The termination notice arrived two days after Anya returned to Riverside. It was brief and final.
Anya stared at the email for a long time before closing her laptop. She did not cry. She had already expected it. Losing the project meant losing her position. The company needed someone to blame, and she had been the easiest choice.
She packed her things quietly and left the building without saying goodbye.
That night, Leo Lin stormed into Alaric Stone's office.
"Do you know what you did?" Leo demanded.
Alaric did not look up from his desk. "I don't know what you are talking about."
Leo laughed sharply. "She lost her job because of you."
Silence followed.
"And do you know who approached her in Central City?" Leo continued. "Sebastian Fang."
Alaric's hand stopped mid-motion.
"What did you just say?"
"He saw her. He talked to her. And if Sebastian is involved, he probably already knows about your past with Anya."
Alaric finally looked up, his expression darkening.
"Alpha," Leo said seriously, "if you really plan to abandon your mate, then reject her completely. Do not keep hurting her like this."
Alaric leaned back in his chair, exhausted.
"I just don't know what to do now," he said quietly.
Leo narrowed his eyes. "Then you listen to me."
"Fine," Alaric muttered. "You're annoying."
*****
Anya was scrolling through job listings when her phone rang.
Her laptop was open on the coffee table, dozens of tabs filled with positions she had saved but not yet applied for. Analyst roles. Assistant roles. Anything stable. Anything that would let her move forward without looking back.
An unfamiliar number flashed on the screen.
She hesitated, then answered. "Hello?"
"Anya Holloway?" a man asked. His voice was calm, professional, carrying an authority that made her straighten instinctively.
"Yes," she replied. "Who is this?"
"My name is Leo Lin," he said. "I'm calling from Stone Corporation."
Anya's fingers stiffened around the phone.
"I'm sorry," she said immediately. "But before we continue, may I ask the purpose of this call?"
There was a brief pause, as if he had expected the question.
"We currently have a position opening at Stone Corporation," Leo explained. "An executive assistant role. Based on your background and experience, we believe you would be a good fit."
Anya exhaled softly.
"I appreciate the offer," she said, keeping her tone polite but firm. "But I'm not interested and I don't want to be involved with Stone Corporation."
"I haven't finished explaining," Leo replied.
"I don't think that's necessary," she said. "I'm currently looking for work, but not there."
"You're refusing before you know the full situation," Leo said quietly.
"Yes," Anya answered.
She was about to end the call when his next words stopped her completely.
"Alaric has three months."
Her breath caught painfully in her chest.
"…Three months?" she asked, her voice barely audible. There was a pause on the other end of the line. Too long.
Leo spoke again, slower now. "Alaric left with three months. Just before everything changed, I thought you would want you to…"
Anya's mind filled in the silence for him.
Three months left.
Her vision blurred as she stared at the laptop screen, the words on it suddenly meaningless.
"All I can say," he replied carefully, "is that time is running out."
That was enough.
Her heart began to race, panic and guilt crashing into her at once. Memories surfaced without warning. A boy with dark eyes watching her like she was everything. The night she told him to leave. The years she had spent believing she had done the right thing.
And now there were only three months left.
Anya closed her eyes, her chest aching.
"You want me to take this job," she said slowly, "so I can stay close to him."
"Yes," Leo replied. "So he's not alone."
Silence stretched between them.
Anya imagined Alaric standing somewhere far away, carrying everything by himself, facing the end without her ever knowing.
Her fingers curled tightly around the phone.
Three months.
She could not undo the past. But she could choose what to do now.
"Send me the details," she said quietly. "I'll take the job."
Leo exhaled, relief clear even through the phone. "Thank you, Anya."
The call ended.
Anya lowered the phone slowly and sat there in silence.
She did not know what awaited her at Stone Corporation.
She only knew one thing.
If Alaric Stone truly had only three months left, she would not let him face it alone.
****
After helping Anya settle into a small apartment in Central City, Leo brought her straight to Stone Corporation.
The building rose like steel and glass against the sky, cold and imposing. Anya stood at the entrance for a brief moment, adjusting the strap of her bag, steadying her breath. This was no longer Riverside. No longer a place where she could disappear into the background.
This was Alaric's world.
Leo walked a step ahead of her, completely at ease, greeting employees as they passed. To him, this place was familiar territory. To Anya, it felt like stepping onto thin ice.
They stopped outside the CEO's office.
Leo didn't knock. He pushed the door open with his usual confidence.
"Alpha," he announced cheerfully, as if this were any ordinary day, "I found you a new assistant."
Anya stood quietly at the doorway, her hands clenched at her sides, her posture straight despite the tightness in her chest.
Alaric looked up from his desk.
For a split second, his gaze caught on her face.
Then it slid away, deliberately, as if she were nothing more than another stranger standing in his office.
He didn't stand. He didn't greet her.
He said nothing.
The silence stretched, thick and uncomfortable.
Anya felt it press down on her shoulders, but she did not move. She did not look away.
Leo cleared his throat lightly. "Anya Holloway," he added, still smiling. "She'll be assisting you directly."
Alaric's fingers paused on the document in front of him.
"I didn't ask for an assistant," he said flatly, his voice calm but edged with frost.
"She's already here," Leo replied, unfazed. "HR's approved it."
Alaric finally looked back at Anya, just briefly. His expression was unreadable. Controlled. Closed off.
"Do whatever you want," he said to Leo. "Just don't expect me to babysit."
He turned back to his work, dismissing them both.
Leo gave Anya an encouraging look before stepping out, quietly closing the door behind him.
*****
From that day on, Anya worked directly under Alaric.
And from that day on, he made it painfully clear that he wanted her gone.
He kept his distance in every way that mattered. He never stopped by her desk. Never asked if she was settling in. Never acknowledged her unless it was strictly necessary. When he spoke to her, his voice was clipped and precise, stripped of warmth.
"Rewrite this," he said one morning, placing a thick folder on her desk without looking at her.
"The data alignment is off."
"Yes, Mr Stone," Anya replied calmly, reaching for the file.
By the time she finished revising it late that night, another folder was already waiting.
"Update the schedule," he said the next day, glancing at his watch. "The meeting's been moved up."
"To this afternoon?" she asked, surprised.
"To an hour from now," he corrected coolly. "I trust you can manage."
She nodded. "I'll have it ready."
Meetings ran late into the night. Deadlines shifted without warning. Tasks piled up faster than she could clear them. Work that could have been divided among several departments was placed squarely on her shoulders.
Leo noticed.
One evening, as Anya was still typing away while most of the floor had emptied, Leo leaned against the edge of her desk.
"You know he's doing this on purpose, right?" he said quietly.
Anya didn't stop typing. "I know." She shook her head. "It's fine."
Leo studied her for a moment. "You're stubborn."
She gave a small, tired smile. "So is he."
It was obvious what Alaric was doing.
He was trying to exhaust her.
Trying to push her out without ever saying the words.
Anya noticed.
And she stayed.
She arrived before everyone else, the office still dark and silent when she turned on her computer. The city lights outside the windows were often still glowing by the time she finally shut it down and stood to leave.
Some nights, Alaric passed by her desk on his way out.
"Still here?" he asked once, his tone flat.
"Yes," she replied simply.
He hesitated for half a second, then nodded and walked away.
She never complained.