Your Guise Is Slipping, Miss Pearl

James left the law firm without even sparing a glance at Esther.

"Eh, where is he going today?"

James usually worked until half past eleven in the morning, and it had only been half an hour since he left. Where could he be going?

Summer checked the appointment list but found nothing. "I don't know. He doesn't have any appointments today. Why would he leave suddenly?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's something urgent. Should I follow him?" Esther suggested, a bold idea forming in her mind.

Summer slapped Esther's head. "What are you thinking? Do you want to make a fool of yourself? You're a star, Esther. Don't you find it humiliating to do this kind of thing?"

She gritted her teeth, frustrated by Esther's infatuation with James despite her obvious beauty. Esther didn't seem to realize her own allure and wasted her charm on someone who didn't appreciate it.

If it were Summer, she'd have moved on long ago and dated other attractive men. What a waste!

Regrettably, she wasn't that pretty. Moreover, she found herself unable to dissuade Esther, that lovestruck fool.

Esther touched her chin. "You're right. I'll wait for him to come back. He'll be disappointed if he doesn't see me here when he returns."

"No, he won't! He doesn't even want to see you now, okay?"

Esther refused to believe it. She convinced herself that James was just testing her. After all, she had treated him poorly in the past, so it was natural for him to be distant now.

Whenever she felt low, she consoled herself in this manner, and it proved to be effective. Over time, she became increasingly shameless.

"What do you think I should do then?"

"You can turn the tables on him. Do the same thing he does to you. Don't you know how to play cat and mouse?" Summer found her idea very good and applauded herself.

"No… I don't think I should do that to him..." Esther hesitated, feeling torn. Using such tactics on James might exhaust his remaining patience with her, making it even harder to win him back.

Summer shook her head in frustration. "He treats you like his little lapdog, yet you still pity him? Isn't it ridiculous? Esther, you're such a pushover. Men love that."

She found Esther very disappointing. If her future daughter behaved like this, she would disown her.

"I..." Esther shook her head before nodding. She felt conflicted but eventually agreed to stop being a kiss-*ss.

Suddenly, Esther spotted two figures at the door.

One was James, who had ignored her earlier that morning. Even from a distance, she could catch a whiff of his familiar woody scent.

But the other person…

Esther didn't recognize her, but she exuded brightness and charm. It was hard not to be drawn to her.

A pang of jealousy hit Esther as she observed James's face. He rarely smiled, but his gaze held a familiar warmth when he looked at the other woman.

It filled Esther with bitterness and sadness. NôvelDrama.Org holds this content.

"This is my workplace. Feel free to look around," James said politely, his smile causing Esther pain.

Summer was flabbergasted, and she nudged Esther's elbow. "Hey, look. Mister James brought a woman here. He's never brought anyone to the law firm before."