“No! Quiana has to go to the hospital first! I can’t let anything happen to her! Nothing is more important than her safety!”

Marcus’ frantic shouts were the last thing Yara heard before she passed out.

Darkness closed in and swallowed her.

It felt like she had been trapped in a long nightmare.

When she finally opened her eyes, she saw Yelena standing beside the bed. Her eyes were teary.

“Yara, I just got back and heard you were in an accident. The doctor said you lost a lot of blood. They almost couldn’t save you. I was so scared.”

When Yara saw her, all the pain she had kept inside came rushing out.

Her eyes welled up. She could not hold back anymore and hugged her tightly.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

They held each other for a long time.

After a while, Yelena poured her a glass of water and helped her drink. She remembered the doctor’s advice and tried to talk about something lighter.

“Have you been happy these past few years? Has Marcus treated you badly? Didn’t you say you had a boyfriend? When will you introduce him to me? I need to see what kind of person he is. If he doesn’t treat you well, I won’t approve.”

Yara’s expression froze.

“Mr. Quinn keeps work and personal matters separate. He never mistreated me. As for my boyfriend, we already broke up.”

Yelena had not expected that. She was afraid Yara would feel sad, so she quickly tried to comfort her.

“It’s fine. If one doesn’t work out, there will be a better one. I know plenty of handsome guys. I’ll introduce them to you.”

Before she could finish, the door to the hospital room opened.

Marcus walked in with a grim look on his face.

“Introduce her to who? No. You’re not introducing her to anyone. Those playboys you know are not right for her.”

Yelena’s lips trembled as soon as he shut her down.

“Playboys? Marcus, stop talking like that. They have only had two or three girlfriends. Not everyone is like you. You’re so devoted that you’ve stayed hung up on Quiana all these years. Besides, I’m setting Yara up with someone. Why do you have to interfere?”

Anger flared in Marcus’ chest, and his voice turned cold.

“I said no, and that means no. You can’t force feelings. Stop playing matchmaker.”

He was right. Feelings could not be forced.

It took Yara four years to learn that.

She gave a faint smile and gently pulled on Yelena’s hand while looking at Marcus calmly.

“Yelena was only joking. Mr. Quinn, did you need something?”

Marcus relaxed a little when he saw she was fine.

He wanted to say he had come to see her, but he swallowed the words.

“It’s nothing. Yelena heard about your accident and came to the hospital right after she landed. I came to take her home. I also stopped by to check on you.”

“Alright, Marcus. I’ll go home tonight. You can head back first. Yara was seriously hurt. You’re not allowed to give her any more work.”

Yelena spoke while pushing him out of the room.

When the room was quiet again, she started defending him.

“He may look scary, but he treats you well. The nurse said you were close to dying yesterday. He had blood brought in from all over the city to save you.”

Yara paused when she heard that.

A moment later, she steadied herself.

Marcus had blood brought in from all over the city because he did not want her to die.

But between her and Quiana, if one of them had to die, she knew it would be her.

She stopped holding on to any fantasies about him.

During her last few days in Jadewood, she stayed in the hospital to recover.

When the nurses came in for their rounds, they would often talk about the VIP ward upstairs.

“I heard that the CEO of Quinn Corp reserved the entire floor. He even invited several retired professors from Jadewood to look after his girlfriend.”

“I’ve seen Mr. Quinn a few times. He brings her water and food, buys her expensive jewelry to make her happy, and stays by her bedside all night. He really dotes on her.”

Yara listened quietly and placed a hand over her chest.

There was no pain. Her heartbeat was just a little slow.

The wound in her heart had almost healed.

On the day she was discharged, Yelena planned to pick her up but got held up by family matters.

Yara reassured her and left the hospital alone. She went straight back to the company.

It was her last day there. She went through the paperwork as required.

While carrying a box, she was about to leave when she ran into Quiana near the elevators.

Quiana was holding a cup of coffee. She deliberately bumped into Yara. “Are you blind? You spilled coffee all over my dress. This keeps happening. Are you doing this on purpose?”

She staged the whole scene herself, then called the bodyguards over and ordered them to force Yara to kneel at the entrance of the headquarters as an apology.

Yara refused to bow her head. Quiana became even more vicious and threw the remaining half cup of coffee in her face.

“What are you looking at? Are you unhappy? Let me tell you something. Marcus only cares about me. No matter what I do, he’ll take my side. Punishing a secretary like you is nothing to him.”

After saying that, she walked away with a proud look on her face.

The bodyguards dragged Yara downstairs and forced her to kneel on the ground.

She kept struggling, but she could not break free. She could only try to reason with them.

“I’ve already resigned. I’m not Marcus’ secretary anymore. What right do you have to make me kneel?”

The bodyguard did not react at all. His voice was cold. “Mr. Quinn has given orders. Ms. Xanthe’s words are his words. Whatever she asks for, we do it. Ms. Summers, you can bring it up to Mr. Quinn.”

Those few sentences shut her up completely.

She knew they would not listen, so she stopped struggling.

Coworkers and passersby looked at her and whispered to each other. Some even took photos.

In the bitter winter cold, she knelt outside for seven full hours. The skin on her knees was worn raw.

Her face turned pale from the cold, and she kept shivering. She held on with sheer willpower.

As it got close to the end of the workday, her mind began to blur. At that moment, she heard someone calling her name.

She forced herself to lift her head and saw Yelena running toward her.

“Yara, you just got out of the hospital. Why are you kneeling here? Who is tormenting you on purpose?”

Yara’s throat felt dry. She answered without thinking.

“It was Quiana…”