Part 2Winter's Last Promise

Hearing that Carter loved me deeply, Chloe pouted in defiance and rolled her eyes at me.

She brought me a cup of tea, asking in a sickly-sweet voice, "Emma, how could the boss bear to make you wait so long?"

"It's so weird. Usually, whenever I come to find him, no matter how busy he is, he drops everything to keep me company. He tells me I'm the most important person to him."

"I thought he was this considerate with all his women..."

She smiled, her eyes curving into sweet crescents. When she smiled, she really did look like a younger me.

I thought about it. Carter really did treat Chloe differently.

He had countless mistresses. He used them as tools to spite me, bringing a different woman home every night, testing my reaction over and over again.

But Carter never kept them around long. A day or two, maybe a couple of weeks at most, and he would get bored.

Only Chloe. Carter kept her properly on the outside—taking her to dinners, shopping, the movies.

They were like any ordinary, loving couple. Carter gave her money, and he gave her affection.

I looked at Chloe and smiled softly, asking her in a gentle voice, "If you're so important, how can Carter bear to keep you hidden away as a dirty little secret?"

"You should talk some sense into him. Tell him to divorce me sooner so he can marry you."

Chloe's face drained of color. Humiliated and furious, she lowered her voice and hissed, "The one who isn't loved is the real third wheel! You are the one who doesn't belong!"

"You're just riding on the fact that you met Mr. Sterling a few years before I did. But look at you now—you're old and ugly. What do you have left to fight me with?"

Her colleague, probably terrified that I would snap, hurried over to grab her arm and pull her away.

Honestly, I didn't mind.

I had made a promise to myself a long time ago: I wouldn't get angry over Carter, and I wouldn't cry over him either.

And I certainly wouldn't lower myself to fight other women out of jealousy for him.

He wasn't worth it.