Day six.
Well noticed something as soon as he stepped into the office that morning.
Everyone looked at him differently than usual.
Some quickly looked away. Some whispered softly to the colleagues next to them. And some looked for a little too long while smiling as if trying to understand something.
An unpleasant feeling began to envelop his chest.
"Eh, why is everyone acting strange today"
Well whispered softly. He continued to walk to his desk, opened his laptop, and pretended to focus on his work.
But before he could calm down, Farah came.
"Mr. Well…"
The tone of his voice was a little different than usual.
Well raised his head. "Yes?"
Farah hesitated for a moment before speaking,
"Mr.… is there something wrong with Mrs. Vivian?"
The question came without warning.
Well's heart beat fast.
"What do you mean?"
Farah quickly shook her head. "No, I just… the office people started talking."
"What did you say?"
Farah lowered her voice.
"Yesterday… someone saw you and Mrs. Vivian eating together. Near the cafe."
Well was silent for a moment and then she spoke. "Oh, that's it… Madam brought it because there was a project to discuss".
She had been thinking about it for a long time… but she didn't think it would happen this quickly.
"Oh, I just wanted to remind you… people here are quick to make assumptions," Farah added slowly.
Well nodded slightly.
"Thank you."
Farah smiled faintly before walking away.
But the words continued to play in Well's mind.
They hadn't done anything yet.
But it was enough to make people start to suspect.
A few hours later, the atmosphere in the office still felt tense.
Well tried to focus, but every time she raised her head, she felt like she was being watched.
And what made things worse was
Vivian.
Since morning, the woman had not contacted him at all.
It was as if yesterday had never happened.
Towards noon, the intercom finally rang.
Well answered.
"Yes?"
"Come in." Brief and a little cold.
Completely different from yesterday.
Well took a deep breath before getting up and heading to Vivian's office.
He knocked on the door and entered.
Vivian sat behind the desk, looking at the files without raising her head.
"Okay, sit down."
The tone of her voice was back to the same as the first day.
The distance was felt again.
Well sat down slowly.
"What's the problem?"
Vivian pushed the document towards him.
"This is yesterday's report. There are some mistakes. Fix it."
Well looked at the document, then looked at Vivian.
"What's the problem?"
Vivian finally raised her head.
Her eyes were cold.
"The problem... you're not careful enough."
Well frowned.
"That wasn't even a big mistake."
"For me, all mistakes are big."
His answer was too firm.
And too far.
Well clenched his jaw slowly.
"Yesterday we"
"Yesterday had nothing to do with today."
Vivian cut him off.
Silence.
The sentence was like a wall suddenly built between them.
Well looked at him for a long time.
"So everything that happened yesterday, you're trying to pretend it never happened?"
Vivian didn't answer.
He just looked at Well, but this time... his eyes were hard to read.
"This is the office," he said finally. "I can't let personal matters interfere with work."
Well chuckled, weakly.
"Or are you actually scared?"
Vivian continued to stare at him sharply.
"I'm not scared of anything."
"Well?" Well leaned forward a little. "If you're not scared, why are you suddenly like this?"
Vivian was silent.
A few moments passed.
Then she said softly,
"People started talking."
Well fell silent.
So she knew.
"And that's the problem?" Well asked.
"Yes."
The answer came without hesitation.
Well took a deep breath.
"You're always like this, Vivian."
Her tone changed.
"When things got tough, you chose to stay away."
Vivian pursed her lips.
"That's not it."
"It's the same as before," Well interrupted. "You were sick, but you didn't tell me. You made your own decision. You pushed me away."
The atmosphere became heavy.
"It's the same now," Well continued slowly. "When people started to know, you did the same thing."
Vivian fell silent.
This time, she didn't fight back.
"Okay…"
Her voice was no longer as firm as before.
"I just don't want things to get any more complicated."
Well shook her head slowly.
"Too late."
The sentence was short.
"Since the day you showed up in this office as CEO, my life has never been this easy."
Vivian lowered her gaze.
And for the first time that day, she looked shaky.
"Okay…"
She called out softly.
But before she could say anything else—
Tok! Tok!
There was a knock on the door from outside.
The two of them fell silent.
"Come in," Vivian said quickly, returning to her professional tone.
The door opened.
A staff member entered with a serious face.
"Mrs. Vivian, there's an emergency at the project site. The client has asked you to come in now."
Vivian immediately stood up.
"Who's in charge?"
"Team B, but there's a big problem. They've asked the Senior Project Manager to come down immediately."
All eyes in the room automatically turned to Well.
Vivian was silent for a moment and then she looked at Well.
Their eyes met.
And in that silence… there was something unfinished.
"Okay," she said finally. "Okay, come with me."
The drive to the project site was quiet.
Too quiet.
Well looked out the window, while Vivian focused on the road ahead.
No one spoke.
But the tension between them was palpable.
And somewhere in Well's heart, he knew one thing.
Not only was their relationship getting more complicated, but something bigger was waiting ahead.
And this time he wasn't sure if they could face it together.
Known or just gossip?
But what challenges would they face when they arrived?