Chapter 2

And I only charged her ten.

For three whole years.

I didn't care about that five-dollar difference, and I never once thought about making money off her.

I just knew her stomach was bad. I knew how painful that was, and I wanted to help.

Her health did get much better, and she even put on some healthy weight.

I was actually happy for her.

And now, she was standing in the breakroom, telling someone else that I was scamming her with cheap food.

Saying my food wasn't fresh.

Saying she was sick of it.

Saying she was doing me a favor by eating it.

I pushed the breakroom door open.

Chloe's voice stopped instantly. She spun around, her relaxed face freezing into sheer panic.

"Nora? Oh, are you here to get water too?"

I didn’t look at her. I walked straight to the water dispenser, poured out the cold water in my mug, and refilled it with hot water.

Ashley had already slipped out. Only Chloe and I were left in the room.

She stood there, clutching her mug, the fake smile on her face completely falling apart as she tried to explain:

"We were just chatting... don't take it personally..."

I still didn't say a word. I took my mug and walked out.

Back at my desk, I set the mug down, pulled open my drawer, and took out the pink bento box that belonged to Chloe.

I was the one who bought that bento box. When she said she didn't have a good one, I went to the store and picked it out for her.

The box was still warm. Inside was the lunch I had made this morning.

I popped the lid off. The steam rose, carrying the rich aroma of the braised ribs.

Luke, who sat next to me, glanced over and whispered, "Are those ribs again? Smells incredible."

I didn’t reply.

I walked over to the trash can with the bento box and dumped all the food straight into it.

Then I went back to my desk, opened my own bento box, and started eating.

I had made the exact same thing for myself today. The ribs were tender and perfectly cooked.

I ate slowly, bite by bite, telling myself not to get angry. She wasn’t worth it.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway. Chloe was back.

She walked to her desk, saw the pink bento box, and let out a sigh of relief. She sat down, opening the lid with a forced laugh:

"What is it today? Let me tell you, even though your food is okay, you should really change things up. I'm getting a bit tired of the same stuff."