- 2 days ago
He Betrayed Seven Transfers, I Took Apex West
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00:00For seven grueling years, I've suffered harsh working conditions in Nevada's West Division.
00:04I bore everything clinging to one hope.
00:07Once the region settles down, I'll transfer back to New York and marry Ryan Mercer.
00:11Year after year, I carefully handed in transfer applications,
00:15only to get coldly rejected every single time.
00:18This year, I got seven days off and flew to NYHQ to surprise him.
00:22Yet I froze right outside his office door.
00:25Deny it again.
00:26Ryan, this is the seventh year.
00:27The first year, you denied her so Mark Jensen could stay in New York for marriage and housing stability.
00:31The second year, you let Susan Lee take her place so she could care for her mother.
00:34The third year, Daniel Paxley to be here for his newborn.
00:37You think about everyone.
00:38You just never think about Claire.
00:39She waited for your prettiest girl at headquarters back then,
00:41and now her face is sunburned, hair dry.
00:42Even her bape is starting to hunch.
00:43Doesn't that hurt you?
00:44Don't you want to bring her back and marry her?
00:45I love her, but I'm not sure I really want to marry her anymore.
00:48As for the New York slot this time, give it to Maya.
00:50Her father died for the company.
00:52I can't let his daughter suffer.
00:53When she arrives, I'll pick her up from the airport myself.
00:59Help! Someone fell in the water!
01:12Thank you for saving my child.
01:14What's your name?
01:15Where do you work?
01:16There's no need.
01:18I should go.
01:20Are you Claire from Mercer Renewables?
01:23I'm Arthur Langley, a board director at Apex Grid.
01:26Claire, Apex recently opened a West Coast Operations VP position.
01:30Your foundation is excellent.
01:32If you're willing, I'll recommend you.
01:33As for your exit paperwork with Mercer, I'll help you handle it.
01:42I'm willing.
01:43Thank you for giving me this chance.
01:45But I seem to remember you were engaged.
01:47Ryan, right?
01:48If you go to San Francisco...
01:49I'm not engaged.
01:51Mr. Langley, I'm not engaged.
01:52I never was.
01:53I never will be.
01:55All right.
01:55Go back and get ready.
01:56You'll start at the end of the month.
01:58I'll have the offer and relocation paperwork processed and sent to you as soon as possible.
02:02Thank you, Mr. Langley.
02:04When Ryan rejected me, seven years of waiting died.
02:07I cut all ties with him and reclaimed my life.
02:09Returning home, I saw Grandma's portrait.
02:11Two leave and transfer requests were rejected.
02:13I missed her final moments and lost my only family.
02:15Ryan's success was built on my wasted youth, lost kin, and broken love.
02:19I buried my sorrow.
02:20He's not worth my tears.
02:21Ryan, this is really too much trouble.
02:24You're still bringing me here this late?
02:27Don't worry.
02:28This is Claire's apartment.
02:29She hasn't lived here for years.
02:32Since your lease has an issue, settle in here.
02:34Stay as long as you need.
02:36Claire, why are you here?
02:38Your transfer was denied.
02:39I was badly injured.
02:40The company approved seven days of medical leave.
02:42How did this happen?
02:43Nevada summers are brutal.
02:45Gloves wear out, skin sticks to steel.
02:47Dust storms cut you.
02:48Straps rub raw.
02:49Ryan, it wasn't that bad.
02:51I stayed in the West Division, too.
02:54Claire, are you exaggerating to make Ryan feel sorry for you?
03:02Claire, the company has its own arrangements.
03:05Once your medical leave ends, go back to Nevada.
03:08Also, Maya's Reese has an issue.
03:10Let her stay here.
03:11It's inconvenient.
03:12If you want to take her in, let her stay at your place.
03:14Nonsense.
03:15A man and a woman alone under one roof?
03:17Then take her somewhere else.
03:18Claire, Maya's spouse died for a cum project, and her father paid for Mercer, too.
03:22As the person I planned to marry, can't you show some big picture thinking?
03:25Maya can stay, but only for seven days.
03:28When my leave ends, she has to move out.
03:31Treat Maya properly.
03:38Claire, you didn't expect this, did you?
03:40Ryan personally called me back.
03:42He personally picked me up from JFK.
03:45Do you know, from my first day at Mercer, I liked Ryan so much.
03:49Too bad he only had eyes for you.
03:51But now, it seems different.
03:53Look at yourself.
03:55No wonder Ryan isn't in a hurry to transfer you back.
03:57If I were a man, I wouldn't want you either.
03:59If you can't hold a man's heart, that's your failure.
04:02Now it's my turn.
04:03After all, my father died for the company.
04:05Ryan has a responsibility to me.
04:06Are you done?
04:07If you're done, go back to your room.
04:09Don't stand here annoying me.
04:17Maya!
04:20Maya, what's wrong?
04:21Claire, look what you've done.
04:23Ryan, I'm so cold.
04:25Last night, I played some music.
04:27Claire thought it was noisy.
04:28She threw me out.
04:29I was scared, so I stayed on the fire.
04:31Call an ambulance!
04:31Ryan, that's not what happened.
04:32Last night-
04:33Shut up!
04:33Anything you want to say can wait until she is safe.
04:38Claire, when did you become this vicious?
04:40Her father died.
04:41Couldn't you show some understanding?
04:42I didn't throw her out.
04:43I didn't even know she played music.
04:44Ryan, why don't you believe me?
04:46Evidence?
04:46Maya is in there with her life under certain.
04:48How am I supposed to believe you?
04:49Severe hypothermia.
04:50If it had been any later, her legs might have suffered irreversible damage.
04:55Claire, did you hear that?
04:56Because of you, Maya may suffer leg pain for the rest of her life.
04:59I didn't.
05:00Ryan, why won't you investigate?
05:01Why do you only listen to her side?
05:03Investigate?
05:03The facts are right in front of me.
05:05Claire, you have disappointed me too much.
05:07As CEO and as your fiancé, I have to punish you.
05:10Ben, contact security.
05:11Suspend Claire's badge.
05:12Take her to the security room overnight to reflect.
05:14Ryan, the heating in the security room hasn't been fixed.
05:17Claire-
05:17Do it!
05:24Claire, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
05:31Claire, why don't you apologize to Ryan?
05:33I'll go plead for you.
05:34No.
05:39Awake?
05:40Since you're awake, I have to make things clear.
05:42I won't pursue what happened.
05:44But remember this.
05:45Maya is someone the company should look after.
05:48Don't bully her again.
05:49Claire, could I borrow a suit for the investor dinner?
05:51No.
05:52Claire, it's just a suit.
05:54Maya is in a difficult situation.
05:56Why be so petty?
05:58Maya, go to Claire's closet.
06:00Choose one.
06:00Take whatever you like.
06:02Ryan!
06:05No!
06:05Not that one.
06:06Choose another.
06:07Not that suit.
06:07I just think this one looks the best.
06:09I promise I won't damage it.
06:11I said no.
06:12Give it back.
06:13Claire, it's only a suit.
06:15Why can't you agree?
06:23Then, be careful with it.
06:24Don't worry.
06:25I'll be very careful.
06:35Where is my suit?
06:36Oh, that.
06:37The zipper seems stuck.
06:38I couldn't pull it down.
06:39I got anxious and used scissors to cut it open.
06:40I threw it away.
06:41It's just an old outfit.
06:42Worst case, I'll pay you.
06:43You hit me?
06:44Claire, what are you doing?
06:45Ryan, I accidentally damaged Claire's suit.
06:46I said I would compensate her, but she hit me.
06:48Claire, have you lost your mind?
06:48It was just a suit.
06:49Pay you back ten suits.
06:50A hundred suits.
06:50Was this necessary?
06:51That wasn't an ordinary suit.
06:53That was from my grandmother.
06:55She spent nights before she died adecting it for me.
06:57She said she wanted to see me wear it into the boardroom.
07:00Ryan, that was the last thing Grandma left me.
07:02The last thing!
07:08Claire?
07:10Claire, hold on.
07:11I'll take you to the hospital.
07:14Miss Morgan, you're awake.
07:16You were unconscious for a day and a night.
07:17The surgery went well, but you're still very weak.
07:19You need to rest properly.
07:21Mr. Mercer had an emergency board call.
07:23He left right after your surgery.
07:25He said he'd come back.
07:26I heard you woke up.
07:27Look at you.
07:28So pitiful.
07:29In Ryan's heart, you're worth nothing.
07:31If I were you, I'd call off the-
07:32Are you done?
07:33Get out.
07:34Today, I'll let you see how much weight I carry with him.
07:36Help!
07:37Murder!
07:38Claire is trying to kill me!
07:48Save me!
07:49Claire was angry that you saved me last time, so she hurt me on purpose.
07:53Maya.
07:54Claire.
07:55It wasn't me.
07:56She stabbed herself.
07:57Ryan, she's framing me.
07:58Enough.
07:59Claire, I never thought you could be this vicious.
08:01Ben, restrain her.
08:02Send her to security.
08:03Suspend her pending investigation.
08:04Once Maya is out of danger, we'll handle this according to the law.
08:07Ryan.
08:08Claire just had surgery.
08:10She's weak.
08:11Shouldn't we investigate first?
08:12Exactly because she is engaged to me and is a Mercer founding employee, this has to
08:15be handled even more seriously.
08:17Otherwise, how do we convince anyone?
08:18How do we uphold company policy?
08:20Do it.
08:21She was so respectable.
08:23Who knew her heart was that voice?
08:25Ryan is unlucky to be promised to someone like that.
08:29Miss Morgan, you may leave.
08:32Maya is out of danger.
08:33She says she won't pursue responsibility.
08:40Get in.
08:41I'll take you home.
08:46This time, you hurt Maya.
08:47Suspending you for three days was deserved.
08:49As a Mercer founding employee, you should set an example.
08:51Do you understand?
08:51Ryan, I don't care your name yet.
08:52You forgot we aren't married.
08:53You're in the West Division now, but sooner or later you'll be transferred back, and we
08:56will get married.
08:56Are you sure I can be transferred back?
08:58Of course.
08:58I'll fight for it.
09:04Hello?
09:04Claire, this is Mr. Langley's assistant.
09:06Pack only what you need via JFK Terminal 4 in two hours.
09:08All right.
09:08I'll be there.
09:09Who called?
09:09Why were you so nervous?
09:10The West Division.
09:11My medical lease is over.
09:12They told me to return to Nevada immediately.
09:13So it was the West Division.
09:14You looked so nervous I thought you were hiding a secret.
09:16What secret could I hide from you?
09:17You know all seven years of my life have been given to the West Division.
09:20Ryan, Claire, you're back.
09:21My lease is handled.
09:22I can move back today.
09:23Claire's going back to Nevada too, right?
09:24We can leave together.
09:25Claire, go to the airport yourself.
09:26Maya is still injured.
09:28I'll take her home first.
09:29Next time, when you're transferred back, I'll personally pick you up at JFK.
09:35Let's go, Ryan.
09:36Okay.
09:40Left alone in the flat, I watched Ryan's SUV disappear in snow.
09:44Grabbing my bags, I headed for JFK Terminal 4, leaving the firm and Ryan behind to chase
09:50a free new life.
09:55Heavy snow blurred everything.
09:57Haunted by my empty numb gaze, Ryan spun his car back to my empty apartment.
10:01Claire?
10:02Ryan rushed into the empty living room and spotted my late grandma's dusty sewing machine
10:06in the corner.
10:07Drawn to it, he pried loose a wooden panel and found a hidden compartment storing her
10:11blue notebook.
10:12The yellowed notebook carried grandma's trembling words.
10:15She endured bloody coughs, lacked medicine and money, and begged Ryan to send me home before
10:19her death.
10:20Those lines seared Ryan's heart.
10:22He'd rejected my transfer applications for other employees, ignoring grandma's agony.
10:27Though he told himself he only prioritized the company and would make amends to me later,
10:31guilt split his heart.
10:33He put the notebook back, completely untouched.
10:36After a moment of hesitation, he took out his phone and dialed the West Division.
10:41Claire, didn't she go to Apex Grid?
10:43The offer is signed.
10:44The relocage was completed a while ago and she shouldn't belong to Mercer anymore.
10:47Mr. Mercer, you didn't receive the news.
10:53What did you say?
10:55Apex Grid?
11:00Ryan was seized by piercing agony, knowing I'd gone to Apex Grid, far beyond his control,
11:05and abandoned him.
11:06Tormented by panic, he rushed out and sped to Arthur's office.
11:12Langley, did you arrange for Claire to go to Apex Grid?
11:15I did.
11:15Claire is exceptionally strong in Western operations.
11:17She has rare operations talent and Apex needs her.
11:20Is there a problem?
11:21She's engaged to me.
11:22If she's leaving, shouldn't she need my consent?
11:24Why did you hide it?
11:25Engaged?
11:26That isn't what Claire told me.
11:28What did she say?
11:29She said she wasn't engaged.
11:30Never was, never would be.
11:32Are you the only one who still believes you are?
11:34She's just angry.
11:35We've been engaged for years.
11:36Ryan.
11:38Claire signed everything herself.
11:40She's an adult.
11:42Her career and future are hers to decide.
11:45Apex won't let your private dispute hold her back.
11:53That girl was very resolute when she left.
11:56I could tell she had no attachment left to Mercer.
12:02Night fell as I landed in San Francisco.
12:05Unlike suffocating New York and barren Nevada,
12:07the city breathed moist, quiet air filled with salty sea breeze.
12:13Miss Morgan?
12:15Yes?
12:15Mr. Langley has arranged your apartment.
12:17Tomorrow at nine in the morning, you have a brief meeting with the board.
12:20If your health is inconvenient, it can be postponed.
12:24No need to postpone.
12:25I'll be there on time.
12:27Crossing Bay Bridge, I watched city lights shatter on the water.
12:30After seven years, I left Mercer and Ryan at last.
12:34No relief or tears, only a hollow, aching emptiness.
12:38Too worn out to even hate him.
12:45Mercer Renewables' Nevada assets look profitable on the surface,
12:49but the real problems are in supply chain structure, project-level compliance, and field labor turnover.
12:55I laid out every Nevada solar crisis in detail.
12:58Seven grueling years out west gave me irrecrutable field knowledge Ryan could never match.
13:04Now I understand why Mercer, sir, kept you trapped in the West Division for seven years.
13:08It wasn't because you weren't good enough.
13:10It was because you were too useful.
13:12That was Mercer's problem.
13:15Now, it is Apex good fortune.
13:31Every transfer application bore Ryan's cold denied.
13:34Year after year, he favored other staff with family problems and shareholder relations,
13:39claiming I could endure the West direction.
13:41Staring at his hollow excuses, cold dread swept over him.
13:49Ryan, Ben, tell me, the year Claire's grandmother died, did she ever come to me?
13:56That winter, West Division's audit remained incomplete.
13:59Claire learned her grandmother quickly ill and called you repeatedly.
14:01You were attending the board strategy off-bond and unreachable.
14:03She texted me after pleading to return to New York for three days.
14:06She sought neither transfer nor promotion, only a final visit with her grandmother.
14:09Then you had the CFO pass along the message that the West Division audit couldn't go wrong
14:13and personal matters needed to wait.
14:15You also said, she should be strong.
14:17And then?
14:19What did she say after that?
14:21She said nothing.
14:22She only replied, I understand.
14:29There's more.
14:30Ryan, there are things I've wanted to say for a long time.
14:33I was afraid.
14:35Maya isn't as weak as she looks.
14:37Claire was framed by her more than once.
14:39Claire's reconciliation file was deleted.
14:41Guest account, Maya had the only access.
14:43Her project photos were replaced.
14:45Surveillance caught Maya at the computer.
14:46The suit, she never asked for help, she came out with scissors.
14:49And the fire escape.
14:51Cameras show Maya went out and wedged the door from outside.
14:55Why didn't you tell me earlier?
14:57I tried.
14:58You didn't listen.
15:03Ryan?
15:04Why are you here so early?
15:05Did Claire?
15:07That night at Claire's apartment,
15:09how did you end up on the fire escape?
15:11Ryan, why are you asking again?
15:13It's all in the past.
15:13I said, explain it.
15:15Maya, this is your last chance.
15:17Did you go out by yourself or did Claire force you out?
15:19Of course she forced me out, Ryan.
15:20You don't believe me?
15:21My father died from Mercer.
15:22Don't use Thomas to pressure me.
15:24Your father paid for company projects,
15:26so I took care of you.
15:27I let you take a role that didn't belong to you.
15:29But that doesn't mean you can step his name
15:31and frame someone else.
15:36Ryan, let me explain.
15:39Explain?
15:40Fine.
15:41Explain.
15:48I...
15:49I was just too cold.
15:51I didn't think it would get that serious.
15:53And the suit?
15:54Was that also because the zipper got stuck?
15:59Say it.
15:59I did it on purpose.
16:01I just couldn't stand her.
16:02Why did she get to stand beside you for seven years?
16:04Why did everyone say she saved the West District?
16:06Why did you still look at her after she came back looking like that?
16:08That suit was old and ugly, but she treasured it.
16:10I just wanted to see whether she could still pretend to be calm
16:12after losing the last thing she had.
16:14Starting today,
16:15every special accommodation you had is canceled.
16:17Your role will be reviewed.
16:19Your apartment will be taken back.
16:20I will report everything to the board.
16:22Ryan, you can't do this to me.
16:24My father gave his life.
16:25If your father were alive, he would be ashamed of you.
16:28I want the legal team to study Claire's non-compot.
16:31Mr. Mercer,
16:32Ms. Morgan's resignation is legal.
16:33You do not have sufficient grounds to stop it.
16:39Ms. Morgan,
16:40you used to be a Mercer person.
16:42How do we know you aren't bringing Mercer's thinking into Apex?
16:45You don't have to trust me,
16:46but you should trust the data.
16:49Your vendor structure is more fragile.
16:51If Arizona doesn't replace the secondary contractor
16:53within 30 days,
16:55there will be a Q3 cash flow gap.
16:57The Portland project's community objection
16:59isn't a PR problem.
17:00Two items are missing from the environmental disclosure.
17:04Carter,
17:05any further questions?
17:06No.
17:07I shut my laptop.
17:09Arthur handed me tomorrow's appointment press release
17:11naming me Apex Grid's West Coast VP,
17:13and I finally believed I'd truly left Mercer.
17:16Up all night,
17:17Ryan stared at my Apex VP news,
17:19stung by the word former.
17:20The internal investigation into Maya has results.
17:22Speak.
17:23IT confirmed guest account abuse.
17:25Camera footage shows she ruined Claire's suit.
17:26Locked in security three days.
17:28Claire's wound infected with 103-year fever.
17:30She needed hospital treatment.
17:32Why didn't anyone tell me?
17:34They did.
17:34The nurse called.
17:35Security sent alerts.
17:37You were with Maya and told me to hold it for now.
17:41Cancel the board meeting.
17:43I'm going to San Francisco.
17:49Ms. Morgan,
17:503 o'clock is the Portland storage project for 4.30.
17:53It is legal check-in 5.
17:58Claire.
17:59Mr. Mercer,
18:00do you have an appointment with Apex?
18:02Claire,
18:02don't be like this.
18:03I know.
18:04I know everything now.
18:05Your transfer requests,
18:06your grandmother Maya.
18:07Claire,
18:07I was wrong.
18:08Come back to New York with me,
18:09okay?
18:10Come back to Mercer.
18:10Whatever title you want,
18:11I'll give it to you.
18:12VP, COO,
18:13board seat,
18:13anything.
18:13We can hold the wedding immediately.
18:14I'll make you public.
18:15I'll tell everyone you were the one who walked with me to where I am today.
18:17Ryan,
18:18I already have a title.
18:19West Coast Operations VP Apex Grid.
18:21It wasn't given by you.
18:22It wasn't handed out by Mercer.
18:23I earned it myself.
18:24I will not return to Mercer.
18:25I will not return to New York.
18:26I will not marry you.
18:27As for you saying you were wrong,
18:28that's your business.
18:29Process it yourself.
18:30You don't need to perform it for me.
18:31Security,
18:32please escort Mr.
18:32Merson out.
18:34Claire,
18:35listen to me.
18:35Just once.
18:36Give me one chance.
18:36Claire,
18:37I really know I was wrong.
18:38I'm begging.
18:44Ryan,
18:44the investigation into Maya has reached compliance.
18:47The board needs an explanation.
18:49I'll come back.
18:56Apex clashed with Mercer sooner than expected.
18:59Mercer's budget delays lost the county's project trust.
19:02So Apex moved to take over,
19:03and Arthur gave the project to me.
19:05You understand Marcel's Western playbook better than anyone.
19:09But if you don't want it,
19:10I can assign someone else.
19:11I'll take it.
19:12Three days later,
19:13my team and I flew to Arizona.
19:14The site was a mess.
19:16Broken fences,
19:17unpaid contractors,
19:17and a hostile county official.
19:20Mercer promised too much and delivered too little.
19:23Why should we trust Apex?
19:25Because I don't plan to promise too much.
19:27First,
19:28replace the original secondary contractor within 20 days.
19:31Second,
19:31complete the environmental disclosure within 30 days.
19:33Third,
19:34restore site work within 60 days.
19:36For each item,
19:37I'll put the responsible person's name
19:38and direct contact in the weekly report.
19:40If we're failed,
19:41you can call me directly.
19:42You used to be with Mercer?
19:44Yes.
19:45Then why did you leave?
19:47Because the things I was capable of doing
19:49were only used by them to consume me.
19:52Then prove it,
19:54Miss Morgan.
19:56I will.
19:58Ryan,
19:59do you know what these mean?
20:01I know.
20:02This is abuse of authority.
20:03Of course you will.
20:04Ryan,
20:04your problem now isn't whether you will cooperate.
20:07It's whether you can keep sitting in the CEO's chair.
20:15Without you,
20:16I couldn't have gotten through today.
20:17Then remember that from now on.
20:26After we locked down the Arizona project,
20:29Apex threw a quiet celebration.
20:31Just pizza,
20:32salad,
20:33and cider in the meeting room.
20:34No fancy frills.
20:36Miss Morgan,
20:37the Arizona site,
20:38nicely done.
20:41I'm sorry for saying you were a Marshall person.
20:43No need to apologize.
20:43If I were you,
20:44I would have been suspicious too.
20:46Then from now on-
20:47We let the data speak.
20:48Deal.
20:49My phone lit up with a Mercer legal email demanding my employment records,
20:53which I ignored.
20:55Not going to read it?
20:56Legal can read it tomorrow.
20:59You've changed quickly.
21:03Not quickly.
21:27Ben handed Maya a dismissal letter demanding subsidy refunds.
21:31All her backers deserted her.
21:33Ryan ignored every call she made.
21:35Soaking wet,
21:36she screamed madly,
21:38receiving the same cold she once gave me.
21:41Ryan watched Maya's calls flash on his phone without picking up.
21:45He realized painfully he'd wasted all his kindness on her,
21:49yet directed every ounce of coldness towards me.
21:58Three months later,
21:59I met Ryan at San Francisco's energy summit while delivering Apex's keynote speech.
22:05Next,
22:06please welcome Claire Morgan,
22:09West Coast Operations VP at Apex Grid.
22:13What I want to talk about today is not a polished success story.
22:16It's how a project was recovered from chaos, delay, and broken trust.
22:19Headquarters can't keep using the most dependable people to carry every failure.
22:22A system's real weakness isn't a lack of accountability.
22:24It's when the most reliable people are consumed without limit.
22:27I bowed slightly up straight and spotted Ryan downstairs with a bloodshot on us.
22:30He didn't clap,
22:31just gazed at me like watching a light he'd lost forever.
22:34That was excellent.
22:36Claire,
22:36can I say a few words to you?
22:40You spoke very well today.
22:43Claire,
22:44I know it's too late for anything I say now,
22:45but I still want to tell you that I truly regret it.
22:48Every day I think,
22:48if only that year I'd let you come back.
22:50If only when your grandmother was critically sick,
22:51I had let you return to New York.
22:52Maya-
22:53Ryan.
22:57Do you know why I don't hate you anymore?
22:58Because I don't have the energy to keep you in my heart anymore.
23:01You made me miss a lot of things.
23:02Seven years.
23:03Grandma,
23:03the headquarters position that should have been mine,
23:05and many futures I once thought I would build with you.
23:07But now I have new work, team,
23:08a new city,
23:09and a new life.
23:10I don't want to keep using you to explain my past,
23:12or use hatred for you to fill my present.
23:14So it isn't that I won't forgive you.
23:16We're done.
23:25Mercer's board suspended Ryan as CEO with vague excuses.
23:29After I left,
23:30its projects,
23:31partners,
23:31and clients all slipped away to Apex.
23:36Miss Morgan,
23:38the Mercer announcement is out.
23:39Got it.
23:40You don't want to finish reading it?
23:41No need.
23:43Ryan,
23:43it looks like he really stepped down.
23:45That was the board's decision.
23:47I never ruined Ryan.
23:49His status rested on my sacrifices,
23:51and crumbled once I left.
23:53He later gave up all privileges to work basic site jobs,
23:57where I once stayed for seven years.
24:00The site office AC failed on Ryan's first day.
24:03He got blisters and fainted of heat stroke days later.
24:07You headquarters people always think the West Division is just an area on a map.
24:11This weather is the worst.
24:12When Claire ran into this before,
24:13she still had to get out herself and check the road.
24:15Herself?
24:16Yeah.
24:17Claire always went herself.
24:18She said headquarters is waiting for the report.
24:20Alone outside the motel that night,
24:22Ryan stared at his wounded hands and cried,
24:25finally realizing how much hardship I'd hidden from him back then.
24:33Two years later,
24:35APEX finished its Western project integration.
24:38Colleagues warmly,
24:39suddenly celebrated as I was promoted to COO after the official appointment.
24:44That night,
24:46I took out my mended Navy suit,
24:48keeping it to remind me of everything I fought to get back.
24:51Then my phone suddenly rang.
24:54Claire,
24:55there's an invitation for a public service project tomorrow.
24:57The theme is workforce rebuilding in Nevada.
24:59You can refuse.
25:00Where is the project?
25:01I'll go.
25:04Claire?
25:05Oh my god,
25:05it really is you.
25:07They finally widened the mountain road.
25:09Mercer changed leadership more times than we could count.
25:11No sorrow or joy.
25:13Seven years shaped me.
25:15At the old sight,
25:16familiar steps made me turn and see Ryan.
25:19Claire.
25:21Mr. Mercer.
25:22Are you doing well?
25:24Very well.
25:25This,
25:26I've always wanted to return it to you.
25:28It isn't mine anymore.
25:29From the first time you denied my transfer request,
25:31it already stopped being mine.
25:32Ryan,
25:32I didn't come back to see you.
25:33I just wanted to see what was left of the place that trapped me back then.
25:36And I did.
25:37It's just a desert.
25:38It isn't my prison anymore.
25:40Claire,
25:40I know you won't forgive me.
25:41Ryan,
25:42it isn't that I won't forgive you.
25:43It's that I don't need to anymore.
25:44I quietly stepped into the car and turned away from the past.
25:48Every gust of desert wind that once chained me drifting far away,
25:51freeing my heart completely.
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