"W-What? You're firing me?" The shock in her voice was unmistakable, the hurt and disbelief seeping through her words like poison.
Wu Yuxuan didn't answer.
He turned, his back to her, but just before he stepped out, he felt a hand close around his arm.
Xia Yiran's grip was tight, desperate.
Her voice faltered as she spoke, the veneer of cold confidence she usually wore slipping away for the first time.
"Wu Yuxuan... I—I'm sorry," she whispered, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I... I didn't think this through. I didn't mean to—"
Her words faltered as she swallowed hard, the weight of everything she had done crashing down on her all at once.
The tears that she'd been holding back for so long now spilled over, her voice breaking, barely above a whisper.
"I'm sorry. Please... don't do this. It's my fault."
He looked at her, his expression unreadable, before gently pulling his arm away from her grasp.
