Winning My Ex-Crush

Fenella’s POV

During the ride, I remained silent without saying anything. Laird also seemed reluctant to bring up the issue from earlier. Slowly, Laird cleared his throat after a few glances at my face.

“So, what really happened earlier?” he asked from behind the wheel.

I was still hesitant to answer and chose to stay quiet. My fingers intertwined, and I squeezed my hands anxiously. Honestly, I was afraid to talk to him about this.

What if this was a sensitive topic for him? What if he felt his masculinity was challenged? Various anxious questions raced through my mind.

“Fenella?” Laird urged me again to speak.

After taking a deep breath, I finally responded. My hands ran through my long hair again, and I cleared my throat lightly.

“Is Rebecca really your boss?” I asked.

“Actually, in the law firm, there is no boss. She’s a junior partner in charge of me, sort of like a mentor,” he replied briefly.

Damn! This was all real! Rebecca was his mentor!

“Has she ever said or asked anything that made you uncomfortable?” I asked hesitantly.

“What do you mean by something that made me uncomfortable?” He glanced at me occasionally while looking at the road ahead.

“Like…” I slowly lost my words.

“Wait, does that mean you argued with her because of something that made me uncomfortable?” He asked again, shrugging his shoulders while referring to himself when he said the ‘me’ word.

My silence was a clear enough answer for him. Laird always knew. He had a strong instinct and sensitivity that made it easy for him to understand the meaning behind words, even without them being said aloud.

“What exactly is something that made me uncomfortable? Can you explain more in detail, Fenella?” He asked again, slowly, as we stopped at an intersection.

“Well, she lied about you,” I said while looking down, idly twirling my fingers.

“What lie?” he persisted, trying to get me to tell him.

I shut my mouth. My lips turned inward, and I couldn’t bring myself to explain honestly. My chest felt tight, and there was a heavy weight hanging in my heart. Although this was difficult, he continued to push me.

“Fenella?” He even leaned toward me to see my face.

“Ugh, I warned you, Laird,” I said, folding my arms across my chest with one hand cupping my cheek.

“Rebecca said you confessed to her that you’re gay. That’s why she insulted my relationship with you,” I whispered.

After hearing my words, he fell silent. He looked at the road, his face serious and focused, although I knew he was contemplating my words.

“Did you do that for the reasons I think? I mean, I can only guess the reason why you lied to her like that. Because you know, to Jessy, someone lies like that for only two purposes,” I said quickly.

“Two purposes? What are they?” he asked, still watching the road without turning to me.

“Firstly, because he’s desperate for attention and wants to take advantage of opposite-sex,” I said, remembering Alan, whom Jessy suspected fell into this category of people.

“Secondly, because he wants to avoid people who might take advantage of him as a man,” then I fell silent.

After my statement, Laird went silent once again. He simply drove without saying a word. I glanced at his face from the side, trying to find various signs in his gaze.

I didn’t have the sensitivity to read someone’s mind like Laird, but at least I tried to confirm my beliefs. My eyes stayed fixed on the man beside me. He asked me to explain, yet he chose to remain quiet without responding to my explanation.

“So, which category do you think I fall into?” he asked finally.

“The second. I mean,” I licked my lips before continuing. After struggling with doubt, I let out a desperate sigh. I shook my head.

“Was Rebecca forcing you to have some intimacy with her? Was she taking advantage of you as a new employee?” I asked.

Once again, Laird fell silent. I noticed his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed. Was my guess correct?

“Laird, it’s okay. Be honest with me. I mean, my argument earlier with Rebecca made me realize that. She was angry with me because it seemed like I was getting what she believed she couldn’t have.”

After another moment of silence, Laird finally spoke up.

“When I first entered the office, she seemed friendly to me. She’s around 40 years old, experienced in the legal world, and was directly appointed as my mentor by Mr. Bell-one of the senior partners in the firm,” he slowly recounted.

“Rebecca is 40 years old, meaning she’s 15 years older than you.” I interrupted his story briefly.

“Yes, so I thought everything would be fine. Nothing seemed strange. Slowly, over time, I realized she was being too friendly with me.” His eyes narrowed, indicating his displeasure.

“She would often hug me too tightly and once try to bite my ear, claiming she was fond of seeing how young I was to her.” His voice faltered before he continued his story.

“She also tapped my thigh too deeply a few times when we sat side by side during meetings with clients. You know, I had to maintain composure in front of clients, so there was nothing I could do at that moment,” he sighed heavily.

Oh no! God, please, no. I covered my mouth with both hands as I listened. My heart raced quickly as he revealed Rebecca’s actions toward him.

“Until one night, when I worked late to complete a task she assigned to me, she called me to her office as if she were going to kiss me. So, I spontaneously confessed to being gay to her,” he shrugged.

His face appeared calm, but I could see the sadness in his eyes. He swallowed again, a sign of his discomfort. It was as if he remembered something he wanted to forget.

“Since then, she has never bothered me again. I also never opened up to women in the office, so I can convince her,” he continued softly.

“Even Derek helped me create a facade as if we had been in a relationship, but we made up a lie that our relationship failed, so we never talked about it in the office. It proved to save me and Derek from her advances,” he said.

He ran his hand through his hair and let out a long sigh. The car moved slowly as he turned into the area near the park to find a shortcut and avoid the traffic jam.

“That’s why earlier you asked me to stay at the desk and not go anywhere,” I murmured.Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

“Yes, sorry about that. Usually, she comes late because she has to drop her child off at school first, but I forgot she’s chasing many deadlines and intended to come earlier this morning,” he sighed again.

“So, earlier, she approached you first?” he asked.

I then recounted the entire event to him. Starting with Rebecca approaching me first, luring me into the meeting room for interrogation, and all the debates we had.

“Forgive me, Fenella. I shouldn’t have let you come up to my office. I think I was too eager to show off to you about my rather insignificant achievements,” he snorted ruefully. I shook my head.

“I should be the one apologizing for forcing you to take me to your office. You ended up in trouble again with her, and your lie was exposed by her,” I said, rubbing my head sadly.

“Hey, it’s okay. I should have been braver and refused without having to lie. I was just a coward,” he sighed, rubbing his face with a sad expression.

“Laird, pull over,” I said.

“Huh?” he asked, confused.

“Stop the car and pull over to the side of the road. Yes, park in front of that car,” I said, pointing to an empty parking spot on the side of the road in front of the open park.

“Why?” he asked, still puzzled.

“Just pull over, please,” I insisted firmly.