Adrian takes a moment to rummage through his blurry memories that night, feeling all the more shaken by his obliviousness.

He has long braced himself for something like this - facing the consequences of his ignorance, that is. Ever since he admitted his feelings for Cassidy, he thought that the very least he could do to keep her by his side was clean up his own mess. He is prepared to take any bad consequence as long as she stays.

​​

Adrian would accept it if Cassidy had come to hate him so much. It would be okay if she gave him the cold shoulders. He would understand if she could never forgive him for everything he did.

However, Cassidy has been kind to him - like she has always been.

Even though she kept going against him, messing with him, pissing him off, pushing him away, turning down his romantic gestures, clashing with him, and even telling him that he was not her type over and over again, she did not completely shut her doors closed. By staying, she had given him a chance to turn over a new leaf and treat her better.

Yet here he was - realizing that he actually did something that could be considered as cheating.

"What..." Adrian breathed out, feeling his heart drop a million feet below at the thought of him cheating on his wife.

"W-What did we do exactly?"

As he asked that, Sophie only gave him an even wider smirk.

There is a possibility that she is only lying, but his senses and gut feeling are saying the opposite. He can tell if a person is lying or not. Besides, considering how ignorant he was of other people back then, there was a chance that he did something as extremely stupid as what she said.

Then again, Adrian neglected Cassidy for five long years.

Misunderstandings like this might not even be this much of a big deal for his past self. He admitted that he was that much of an asshole, and he knew he deserved every punishment that the world would think he should have for being like that.

Now, guilt is gnawing at him once again. He feels heavier than ever. His shortcomings and wrongdoings as an indifferent husband to her are weighing much, much heavier than ever before.

With that, he finds himself benumbed all over.

"It's alright if you don't remember, Adrian..." Sophie cooed, using his numb state as an opportunity to get her hands on him at last.

"After all, we can do it again. I'll gladly remind you."

That's when she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him down to her, inching their faces closer.

Feeling like he has been burned, he hastily backs away in an attempt to evade her. His eyes then widen in flummox at how he ends up staggering backward instead. He was so taken aback that he lost his footing. Her hold around his neck is also tight enough to send her stumbling with him. With that, he did not get to shove her away.

Rather, what happens next is something Adrian knows he will detest himself for.

It just happened that his back hit the wall behind him, allowing her to corner him in an instant. She is quick on her toes from that point on. Instead of beating around the bush by tempting him with seductive touches or erotic looks, she went ahead and cupped his cheek immediately.

At that moment, Sophie did not hesitate to dive in and kiss Adrian right beside his lips.

He froze at that very second.

She would have captured his mouth right then had he not moved away at the last minute. Even then, this is enough for her. It was already so hard to get this close to him, much less get her lips anywhere near his. He is as stubborn as always.

Besides, Sophie had gotten a perfect position to make any witnesses believe that their lips touched for real -

And that's exactly what she was aiming for when she noticed Cassidy coming their way a minute ago.

"What do you think you're doing...?!" Adrian bolted out in anger, grasping her shoulders tightly and pushing her away.

"You dared do something so-"

Then, he froze once more.

Or rather, he went completely numb.

As soon as he noticed an all-too-familiar figure through the corner of his eyes, he immediately turned to the side and found himself tensing up even more. He feels his entirety stiffen right then. Standing before them now was the worst possible person who could ever witness such a scandalous scene.

Cassidy is at the other end of that hallway, looking so caught off guard that she can only keep quiet for the next seconds to come.

Her eyes are as wide as saucers. Yet other than that, there is nothing more about her expression that goes beyond surprise. It's a lacking reaction if anything. Regardless of how she looks, though, the situation is nowhere near reassuring.

Adrian feels real fear for the first time in what seems like forever - not only because he has been caught doing something misleading, but also because he suddenly feels something coming. It's a kind of premonition that can frighten an ever indifferent man like him. He can't point the feeling out very well, but it frightens him.

It frightens him.

"C-Cassidy..." Adrian called out, his voice breaking a little in the end.

"It's not what you think, Cassidy-"

"Oh come on, Adrian~ Don't be like that. You're the one who pulled me, you know..." Sophie then cut him off, feeling so exhilarated by this turn of events that she still found the intrepidity to push his buttons more.

"Even Cassidy is not dumb enough to not notice that~"

At that point, Adrian is torn between making Sophie shut the hell up and explaining himself to Cassidy. The blonde had never been so bold that she would risk earning his wrath like this. But right now, nothing else really mattered but what his wife thought. He had to clear things up as early as possible.

Cassidy, on the other hand, is still not making a single sound. She remains standing there, her expression slowly turning inscrutable in each passing heartbeat.

"Dumb? Oh, yes, I'm not that dumb..." Cassidy then finally started before scowling and crossing her arms condescendingly.

"That being said, I'm also not dumb enough to take part in any of this bullshit."

"Huh?" was all Sophie could blurt out, not expecting such a mockingly placid response from her.

"Yeah, well... my bad for bothering you. You may proceed."

Not giving any damn at what kind of blasphemy they're doing, Cassidy just turns back around and takes her leave, carrying an apathetic expression the whole time.

Thunderstruck, all they can do is stand there and watch her walk away without a care in the world. That explains why her reaction seems lacking. In the end, she only turns out to be surprised - nothing more. She has easily accepted the situation as it is unlike before.

'What's up with that? You could've at least shown a more interesting expression. Pathetic bitch...' Sophie cursed silently in her head, unsatisfied by such an anti-climactic retreat from her rival.

'Well, that's fine. As long as she gets to realize her lowly position, it's enough in the meantime-'

"Sophie."

As Adrian hissed her name like a death threat, Sophie found herself jolting in nonplus and trepidation before stiffening in utter fear.

His voice sounds so thick and vehement that it scares her. She had never seen him so furious before. It's not his usual display of anger where he'd often stay calm. This time, his rage is all in the open for her to see, sweatdrop, and shudder at.

"You're fired, Sophie. I never want to see your face near my office or anywhere close to me again. Don't ever talk to me if you don't want me to rip your mouth off..." he threatened with a tyrannical tone and expression, making her shiver more in perturbation.

"You know what I'm capable of, Sophie. I'd give you time to get out of my sight this instant. Otherwise, I really won't hold back anymore. I'd definitely forget that you're a woman."

As Adrian glowers down at Sophie spitefully, he can't help but grip her shoulders so tightly that she ends up wincing in pain. His grasp will definitely leave a bruise. It shows with how she looks so terrified right now - gone all that haughtiness and flirtatious attitude. He badly wants to show her just what it is he's capable of whenever his temper and patience run out like this.

But before Adrian can lose his control, he finally steps away from Sophie and turns to leave.

With that, he left her whimpering in fear at that hallway. He immediately returned to where the crowd was and took off to search all over the place. From that moment on, everything that would flood in his mind was only his wife.

'Cassidy... Where is she...?'

Adrian recalled her nonchalant reaction earlier, and he could not deny it - that pained him more than anything. He feels his heart tighten so much that it is starting to get hard to breathe. Everything around him is getting darker and darker. The feeling is making him despise himself with every fiber of his existence.

It's worse than seeing Cassidy make a fuss or shoot her mouth off or kick him.

She showed that she did not care. She acted liked how he used to act before.

She might leave him.

She might leave him at this rate.

Everything is a huge slap on his face - one that he might never recover from.

All in all, Adrian has now realized how much Cassidy's apathy hurts.