Mandy watched her with regret.

“Dorothea, are you sure you don’t want to stay? If it’s about your salary, I can talk to the higher-ups for you p>

Talk to Albert? Dorothea let out a quiet laugh. “No need, Mandy. It’s personal p>

She was the only woman among

Albert’s secretaries. Plenty of women had tried to get close to Albert through the job, but he’d only ever kept Dorothea. She was attentive quick to adapt, and handled big and small things

without a hitch. Mandy, as Albert’s executive assistant, had always appreciated her. Dorothea

understood boundaries and never crossed the line, but even Mandy knew she couldn’t force her to stay.

“Alright. I’ve approved your resignation. As for Albert, well, we’ll have to wait until

he’s back from his trip to know for sure p>

Dorothea managed a small smile. “Thank you. I’ll get back to it p>

She went to the break room to grab some water and caught the admin team deep in

gossip.

“Did you hear? Albert isn’t actually on a business trip. He went to chase after his girlfriend p>

“No way. I thought Albert wasn’t into women. I’ve worked here for years and never heard a single rumor about him p>

“That’s not true. The Clark and Brown families have been planning their alliance for years. Albert’s been waiting for the girl to graduate. Some reporters actually caught them together, but Albert had the story suppressed to protect her p>

Dorothea didn’t notice that her mug wasn’t lined up with the water dispenser. Boiling water splashed across the back of her hand.

She gasped, pulling her hand away, red marks already rising on her skin.

“Oh my god, Dorothea, you need to be more careful. Go run it under cold water, quick p>

Dorothea nodded. “Yeah. I’ll do that now p>

In the restroom, she held her hand

under the

ဝင p>

stream, her chest

tight with a mix of pain and heartache. So they were already talking about marriage. All this timëz she’d been waiting for Albert to tell everyone about them, still believing there was a chance.

Her phone lit up on the sink. A message from Carmen.

[Dorothea, Albert’s throwing a welcome dinner tonight with his girlfriend. I really

don’t want to go. Come with me p>

Dorothea blinked away the sting in her eyes. He was already back.

[Sorry, Carmen. I have to work late tomorrow p>