When Love Is a Lie (Whitney and Damian)

Whitney was baffled by the question.

"Check the company group chat," Sophie messaged her again.

Whitney opened the company's group chat. It was initially created by the administration team for easy communication. This group now included assistants and secretaries from all departments.

Over time, work discussions had dwindled, and casual gossip had taken over, so Whitney had muted the notifications. Now, the group chat had over a hundred unread messages.

"She doesn't seem like the type."

"The more innocent they look, the wilder they are."

"But Mr. Howard has a fiancée, right? Can't believe she'd still go for him. Really shows you never know people!"

"Better keep it down. She's in the group. Don't want her making life harder for you!"

These were some of the last comments Whitney saw, timestamped about ten minutes earlier. She tapped on the unread message count and let the chat scroll back to the top, eventually reaching the start.

It was a photo from earlier that day, taken at the boutique while she was adjusting Damian's tie. The angle perfectly captured Damian looking at her intimately. She hadn't realized someone had been watching, let alone taking a photo and posting it in the company group chat.

Out of curiosity, she opened the trending topics but saw no mention of Damian or Howard Group, indicating that the photo was likely shared internally. If it had gone public, she would have found out much sooner.

...

The next day, Whitney was greeted by whispers and glares as she walked into the office.

Sophie came over and asked quietly, "Are you okay? Don't mind what they're saying. Everyone here lives for gossip."

Whitney had explained to Sophie last night that she wasn't Damian's mistress, that he had simply asked her to pick out a tie for an event. But she left out any deeper explanation of her relationship with Damian. "I'm fine," Whitney replied calmly.

"Good to hear." Sophie handed her a file. "This is for Mr. Smith in the architecture department. His assistant is out today. Could you take it over?" "Sure."

With the file in hand, Whitney headed to the architecture department. As she passed the break room, she heard some people talking about her. "Can you believe her nerve? After all that talk in the group chat yesterday, she just waltzes in here today like nothing happened."

"Well, she's got Mr. Howard to back her up. You think she cares what we think?"

A round of laughter followed, echoing out from the break room.noveldrama

Then, someone else asked, "Rachel, aren't you Mr. Howard's fiancée? How can you tolerate that fox around him?"

Rachel sighed. "There's not much I

can do. My relationship with Mr. Howard is solid, but there are always women around him. If I tried to manage every one of them, itwould

exhaust me."

"That's true. With his status and looks, what woman wouldn't throw herself at him? But remember, there's only one Mrs. Howard, and that's you, Rachel. He treats you differently."

By now, rumors had spread

throughout the office that Whitney

was Damian's mistress, a home-wrecker. With everyone talking any explanation from her would fall on deaf ears. She ignored it all since she was resigning soon.

After delivering the documents, Whitney returned to the executive office, where Damian was already in his office. She pulled her resignation letter from her desk drawer. Damian was on a call, but when he saw her at the door, he gestured for her to come in. Whitney approached his desk and waited.

"What do you need?" Damian asked, ending the call and walking over.

He seemed unaware of the rumors circulating about them. Not that anyone would dare tell him.

Whitney took a step back, aware that her colleagues were probably watching from outside.

"Mr. Howard, here's my resignation letter. I've also submitted the soft copy to the executive office," she said, handing him the letter. Damian smiled slightly as he glanced down at the letter. He didn't take it. Instead, he turned and sat back in his chair. "Why are you resigning?"

"I want to try out for a different job."

"Is this because I placed Rachel in the architecture department?"

"I'm an architecture graduate. I don't want to let my degree go to waste. I'd appreciate your approval, Mr. Howard." She placed the resignation letter on his desk, keeping her gaze low

Damian's eyes were cold as he looked at her in silence before finally speaking in a firm voice, "Whitney, my patience is limited."