Kian’s POV

When the glass doors slid open, I saw him instantly. Kai was sitting alone on a sleek bench near the edge of the sky garden, staring out over the sprawling city skyline, the high-altitude wind gently rustling his dark hair.

I stepped onto the deck and walked over to him. "What's the matter? Why are you sitting up here alone?"

"Sit down," he said without looking up.

I hesitated for a second before sitting down on the opposite end of the bench, keeping a cautious distance between us.

Kai turned his head, his dark eyes fixed intently on my face. "Are you happy working here?"

I gave a silent, firm nod.

He leaned back, resting his arms against the bench frame. "If you don't want to be my assistant, there are plenty of other big corporations out there. You can easily apply somewhere else."

A sharp, painful coldness spread through my chest.

He doesn't want me around him anymore, does he? I thought bitterly. Is that why he's telling me to leave? Why do I even care so much about what he says or does? I worked hard to get into this company—I'm not going to just quit my job because of him!

"You didn't answer me,"  his voice breaking through my inner spiral.

"I interviewed here because I wanted to work for a major firm," I replied, forcing my voice to stay even and detached. "I got the job because I qualified for it. Since it was my dream to be here, I am more than happy to do this work."

Kai tilted his head, his gaze sharpening. "Well... before, you thought you were working for someone else. But now you know it's me. Are you still happy?"

"I'm just fulfilling my dream of working at a top company," I answered, looking him dead in the eye. "I am simply doing my job, and I am genuinely happy with that."

I kept my boundaries crystal clear. Work was work, personal matters were personal, and I wasn't going to let him confuse the two ever again. What was he trying to do—see if I needed his pity or special treatment? There was no way I was going to ask for anything from him!

"Your meeting is going to start very soon, sir," I added, emphasizing his title.

Kai stared at me in silence for a long, heavy moment. Then, he let out a low, barely audible breath and stood up, buttoning his jacket.

"Hmm... seems like I understood something wrong," Kai murmured softly, his tone completely unreadable. "Let me know when the clients arrive. Let's go."

He turned and began walking back toward the elevator doors.

I stood up and followed half a step behind him, my mind spinning with a hundred unanswered questions.

What did he understand wrong? What was he even talking about?

I shook my head, pushing the thoughts down into the back of my mind. Whatever it is... it doesn't matter. I just need to focus on my job.

Honestly, working this job wasn't enjoyable at all.

I had to put up with a mountain of tasks, and as a complete beginner, I made mistakes a thousand times a day. Every single error meant getting scolded by the manager and Kai at least a hundred thousand times!

For instance, earlier today, Kai was tied up handling an urgent internal crisis, so I was supposed to call a key client and inform them that their meeting would be delayed by ten minutes. But in the mid-day rush, I completely forgot. The client arrived on time, only to throw a massive temper tantrum in the lobby because their appointment was delayed.

After the client left, Kai called me into his office and spoke to me in that terribly cold, blunt voice of his: "If you don't like doing this job or working with me, you can resign and find a suitable job somewhere else—one you're actually happy to do."

It was a harsh way to speak, but what could I even say? It was my fault. Still, it was insanely irritating how he criticized me every time I made even the tiniest mistake! Now he was acting as if he didn't give a damn about anything—acting like he didn't even know me before, treating me like a total stranger.

Fine! If he wants to act like that, see if I care!

I gritted my teeth, worked twice as hard, and within a few days, I was actually doing pretty well. The only problem was Kai's workaholic schedule. He routinely stayed at the office until 10:00 or even 12:00 at night, and as his personal assistant, I had no option but to stay late with him, unable to go home until he finished.

Then came one particular evening around 9:00 PM.

I was organizing the late-night files at my desk when the elevator doors chimed open. A strikingly attractive, elegantly dressed young woman stepped out and walked straight past my desk toward Kai's private cabin.

The moment she walked in, Kai looked up, then glanced out at me through the glass door. He stepped out briefly and said flatly, "You can go home now."

Usually, I would have packed my bags and run for the exit. But for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to leave. A strange mixture of intense curiosity, uneasiness, and a heavy, bitter knot settled in my stomach.

I knew listening in on someone's private conversation was terrible manners, but I couldn't help myself. I crept quietly over to his heavy wooden door and leaned my ear against the crack. I just need to know who she is...

Inside, Kai's voice drifted through—soft, gentle, and startlingly warm. "Why did you come at this hour?"

"Don't you need me today?" the girl replied in a playful, alluring tone.

"Yes, I need you," Kai answered softly. "But that's for later tonight... Well, you can stay here for now and keep me company."

I froze right where I stood. The blood in my veins turned to ice.

Is she... his play toy? Or something more?

The gentle, indulgent way he spoke to her... was he planning to marry her?!

Why does this make me feel so awful?! Why does my chest hurt like this?!

Panic surged through me. I backed away from the door, grabbed my bag, and bolted out of the building.

When I finally reached home, I couldn't rest for even a second. I tossed and turned in bed, my heart racing, my mind replaying Kai's soft voice over and over again. I couldn't ask Sun or anyone else about this—it was way too embarrassing and confusing!

Desperate for answers, I grabbed my phone, opened the internet browser, and typed into the search bar:

Why do I feel chest pain and anger when I see my former mentor with another woman?

I scrolled through the search results, staring at the screen in complete disbelief. Every single article and forum post said the exact same thing:

Result: You are experiencing jealousy and romantic attachment. You have deep feelings for this person.

"This is completely useless!" I gasped out loud, shoving my phone face down onto the mattress.

Feelings for Kai?! That's impossible! No way in hell do I have feelings for him! He's just a monster—a cold, heartless monster!

The very next day, Kai asked me to book a reservation at an upscale, fancy restaurant for the evening. I handled the booking without a second thought. But when the time came to leave the office, Kai looked up from his desk and told me flatly, "You can go home now, Kian."

"Aren't I supposed to—" I started.

He cut me off with a wave of his hand. "No. This table is for me and my personal friend."

I gave a stiff nod and left the office. But my burning curiosity—and that agonizing knot in my chest—got the better of me. I ended up going to the restaurant anyway, lingering near the entrance just long enough to peer inside.

There he was. Kai was sitting at a private candlelit booth with that girl. He was smiling—actually smiling—and gently holding her hand across the table as they shared dinner.

I couldn't watch another second. I turned around and walked away, my vision blurring with hot, humiliated tears.

The next morning at the office, my curiosity drove me to quietly pull aside one of the senior employees during a coffee break. "Hey... do you happen to know anything about the boss and that woman who visits him?"

The employee chuckled softly. "Oh, her? The boss has been taking her everywhere lately. He seems genuinely happy with her, too. Who knows, she might even end up being his fiancée eventually."

Fiancée...

The word echoed cruelly in my head. I excused myself, hurried into the office restroom, locked the stall door behind me, and clutched my chest as a wave of suffocating pain hit me.

Why are you feeling this way, Kian?! Did you seriously fall for him?!

"No way," I whispered fiercely to myself, shaking my head in denial. "There's no way in hell I fell for that cold-hearted bastard! ...Or did I?"