Since Lilian was staying at Tiffany’s place, Morrison had no good reason to pick her up that morning—and so, she finally felt liberated.
Later that afternoon, while returning from an errand, Lilian walked into the lobby of MOS Corp. only to run straight into Morrison and his entourage. They had just exited the elevator and looked like they were heading out on business.
Leading the group was Morrison, with Norton Sean close behind. And walking right next to Morrison, arm almost brushing his, was a capable-looking woman in a sharp outfit. Lilian recognized her instantly. Wasn’t she the same woman she had seen during her graduation dinner—being held way too close by Morrison?
If she remembered correctly, her name was Monna, the owner of Burg Eltz—a hugely successful beauty salon chain.
Lilian, being fairly young, didn’t care much about skincare and beauty treatments. But Laurent—back when she was still a full-time housewife—used to bring up that industry often. Emma had just started preschool then, so Laurent had plenty of time to pamper herself and gossip, which was how Lilian had heard Monna’s name in the first place.
She also remembered that night vividly: Morrison had sworn up and down that there was nothing between him and Monna. "Just business," he’d said.
Well, luckily she wasn’t too close to them. There was still some distance between them in the lobby, and plenty of foot traffic in between. Maybe they wouldn’t even notice her. With that thought, she tried to quietly veer off to the side and slip toward the elevators.
But just as she took a step away, she clearly saw Morrison reach out and pull Monna into his arms. Then he leaned down and whispered something into her ear.
The way they stood—bodies close, heads tilted, smiles soft—it was intimate. Too intimate.
Lilian froze for a second, then quickly dropped her head and bolted toward the elevators.
The last time she saw him hold Monna, he explained it was business. f r\eew,eb novel.c(o)(m)
Now she’d seen it again—with her own eyes—and this time, there was no denying what it looked like. Whispering sweet nothings in someone’s ear while they’re pressed to your chest? Please. Who’d buy that excuse now?
He’d claimed there was nothing between them. But the way they acted? Only someone blind would believe that.
And wasn’t it just yesterday that he broke up with that new girlfriend of his? And now here he was, already cozied up to someone else?
Lilian stood inside the elevator fuming. Honestly, she was glad she dumped him early. Otherwise, she’d probably be crying her eyes out right now.
But then she paused. Why was she even this angry? They had nothing to do with each other anymore. If he wanted to be a womanizer, let him! It had nothing to do with her.
Thinking that calmed her down a little. In fact, she even felt kind of lucky.
Thank God I didn’t fall for him. Just dated him briefly. Nothing serious. No heartbreak.
Because loving a man like that—one who bounced from one woman to another—would’ve been painful. Torture, even. Loving someone so slippery, so unattainable... just thinking about it made her chest tighten.
When she got back to her desk, her emotions had mostly settled. She sat down, ready to get back to work, but couldn’t help overhearing her coworkers gossiping about something nearby.
"Morrison and Monna," someone whispered. "Did you see them in the lobby just now?"
One colleague leaned over to Lilian, voice hushed but excited,
"Hey, Lil Washington, weren’t you just downstairs? Did you see our boss with Monna?"
Lilian’s heart skipped a beat, but she kept her cool. Shaking her head, she lied smoothly,
"Nope. Why? What happened?"
The coworker whipped out her phone, showing off a photo,
"Someone from Admin snapped this—look! They’re basically kissing!"
Lilian glanced at the screen. Yep. From that angle, it absolutely looked like they were kissing.
Judging by the framing, the photographer must’ve been standing in a similar spot to where she had been. Thank Godshe didn’t end up in the shot—otherwise, it would’ve been beyond awkward.
The coworker put her phone away and leaned in with a knowing tone,
"Monna’s had her eye on the boss for ages. He used to be all icy and distant with her, but it looks like he finally caved. Guess even Morrison couldn’t resist her in the end."
Seeing that Lilian didn’t show much interest, her coworker shrugged and turned to gossip with the others nearby. A few of them offered differing opinions—some thought Morrison and Monna made a stunning couple: looks, power, the whole package. Others disagreed, calling Monna too flashy, too calculating, too... worldly.
Lilian didn’t care about any of it.
What struck her most was just how fast gossip traveled in this place. It had only been a few minutes since that scene in the lobby, and already people on the finance floor were buzzing. Give it another five and the whole of MOS Corp. would probably know that Morrison’s new flame was Monna.
Just like that, in the span of a few days, Lilian had gone from "ex-girlfriend" to "ex-ex-girlfriend." And soon—sooner than she cared to admit—her name would vanish completely from Morrison’s world. A faint shadow in his memory, if that.
That thought made her feel unexpectedly hollow.
To Morrison, she had merely been one of many. But to her, he had been the first—and the only.
He was her everything. And she? She had been barely a blip on his radar.
But what could she do? A man like him was never going to stay still for someone like her. One look at his dating history made that abundantly clear. Girlfriends came and went like changing clothes.
Meanwhile, back downstairs—
When Morrison suddenly pulled Monna into his arms, Sean flinched. His first instinct was to nervously glance at Lilian in the distance, worried she might have seen.
Standing beside them, Norton looked deeply unimpressed. The whole scene had irresponsible and reckless written all over it. In fact, if he could’ve pulled his boss aside right then and there, he probably would’ve given him a firm shake.
Because Norton knew exactly what Morrison was trying to do: provoke Lilian.
It was painfully obvious. He was using Monna just like he’d tried using his last girlfriend—to make Lilian react.
But honestly, this tactic was childish. Risky, too. What if it backfired? What if Lilian saw through it and simply dismissed him as just another playboy, too jaded to care anymore?
Wouldn’t that be a disaster?
Although... if we’re being honest, Morrison already had a bit of a reputation for being a playboy.
And as for Morrison himself?
Norton’s theory was dead-on.
Morrison was trying to provoke Lilian—again.
The stunt with the previous girlfriend hadn’t worked, so now he was switching gears. This time, it was Monna’s turn to be used as bait. He didn’t care if it worked or not. He just wanted some kind of reaction from her. Any reaction.
It was pride. Ego. A stubborn flame in his chest that refused to die down.
He wanted her to see him. To remember what she walked away from.
He wanted her to know—he wasn’t the one being left behind.
He was still the man everyone wanted.