A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Bright's POV

I had just logged out of my computer and was shutting it down when I saw our department head Mr. Naravit walking down the space between our cubicles. I was a bit surprised because he usually doesn't leave his office until everyone had gone for the day.

I was even more surprised when he stopped at my desk.

"Bright," he said.

"Yes, sir," I responded respectfully.

"Do you know anyone who could work in place of Ben?" he asked.

My heart plummeted to the floor.

"Why?" I asked, my hands starting to get cold and clammy.

"He hasn't told you?" Mr. Naravit raised an eyebrow at me.

"No, sir," I replied, unable to control the quiver in my voice.

"He has tendered his resignation today," Mr. Naravit said. "For urgent personal reasons."

My anxiety turned to anger, red hot anger.

I stood up quickly from my desk, forgetting that one of my ankles had just gotten sprained in the morning. I winced at the sharp pain that shot up my ankle.

Mr. Naravit glanced at my bandaged ankle.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

"I fell from the first step going up the building and landed badly on this foot," I said, pointing to my injured ankle.

"How are you going to walk to your car?" he asked.

"If Ben is still here. I'm gonna ask him to assist me," I replied. "He usually stops at my desk to let me know if he's leaving for the day."

Mr. Naravit craned his neck to see if Ben was still in his work cubicle.

"I'm afraid he's gone," Mr. Naravit announced, confirming my worst fears. "Come let me assist you to the parking lot."

"That's very kind of you, sir, thank you," I said, suppressing all the different kinds of emotions that were raging in my chest.

At the parking lot, we saw Ben half walking half running towards his car.

I motioned for Mr. Naravit not to call Ben's name.

I let go of Mr. Naravit's support and started hopping quickly but as quietly as I could towards Ben.

Damn he had reached his car and was in the act of opening his car door.

I almost lost my balance but was able to straighten myself by placing my hand heavily on his shoulder.

He turned around. His eyes widened upon seeing me.

"Have a nice evening, both of you!" Mr. Naravit called out before turning to walk to his own car.

"Thank you, sir! You do the same!" I called back.

Then I turned to Ben.

"You were going to leave me without giving me the courtesy of a proper good bye?" I asked, unable to decide whether to feel angry or disappointed or hurt or offended or whatever else I was supposed to feel.

I could tell from the expression on his face that he was battling conflicting emotions within himself.

"I was afraid to do so," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes starting to moisten.

"Why?" I asked, still unable to decide what to feel.

I felt betrayed, That was it. What I was feeling was a sense of betrayal by someone I had trusted, someone I considered to be my best friend, someone I love.

"Ben," I said, feeling more hurt by the second. "why would you be afraid to tell me about your decision to resign from the company?"

"I was afraid that you would hold me back," he replied.

"Damn right I would," I said angrily.

"You see now why I didn't want to tell you?" he said, some frustration creeping into his voice.

I let out a loud sigh.

"Care to tell me why you're quitting right out of the blue?" I asked.

"I can't," Ben replied, looking away. "It's too private and personal."

"I bet Uncle Mangosteen has something to do with this," I said through gritted teeth.

"I have to go," Ben said, ignoring my last statement.

"Where?" I asked.

"Home, where else?" he replied, opening his car door.

"Wait," I said, grabbing him, because my instincts were telling me that this could be the last time I would see him, or that at least it would be a very long time before I saw him again.

"What..." he started to ask.

I pulled his face towards me and kissed him.

He resisted at first. Then to my surprise, he started kissing me back.

I would have wanted the kiss to last longer but he pulled away, saying, "Good bye, Bright. I will keep in touch."

"You promise?" I asked, feeling a deep sense of loneliness.

"I promise," he said, giving me a quick hug, before getting into his car.

My vision got blurry as I watched his car pull away from the parking lot and make its way towards the exit.

When his car disappeared completely from sight, that was when I realized that I was standing by myself with no one to help me get to my car.

I hopped painfully and slowly towards it.

I was gasping for air by the time I reached my car.

I started the engine and buckled up just as my phone started to ring.

The ringtone told me that it was Win calling.

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

"Hey," I said after swiping on my screen.

"You busy?" he asked.

"For you, never," I replied. "What's up, my darling?"

"I was just wondering if your company was hiring staff at this time," I heard him say.

I am a firm believer in the saying that when one door closes, another one opens.