Julian couldn't bear the thought that while he was reporting to Samuel, dressed professionally and focused on work, Samuel had been imagining him in a skirt...

Perhaps Samuel wasn't a malicious person, but Julian couldn't stop himself from making these assumptions. After all, he had trusted him so completely, and once, he had even begun to fall for him.

Feeling he couldn't stay for another second, Julian avoided Samuel's gaze and said coldly, "I'm leaving."

Samuel grabbed his hand at the door, his voice low and taut. "Julian."

Julian looked up, his warm eyes now filled with an unprecedented chill. "Samuel, don't make me hate you."

Samuel dazedly let go, and Julian turned and walked away.

The night wind brushed against Julian's cheeks, but as he stared at the brilliant city lights through the car window, he couldn't register anything. When the ride-share arrived at his apartment complex, he walked inside, feeling as if he were encased in a transparent glass dome, completely numb to the world.

Until he heard a faint "Meow... meow..."

It was high-pitched, like a bird's chirp, and very weak, as if the animal were sick. After a few seconds of hesitation, Julian turned on his flashlight and followed the sound. Behind a hedge, he found a tiny kitten, maybe two months old, still covered in baby fluff. It sat there miserably, its face matted with mucus and tears—it clearly had a cold.

Julian wasn't in a position to keep a pet, but the kitten was so pathetic. In the freezing winter, it wouldn't survive the night if he ignored it. He grabbed a box from the courier station, bought a bottle of lactose-free milk from the convenience store, and brought the kitten home.

He set it up in a corner of the living room. The cat was starving and drank the milk greedily. Seeing it was still hungry, Julian offered it a cat treat mixed with a half-dose of pet cold medicine.

The kitten's condition was better than expected—it could eat and sleep—it just had some discharge on its face, which Julian cleaned with a cotton swab. He decided to foster it for a few days until it recovered before finding it a home.

After he finished cleaning up, the kitten sat on a blanket, licking its paws. Julian planned to go out to buy some supplies.

He pulled the door open, only to find a tall figure standing on his doorstep: it was Samuel, still running a fever. He looked haggard and sickly, with a down jacket thrown haphazardly over his shoulders, revealing a disheveled shirt underneath.

The always-impeccable Samuel—when had he ever looked so disheveled? And he was still sick. Julian felt a pang of discomfort in his heart, but his voice remained ice-cold. "What are you doing here?"

"Julian," Samuel whispered his name, sounding almost pitiable. "I came to apologize."

Julian pursed his lips. "I'm going out."

"I'll go with you," Samuel offered.

"No, you won't."

Samuel gave an "oh" and didn't insist. "Then I'll wait for you to come back."

Julian looked at Samuel's fever-flushed cheeks, feeling a spike of anger. "You're going to wait for me in that state? What, are you trying to guilt-trip me by catching pneumonia?"

Samuel looked aggrieved. "I was just worried you were angry..."

Julian took a deep breath, wondering if Samuel had been rehearsing in private—how else could someone so imposing and cold act so pathetically? But he couldn't just leave him like this. He opened the door and let him in, saying coldly, "If you pass out from illness after wandering out here, don't blame me."

Samuel sat on the sofa. Perhaps because he was relieved, he showed a rare, childlike glimmer of happiness. "I won't be a burden to you."

"If you're not trying to be a burden," Julian countered, "what is this?"

"I came to confess," Samuel said. He pulled a ring from his pocket and, with his fever-reddened face, added, "Julian, I love you."

Julian bit his lip, his expression tense. He tried hard to act indifferent, but he couldn't stop his heart from racing.

Samuel placed the ring in his palm. "Samuel loves you, and 'Orca' loves you too."

Julian stared at him for ten long seconds. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and said sadly, "How could you? You lied to me one moment and are confessing to me the next..."

The confession he had looked forward to for so long—the one he had imagined would be a transcendent experience—had been turned into this mess by Samuel.

"I'm sorry," Samuel said, holding his hand, his voice filled with sincere tenderness. "But deceiving you was never my original intention."

Julian watched him silently. Samuel continued, "I was the one who insisted on keeping work and personal life separate, but after we separated, I realized I'd overestimated my own self-control. I couldn't let you go, and I didn't want to be just your boss, so I used the 'Orca' identity to keep seeing you."

Hearing this, a memory of his dates with 'Orca' rushed back. It was right after he told Samuel they should keep things strictly professional that 'Orca' started appearing in his life.

He had only thought about the pain of being deceived by Samuel, never stopping to consider what Samuel must have been feeling at the time. What must it have been like for him, to wrap himself up, disguise his voice, and approach him under a completely different identity?

And he had been so cold to 'Orca' back then... Thinking of this, Julian suddenly felt a surge of heartache for Samuel.

"I'm sorry for hiding it from you for so long," Samuel explained. "Even if it sounds like an excuse, I wanted to confess to you more than once. It just always failed for one reason or another."

Julian remembered—that had been the case out on the sea. He was the one who had insisted that 'Orca' stop talking. In a way, things had spiraled to this point partly because of him.

Julian's expression softened, though he still felt hurt. "I understand, but you did lie to me."

He thought of all the times he had complained about Samuel to 'Orca,' and the humiliation of being fooled washed over him again.

"I didn't intend to lie to you. The 'Orca' account was actually..." Samuel paused, then looked up at Julian. "Do you want to know about it?"