Seven Years and a Lifetime of Lies Chapter 01

Seven Years and a Lifetime of Lies Chapter 01

After a week of cold silence from Hank Young, I decided to take the first step toward reconciliation.

So I made a box of handmade chocolates and brought it to his office.

But before I could even walk in, I overheard him laughing with Cindy Stevens—the accounting intern who had reported me for fabricating corporate expense reimbursement documentation and gotten me suspended.

“Hank, do you think Stella would be furious if she found out you testified against her for the internal audit investigation purely to help me earn a full-time position?” Cindy giggled.

Hank’s voice was as calm and gentle as ever, but his words sent a chill through me.

“There’s no smoke without fire. The charges held up because she was at fault, and this has nothing to do with us.”

“Besides, I deliberately made up excuses to freeze her out for a whole week. I’m doing a slow-burn surprise for her birthday tomorrow, a little setback for a bigger payoff. It’s my way of making things up to her.”

I stood frozen outside, biting my lip so hard I tasted blood.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Stella? I figured you were suspended from work, what are you doing stopping in today? Oh no, your lip’s bleeding pretty bad—c’mon, let me get that cleaned up for you right now.”

Lily Benson, a friend at the front desk, led me to a chair and gently cleaned the cut with a cotton swab. Once the bleeding stopped, she asked again, “So what are you really doing here?”

My eyes were hollow and empty, and I ignored her question entirely.

“Lily… I think Hank and Cindy have been playing me this whole time.”

Lily’s eyes went wide.

“That just doesn’t add up. You and Hank dated for seven whole years, after all. Cindy’s only been on the payroll for seven weeks tops…”

She trailed off and glanced nervously over my shoulder. “Hank’s here. Stella, he’s right behind you.”

I didn’t turn around. His familiar hand found mine, and his cologne wrapped around me. “You didn’t shoot me a text to say you were stopping by?”

I didn’t want to fight at work, and I wasn’t ready to confront him. I pulled my hand away, ready to leave.

That’s when Cindy rushed over, red-eyed and crying, clutching a pile of files. Hank let go of me immediately and went to her, frowning as he took the heavy stack.

“Cindy, what happened? Who made you carry all this by yourself?”

That was all it took for her to break down completely. Right in the middle of the lobby, she buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

“Everyone in accounting is ganging up on me. They’re saying I threw Stella under the bus just to get a permanent job. But you know I never did that, Hank. I honestly can’t figure out why Stella would rally everyone to pick on me, just ‘cause she’s been around longer and has more connections around the office.”

She cried louder, soaking his shirt. He didn’t pull away.

It made my chest ache.

A few months ago, I had refused a client’s advances. He forced me to drink half a bottle of whiskey as an apology.

Between the burn of the alcohol and the humiliation, I broke down crying as soon as I got home. I fell into Hank’s arms for comfort—but he shoved me back in disgust.

“You’re a mess, you reek of alcohol—stay the hell away from me.”