My Childhood Sweetheart#

: On What Grounds?

3

I rested my hand lazily against the high countertop of the bar, a hint of mockery hidden in my eyes.

"Brandon Sutton, you keep apologizing."

"I just want to ask you one thing: what exactly do you think you did to wrong me?"

Brandon Sutton was clearly taken aback, a look of confusion clouding his eyes.

'The old Jocelyn Ainsworth was always so obedient.'

'I would do whatever Brandon Sutton asked, even if it meant delivering his love letters to Sierra Shaw.'

'I probably would have done it happily, without a single question.'

'All because I liked him.'

'He'd say a few flirtatious things, give me some random gifts, and make me think he liked me back.'

'That was always Brandon Sutton's way of manipulating women.'

'After all, if he didn't sweet-talk them, how could he possibly get what he wanted?'

The corners of my lips curled into a sarcastic smile.

'In a way, Brandon Sutton really was a born businessman.'

'Selfish, cold-blooded, and relentless in pursuit of his goals.'

I glanced up at the clock on the wall. Ten-thirty at night.

There was still half an hour to go before Kian Langdon was scheduled to pick me up.

I was starting to get annoyed.

Brandon Sutton, on the other hand, reacted as if I'd struck a nerve.

He looked ready to fly off the handle right then and there.

"Jocelyn, how can you think of me that way?"

"I really didn't mean to treat you that way back then. The truth is..."

Brandon Sutton lowered his head, feigning a look of inner turmoil.

"The truth is, back then... I had my reasons, things I couldn't talk about."

I gave a lazy stretch and turned to walk away.

'Brandon Sutton's words were nothing but empty platitudes.'

'After all these years, had Sierra Shaw still not taught Brandon Sutton how to be honest?'

'A man so full of lies... in the business world, no less.'

'Even on an execution ground, they'd be the first one to die.'

"Jocelyn!"

Seeing that I was about to leave, Brandon Sutton hastily reached out and grabbed my wrist.

I looked up. In the distance, Sierra Shaw raised her wine glass in a toast to me.

Her eyes held an emotion I couldn't decipher.

I took a deep breath. 'Today is truly cursed.'

"Jocelyn, don't be angry."

"You see the position I'm in today."

Brandon Sutton had seen Sierra Shaw, too.

He gave a bitter laugh and continued with his sob story.

"The truth is, I've regretted it all these years."

"You can see it for yourself—the Shaw family looks down on me completely."

"Sierra Shaw, too... My life is so miserable. I regret it..."

I stared at him coldly.

'That wasn't what Brandon Sutton said when he was so desperate to climb the Shaw family's social ladder.'

'He now regrets the very thing he schemed so desperately to obtain, and wants to back out.'

'As if you could have the best of both worlds so easily.'

"Brandon Sutton, isn't this the exact life you wanted?"

My face was devoid of expression as I gave a slight, mirthless tug at the corner of my lips.

"Now that your wish has been granted, you should be happy."

"So who is this pathetic act for?"

Brandon Sutton hung his head, his voice laced with bitterness.

"Jocelyn, you're still as brutally honest as ever."

"Well, in that case..."

"I'll just get straight to the point."

I folded my arms, watching Brandon Sutton with a calm, unhurried air.

'Let's see what pearls of wisdom he could possibly offer.'

"Actually, the only reason Sierra brought me here today was because she already knew that the recently returned President Ainsworth of the Langdon Group was you."

I raised an eyebrow but remained noncommittal.

'Even if the Langdon Group hadn't officially announced it, the business world is a small place.'

'If you're willing to do some digging, there's no information you can't find.'

'Not to mention, it's not like the Langdon Group was trying to keep me, President Ainsworth, a secret.'

'That reaction from Sierra Shaw earlier...'

'It was far too staged.'

"So?"

"So..."

Brandon Sutton hesitated before finally speaking, as if he'd just steeled his resolve.

"So, Jocelyn, could you... could you give that project you're handling to the Shaw Corporation?"

I was so exasperated by Brandon Sutton that I almost laughed.

'So that was what the two of them were after all along.'

'Sierra Shaw and Brandon Sutton... One had the gall to dream it up, the other had the nerve to act on it.'

'Never mind the fact that the Langdon Group had already secured the project, and that the subsequent process was incredibly complex, involving a vast network of stakeholders.'

'It wasn't something I could control on my own at all.'

'And just speaking for myself as the project head...'

I looked at Brandon Sutton's pained expression, and a sarcastic edge crept into my voice without me even realizing it.

"Brandon Sutton, what on earth makes you think I'd agree to hand the project over to the Shaw family?"

"Because of you?"