I noticed the secretary's affected manner and fleeting glances, sensing something was amiss.
Sure enough, footsteps approached from behind.
Just then, Cyrus appeared.
He checked his secretary's face and glared at me.
"Simon's spoiled you rotten," he growled.
My friend tried to explain, but Cyrus cut her off.
"Still defending her? I know what I saw."
"What's gotten into you two?"
His condescending tone made my blood boil.
If I could have taken him in a fight, I would have slapped him too.
My friend, even angrier, gripped my hand tightly.
"You don't get it, Cyrus!" she yelled.
"You used to notice my every mood. Now you're CEO, and you're blind to how I'm being treated!"
"Watch it," Cyrus warned.
My friend took a deep breath.
"Fine. Fire her, and I'll behave. Or don't – I know you've got plenty of secretaries."
Cyrus slapped her hand away hard.
"Enough with the jealousy," he snapped.
The blow left her hand swollen.
Cyrus seemed to regret it for a moment but said nothing.
"Keep this up, and we're getting divorced," he threatened before leaving with his secretary.
As they walked away, my friend collapsed into my arms, sobbing.
"He wasn't always like this," she choked out between tears.
My best friend and Cyrus have known each other longer.
They’ve been together since kindergarten and share a bond forged through life-threatening experiences.
Unable to retaliate directly against the Foster family, their enemies targeted Cyrus, who was still in kindergarten.
Disguised as servants, they abducted him.
My friend sensed something was wrong and insisted on going along.
En route, she realized the danger and secretly alerted the police using her smartwatch. The police tracked the watch's location and apprehended the kidnappers.
As a child, Cyrus was particularly clingy towards my friend.
As they grew older, he became less overt but started approaching her subtly.
He even secretly intercepted guys who wanted to confess to her.
Simon told me about this later.
I thought their relationship would be even more stable than mine and Simon's, given its storybook beginning.
I never imagined it would end like this.
We bought suitcases and returned to the Foster house.
The butler curiously asked what we were up to, but I brushed him off with a casual "We're going on a trip."