After a day of work, Vivian finally saw Fabian coming out of the Chief Editor’s office with his face still covered with gauze.
Fabian was also stunned when he saw Vivian in the office, but he quickly announced right after that, “It’s time to leave! Let’s go to the karaoke club nearby.”
Cheering, everyone left the office together for the karaoke club not far away from their office.
Unexpectedly, when they went into the club, they saw a beautifully dressed girl waving at them at the door, calling, “Fabian, over here!”
Vivian was taken aback when she saw who it was.
It was Ashley.
Ashley looked very hot that day. She was dressed in a short waistcoat and a mini skirt, accentuating her hourglass figure, and all the male staff from the magazine company had their eyes fixated on her.
As soon as they walked in, Ashley came forward and took Fabian by his shoulder. Smiling brightly with her rosy lips, she said, “Fabian, I’ve reserved a private room. Let’s go in with everyone.”
However, Fabian furrowed his eyebrows when he saw Ashley. “Why are you here?”
“Wasn’t it you who called and told me you would be gathering here? The more the merrier, so I thought I might as well join in the fun.” Ashley grinned alluringly while her eyes swept across everyone. “I’m not unwelcome, am I?”
Dazed, everyone quickly replied, “Of course not! You’re the fiancée of our Chief Editor. It’s our pleasure that you could join us.”
Ashley’s smile widened as she turned to Fabian. “See? They’ve all agreed. You’re not asking me to leave, are you?”
Given that there were so many people around and Ashley was indeed his nominal fiancée, Fabian couldn’t reject her. He stole a nervous glance at Vivian who appeared undisturbed before he bit the bullet and went in with Ashley and everyone else.
All of them had been very busy at work. Since it was a rare chance to get together for entertainment, most of them were ecstatic, singing and drinking to their heart’s content. However, Vivian was not interested in any of that, so she just sat quietly at a corner, drinking her juice and scrolling her Twitter.
After a while, she needed to use the washroom, so she left the room.
However, even before she reached the washroom, she noticed the smell of cigarette smoke. To her surprise, she found Fabian smoking in the corridor with a few cigarette butts lying on the ground around his feet.
Vivian frowned.
She clearly remembered that Fabian wasn’t a smoker. So why is he smoking now?
But it was also clear to her that it was none of her business, so she quickly turned the other way to get to the washroom.
Nonetheless, Fabian had already seen her. He called out her name immediately, “Vivian?”
Vivian froze and had no choice but to turn around. “Mr. Norton?”
Right then, Fabian had paced near her, causing the cigarette smell to become even stronger. Vivian could not help but wrinkle her nose.
For unknown reasons, comparing to the faint cigar smell on Finnick, she found the cigarette smell on Fabian to be very displeasing. But she only frowned a little and asked, “Mr. Norton, is there anything?”
“How have you been doing?” Fabian looked down at her and asked out of concern.
“Much better now.” Vivian took a few steps back, and only then did the cigarette smell fade a little.
Fabian noticed her movement and smiled wryly. “Why? Do you still despise the cigarette smell?”
Before Vivian could answer, he added, “Finnick smokes as well, but it seems you’re not bothered.”
Vivian did not intend to talk about Finnick with Fabian. She could tell that Fabian was already a little drunk, so it was all the more unnecessary to argue with him. Hence, she ignored his question and walked past him to enter the ladies’ room.
This time, Fabian did not chase after her. Before Vivian went into the cubicle, she couldn’t help turning back to take a look at Fabian. However, she found that he was leaning against the wall in despair, lighting up another cigarette and smoking even more heavily.
A stinging sensation erupted within Vivian’s heart.
It was impossible for her not to feel anything seeing Fabian in such a downhearted state. Despite that, she knew very well that she no longer had the right to concern herself with his life.
She went to the sink in a daze and was about to wash her face when suddenly, one of the cubicle doors opened behind her with a bang.
