Beyond His Orbit

At our college reunion, I returned from running an errand for my boyfriend and found my best friend sitting in my place. My wineglass and plate had been cleared away and replaced with a fresh set. There was no trace that I had ever been there. When I came back, Serena Blake started to rise, but Adrian Bennett pressed her back into the chair. "She doesn't understand our casework anyway. She'd only sit here and smile along." No one else dared respond. Everyone knew my family had collapsed financially while I was in college, forcing me to leave school for a semester. Back then, Adrian and Serena were the law school's celebrated dream team, winning every difficult mock case they touched. After graduation, they rose together at an elite corporate firm, while I was dismissed as the little assistant who only got hired because I was Adrian's girlfriend. I stood there stupidly, unsure what to do. Adrian took the cigarettes I had bought for him and casually gave me another order. "Serena wants a milkshake. Go get her one." He did not even look at me before turning back to their conversation. As they talked and laughed without me, something inside me finally went quiet. I no longer wanted to chase the person I had spent years trying to catch. Chapter 1 Evelyn's POV Half an hour had passed since I returned with the cigarettes. Other than ordering me to buy Serena a milkshake, Adrian Bennett had not looked at me once. He and Serena Blake discussed the case they had won the week before, then moved on to their plans for the firm's future. I could no longer remember how many times I had become background scenery whenever the three of us were together. Only after Serena answered a message did Adrian finally turn toward me in surprise. "Why haven't you gone yet?" I had already run three errands since the reunion began. The storm outside had soaked me over and over until every inch of my clothes clung to my skin. Adrian noticed the water running down my face and fell silent for a moment. Serena, my supposed best friend, hurried to smooth things over. "I only mentioned it casually. Don't go out again in weather like this." As she spoke, she expertly pulled a handkerchief from her purse. It matched Adrian's exactly. After I came back from those six months away from school, Adrian began bringing three breakfasts instead of two. After graduation, it was not only breakfast. Even movie tickets came in threes. But that careful balance gradually disappeared. At some point, Adrian started remembering only Serena's share. "Oh, stop smoking. Evelyn hates the smell." Serena snatched the cigarette from Adrian's fingers and crushed it out. He merely laughed and shook his head with indulgent resignation. After seven years together, I knew exactly how he looked when he spoiled someone without limits. I had begged him countless times to stop smoking because the smell made me sick. He always said I did not understand his stress and would not even let him have that small freedom. Yet the man who hated being controlled had grown perfectly comfortable letting Serena manage him. The conversation around the table came alive again. I turned and walked straight out of the private dining room. After taking a steadying breath, I called Rachel Thompson, the firm's human resources director, and resigned. She sounded stunned. "You keep the entire office running. What are we supposed to do if you leave? "Let me talk to Adrian about transferring you to another department." I had requested a transfer more than once since my first year at the firm. When I helped another associate win a case, Adrian said I had gotten lucky. When I applied for an attorney-track position, he said I lacked experience. When year-end bonuses were calculated, he scored my evaluation down to six decimal places. He said, "You're my girlfriend. I have to avoid showing favoritism." Meanwhile, Serena was promoted twice in a single year because, according to him, her credentials were exceptional. She received nearly every award at the annual dinner because, according to him, he was simply supporting an old classmate. After seven years of relentless work, I was still invisible. I looked back at the two people who had not even noticed me leave and suddenly smiled. Then I answered Rachel. "Please process my resignation. Don't tell him." Chapter 2 Rachel did not try to pressure me. She agreed to begin the paperwork. I was about to leave when Adrian unexpectedly followed me into the hall. "What shouldn't anyone tell me?" "Nothing." He did not pursue the question. Instead, he handed me a shopping bag. "What do you think of this dress?" It was the same dress I had circled in a magazine the week before. I had asked whether he liked it, but he had been busy answering messages. I never expected him to remember. My heart had just begun to soften. Then he said, "Do you think Serena will like it?" I froze before nodding. "It's beautiful. It suits her." Perhaps my calm surprised him, because Adrian offered a rare explanation. "We won last week's case because of Serena. "I can't let her work go unrewarded. As her boss, I should show some appreciation." He pinched my cheek. "If you like it, you can borrow it after she gets tired of it. "She hates matching outfits with anyone, and you two share everything anyway. This way it won't go to waste." I was his official girlfriend, yet he expected me to wait for another woman's castoffs. When the reunion ended, everyone else drove home. Serena naturally slid into the front passenger seat of Adrian's car. He had bought that car with the firm's first major payment. At the time, he had smiled and promised he could finally drive me to and from work. On the very first day, Serena said she had missed the last train and asked for a ride. Adrian asked me to give her my seat. I kept giving it to her for five years. Before I could even reach the door handle, exhaust washed over my face. The car vanished down the road. They had been so absorbed in discussing work that neither noticed I had never gotten inside. The rain began falling even harder. I tried to book a ride, but no driver accepted for half an hour. A group of drunk men near the curb kept calling to me. Frightened, I ran into the rain. I slipped in the mud, and the pavement was so slick that I struggled for several minutes before I could stand. All the hurt I had swallowed surged up at once. When I finally walked home through the storm and opened the door, a woman's laughter drifted from the living room. Serena's leg rested across Adrian's lap. He was applying ointment to her knee. When he saw me, he frowned. "Why didn't you get in the car? Do you know how worried Serena and I were while looking for you? She hurt her knee. "Can you be dependable for once? If you can't help, at least stop creating problems for us." He did not notice that I was drenched or that my face had gone pale. All he saw was Serena's scraped knee. I glanced down at my phone. There was not a single missed call or message. Had they truly been desperate to find me? Serena immediately pulled her leg away and explained in a panic. "Evelyn, I really was only injured. Adrian went to several pharmacies, and that was why he forgot to look for..." When she saw my expression, she stood and limped out of the house. Adrian started after her, then paused. "Serena and I are leaving on a business trip tomorrow. Pack both of our bags." After issuing the order, he grabbed an umbrella and hurried after her without looking back. There was no explanation, only another automatic demand that I take care of them. It was as though I were their personal maid, assistant, and mother all at once. They had turned an ambitious young woman into someone they summoned whenever they needed an errand done. Even then, they believed I should feel grateful for benefiting from them. They thought that was the only reason I had any place at the firm. This time, I did not obey. I packed my own suitcase instead. Chapter 3 Adrian claimed the travel budget was too tight and told me to stay home until he and Serena returned from their business trip. They called it work, but Serena's social media feed was unusually lively. One moment she was posing in a picturesque coastal town; the next, she was drinking tea on a balcony after the rain. Adrian had always hated unnecessary activities, yet he spent three hours making pottery with her at a craft studio. Then one of the associates accidentally posted a message in the firm's group chat. "Major update! The hotel says they're overbooked, so the boss and Serena are sharing one room!" The message vanished seconds later, and Adrian immediately called me. "The hotel genuinely has no other rooms. I only agreed to share because I knew you'd accuse me of failing to take care of your best friend." Serena's complaints kept drifting through the phone. "Adrian, where did you put my cleanser? "Hey, stop lying on my hair!" Then she snatched the phone and spoke to me in a playful voice. "Evelyn, I wish you were here. There's no one to gossip with when I'm stuck with this stuffy man. "Don't worry. I'll keep a close eye on him tonight and make sure he doesn't flirt with any other women." They had crossed too many boundaries while insisting they were doing it for my sake. Adrian once pretended to be Serena's boyfriend at a networking dinner, supposedly to shield my best friend from unwanted attention. Serena once kept Adrian on the phone for eight straight hours because she was afraid he might speak to another woman. He missed my emergency call because of it. And now, because they did not want me to worry, they had decided to sleep in the same room. I dug my nails into my palm and finally said the words I had rehearsed countless times. "Adrian, we're breaking up." Silence filled the call. A moment later, Adrian laughed. "Evelyn, you're not eighteen anymore. Can you stop being so childish? "Serena and I have tolerated your moods for long enough. You should be grateful instead of making ridiculous jokes like this." Serena grabbed the phone again. "Evelyn, please don't be angry with us. "I'm sorry..." "Don't apologize to her!" Adrian snapped. "The more you indulge her, the more unreasonable she becomes. She's not some spoiled heiress." The call ended with a sharp click. When we argued in college, he once spent three uninterrupted months sending gifts and trying to win me back. Now he would not offer even a free apology. After the call, I contacted a real estate agent and told her to list the condo we had intended to use after our wedding. The agent hesitated before replying. "Ms. Mansfield, the deed doesn't list only you. There's another owner named Serena Blake. "I'm afraid you can't sell it without her consent." Every drop of blood in my body seemed to reverse direction. A year earlier, Adrian and I had begun planning our wedding and saving for the condo's down payment. I worked at the firm by day and took several remote legal-consulting projects at night until I had enough. Adrian promised the property would be recorded in my name and personally handled the closing documents. Yet Serena had placed her name on the deed without contributing a cent. Years of exhaustion, sacrifice, and tears had been stolen from me overnight. Chapter 4 The day before I left, I carried my resignation letter into Adrian's office. A crowd of employees had gathered outside. When they saw me, they studied me with open contempt. I pushed through and found Serena sitting inside, wiping away tears. Adrian walked straight toward me, disappointment written across his face. "How much do you hate Serena that you'd frame her like this?" I stared at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?" Serena raised a file so everyone could see it. She looked at me, weeping with delicate, practiced tears. "The evidence I spent weeks collecting was altered overnight. The court ruled against our client, and I may even lose my license..." No one else questioned the accusation. Organizing case files was part of my job, which supposedly made me the person best positioned to tamper with them. "I didn't do it!" I looked directly at Adrian. "You believe this too?" He stared at me with disgust and disappointment. "I wondered why you were so quiet last night instead of crying or causing a scene. So this was what you were planning? "You know how hard Serena worked to become an attorney. Are you trying to destroy her life?" In that instant, I understood. He would rather make me accept responsibility than risk Serena losing her law license. Even though I had done nothing. It felt as though a hole had been torn through my chest and filled with freezing wind. Adrian personally assembled the disciplinary complaint and civil filings. He accused me of altering evidence, inflicting massive losses on the client, and deliberately sabotaging Serena's professional reputation. Any one of those allegations could have ended my career. After the hearing, the license I had spent three years earning was revoked. It meant no reputable law firm would ever hire me again. I walked out of the courthouse in a daze while Serena's social media page overflowed with cheerful updates. To improve her mood, Adrian took her overseas for a week. Every place they tagged held a memory that once belonged to Adrian and me. When I returned to clear my desk, everyone watched me with contempt. Only Serena smiled at me with the confidence of a victor. When Adrian brought me the termination letter, guilt flickered in his eyes. "Maybe it's better if you stop working at the firm. You were always exhausted anyway. "If you truly want a job, a friend's company needs a receptionist. You present yourself well, so I can recommend you." He stepped forward as if to help with my boxes. I pushed him away, lifted the carton against my chest, and walked out without looking back. In the cab to the airport, I rejected every call he made. Seconds before my flight took off, I sent him one message. "Adrian, it's over. We're done." Then I blocked every way he had to contact me. That evening, Adrian reserved a table for two at our favorite French restaurant. He was about to call Evelyn when a message appeared on his screen. After reading it, he swayed and dropped the phone.