Worth
chapter 5

chapter 5

I was caught off guard by Captain Long’s words.

I instinctively looked at fan, who was suppressing a smile as he slowly took out his phone. Feeling trapped, I maintained my composure.

I added Ian’s WhatsApp contact.

I noted his unusual username “Pikake” and simple blue flame profile picture.

His username was odd.

Not wanting to linger, I quickly made an excuse to leave.

Later, at home, I saw Captain Long’s post on X.

The photo from dinner looked odd.

I hadn’t noticed anything unusual when it was taken, but now I couldn’t help but frown.

Ian and I seemed unusually close.

It looked as if Ian and I were a couple.

While Yannis and Wendy looked like a couple.

Yannis had liked the post.

It reminded me of his unanswered messages from an alternate account.

Yannis was using an alternate account to contact me – a trick we often used during closed training sessions. I ignored Yannis but saw updates.

He took Wendy back to the fire station after the dinner.

Wendy was ecstatic, posting about it on every social media platform.

She posted, “Remember when you said you wanted to be a firefighter to protect me? Now you’ve done it.” It was a subtle confession to Yannis that quickly went viral.

People bombarded me with questions about Yannis and me.

I found it almost funny.

We’d never been public. We were just colleagues and secret lovers, never true partners.

Everything I had once longed for, Wendy would soon have.

Love or not were actually so straightforward and simple.

I had been deceiving myself all along.

Now that the dream was shattered, it was time to wake up.

I wondered where Wendy’s constant sense of crisis towards me had come from.

Yannis clearly loved her deeply.

As I pondered Wendy’s inexplicable insecurity and Yannis’s obvious love for her, my phone chimed.

It was Ian.

He informed me that my transfer application had been approved, and within three days, I would receive official confirmation to transfer from my current unit.

My hands shook with excitement as I thanked him.

Even though he didn’t reply further, I couldn’t contain my joy.

The opportunity I’d given up a year ago was finally within reach again.