(Chelsea's POV)

I was wrong. Wrong to think I could manage to have everything under control.

I spent the entire night after work thinking about my mother, how she was feeling, if the doctors were treating her any better, hoping the pain she was feeling wasn't getting any worse than it already was and it made me cry myself to sleep. Then I spent an extra hour crying in my bed the moment I woke up the next morning.

Why? Why would my best friend do something like that to me? And how long had they been together? How long had they been sharing each other's beds?seeing each other's nakedness? Longing for each other? How long?

And if I hadn't caught them, would they have kept on smiling in my face, pretending they weren't hurting me behind my back?!

Could it be that they were in love? My own boyfriend? Or was this some sick way of my best friend secretly getting back at me for something I did and looking for all means to hurt me?

I burst into fresh tears because I realized none of the reasons mattered. My boyfriend and my best friend shouldn't be sleeping with each other. I desperately wished I had caught him with someone else. Just not my best friend. Not Sophia. Not someone that should've been close to me the way sisters would.

And it hurt. It hurt so bad.

I suddenly felt alone. Like the world had turned its back against me. Like I had done something to offend someone and this was my reward. But did I really deserve this much pain?

I sniffed and got out of bed. I poured myself a glass of water once I reached the kitchen.

"And what if Mr Grey decides to fire me and give the job to Sophia instead, huh?" I murmured to myself while drinking the water little gulps at a time like it was alcohol. "After all, Adrian is his son. He would listen to him, wouldn't he? I could literally lose my job today." I laughed, making jest of myself.

I sighed and dropped the cup, realizing I would be late if I didn't shower and get dressed any time soon and really really do end up losing my job.

"Good morning, Mrs Perez!" I greeted my neighbor as I rushed out of the house and saw the old lady with her grey hair and favorite baby blue dress tending to her garden.

She smiled at me at once and waved. "Hello, Chelsea! How was your night?"

I pulled on a tight smile and tried not to remember the countless drops of tears and blowing of my nose. "It was great, thank you!"

"How about your little friend, Sophia, is it?" She asked innocently.

My smile faltered. It felt as if my eyes would start tearing up again but I kept the smile on no matter what, refusing to let Mrs Perez suspect that something was wrong. I preferred to keep my life private.

"She's doing fine," I responded and her smile grew wide.

"Alright, dear. Have fun." She waved again.

I turned the other way, feeling bad for myself. Mrs Perez was such a nice lady. I could imagine how sad she would be to find out exactly what my best friend had done to me. Maybe even hate her on my behalf. She was that nice.

Another reason I loved Mrs Perez was because my mother loved her too. In fact, she knew my mother was in the hospital and would ask about her well being every now and then. Sometimes even bring cookies to my doorstep.

I smiled at the thought. I guess I still had one more friend by my side, besides Sophia.

I blinked when a white Bugatti suddenly parked in front of me. Then the windows came down and a familiar head popped out of it.

"Chelsea!" Adrian called out, throwing his complete set of teeth at me. "Need a ride?"

I stood there for a while, stunned that he was right in front of me, in one of his expensive cars as he would always do when he came to pick me up to go anywhere. Be it on a date. How he spoke to me in that tone. How he smiled at me that way as if everything was fine between us. As if we were still the perfect couple that I thought we were and he hadn't done anything wrong to me at all.

I finally got a hold of myself and clenched my fists, turning the other way immediately, heading straight down the street and looking out for a cab. To my surprise, he followed me with his car, blocking my view. He parked his car and came down.

"Are you ignoring me?" He asked and I thought it was a stupid question.

"What do you want from me?" I glared at him, wondering why he was bothering me or talking to me at all. He hadn't smiled at me ever since I caught him in bed with my best friend.

"Oh, come on, I'm trying to offer you a ride here. Can't you just take it?" He threw his hands in the air.

"What for?" I shot back at him. "Am I really to just enter your ride with you and pretend everything is fine between us? Is that really want you want?"

"Chelsea—"

"No, thank you, but I don't need your help, Adrian. You might as well go find out if Sophia needs one. Just leave me alone."

I finally found a cab and waved my hands at it. It stopped in front of me and I opened the door but Adrian caught my hand before I could successfully step inside.

"You can't ignore me forever." He whispered harshly into my ears before releasing me.

I entered the cab and closed the door, wondering what he meant by it. I clenched my fists more, nails digging dip into my palms, hating that he had thought everything would still be fine between us after what he did.

He couldn't possibly think we were still dating, could he?

I got to work before Leonard did, glad to also realize I still held my position in the company as the receptionist greeted me nicely without sending me any hint that something was wrong. She even went ahead to say, "welcome back to work."

I smiled and decided to hold onto that, having faith that all was still well. I learnt her name was Georgina. It suited her well.

I settled in my space outside Leonard's office and it wasn't for long before he came in. I bounced to my feet as if something had pinched my butt.

"Good morning, Mr Grey!" I greeted, keeping a positive look on my face.

I tried to smile but I made a mistake by looking into his eyes. He stopped in his tracks, making sure his eyes were holding mine for as long as possible.

I couldn't tell what he was thinking but I could remember our last encounter in his office. The words he'd said to me, repeating loud and clear in my ears.

'I believe you would have turned around and left my office the sooner you realized that I was to be your boss. But you're still here, aren't you, Miss Laurent?'

I swallowed as I failed to keep my smile on. The words in my head wouldn't let me. And then I watched his lips part, preparing for the words that were to come out of his mouth.

"Get me a cup of coffee." He ordered. "I want it in my office. Now."