“Zion, what’s going on with you? Didn’t I tell you Hayden doesn’t eat spicy food? What is this you bought? A McSpicy Chicken Burger?

Haven’t we already reached an understanding? I’m only having this child for him, so why are you being so petty?

“I didn’t expect you to be so narrow-minded, unable to even accept a child. Besides, I already said we won’t be raising the child ourselves. What exactly are you being difficult about?”

Listening to her talk really makes me laugh, truly shameless. “Jasmine, don’t you feel ashamed saying those things? Do you think you’re some kind of surrogate, just casually having a baby for someone else? Moreover, now everyone at the company knows you’re pregnant out of wedlock and carrying another man’s child. How do you think the people at work see me? And how do you think they see you?”

“Forget it. I can’t afford to lose face over this. We’re breaking up. From now on, you can have babies for whoever you want. It has nothing to do with me.”

When Jasmine heard me say “break up,” she froze. She probably never expected me to say those words, since I had always been the one revolving around her before. How could I possibly say break up?

“Zion, don’t be stubborn,” she said. “I know this process is a bit long. After the baby is born, Hayden and I will live together with the child. Once the child is a bit older, we’ll let Hayden take over.”

Hearing her say this only made me find her more ridiculous. I smiled and said, “Forget it, this is too much for you. Let’s break up. You can settle down with Hayden and have as many kids as you want.”

After I said that, I turned and left her office. As I walked away, I heard her shout after me, “Zion, don’t regret this!”

Meanwhile, Hayden comforted her, “Jasmine, don’t be angry, don’t upset the baby. Didn’t I tell you not to fall in love or get married? Look how he treats you even though you’re pregnant. He doesn’t cherish you at all. Who knows how he’ll treat you after marriage!”

Fortunately, it was still early and there was no one else in the office lobby. Otherwise, I would have wanted to find a hole to crawl into and disappear.

After the annual company meeting, I probably became the laughing stock of the entire company. Honestly, continuing to work here no longer made much sense to me.

This was Jasmine’s family company. I had originally joined Fletcher Group through campus recruitment.

Jasmine was impressed by my academic achievements and after joining the Fletcher Group, I didn’t let her down. I was competent at my job.

At work, I helped Jasmine quite a bit, so she promoted me continuously. I rose through the ranks quickly, but I also received plenty of sideways looks from others.

Over time, we went from being colleagues to lovers.

Even though my coworkers called me a “kept man,” saying I climbed the ladder because of Jasmine, I never minded. After all, they didn’t understand. They didn’t know about the relationship between Jasmine and me.

Actually, I always thought my relationship with Jasmine was pretty good. All the changes came after her childhood friend Hayden started working at our company.

Since Hayden joined, Jasmine always brought him along for work matters and stopped consulting me. Her reason was that Hayden had studied abroad, was more experienced and had better ideas, so he could help her more at work.

This time, with everything that happened, it was inevitable people would gossip, so I decided to resign.

When I handed in my resignation to the HR department, I was even mocked a little.

“Zion, are you sure about quitting?” Zara from HR asked me.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“You’ve only been with Fletcher Group for a short time. Getting to your current position so quickly is impressive. If you leave Fletcher Group, you probably won’t amount to much. You really don’t know how good you have it.”

Zara was Jasmine’s close friend, so of course she would defend her. I expected that.

“It’s fine. I am capable at work and it’s not like I won’t find another job after leaving Fletcher Group. Thanks for your concern!” I didn’t take her words too seriously.

“Zion, how can you be such a narrow-minded man? Jasmine is pregnant and you keep arguing with her, making her upset. Besides, didn’t Jasmine say she will marry you? Being able to marry Jasmine is your good fortune and yet you don’t cherish it,” Zara started lecturing me.

I slightly laughed. “I’m not worthy of such happiness. I can’t bear it. I’m giving way to Hayden to make things easier for them. Isn’t that great? This way, her child can grow up in a normal family. What’s wrong with that?” I said with a smile.

“I’m just trying to look out for you. With your education and experience, where else can you find a job as good as Fletcher Group? And if you marry Jasmine in the future, the Fletcher Group will belong to both of you. Isn’t that enough?”

I never cared about Jasmine’s family background. Being with her wasn’t about money. After all, I was not some gold digger like others say.

Honestly, I knew most of the disdain her friends had toward me came from her own mindset. Deep down, she probably never truly respected me, which was why her friends treated me that way.

Looking back, in those past few years with her, I had been like a loyal dog, always around her every day. When she said east, I wouldn’t go west. If she said the earth was square, I wouldn’t say it was round. But was it worth it?

“You say it so lightly. Hopefully, if one day your boyfriend brings home a child he had with another woman, you’ll think the same way.”

I threw the resignation letter onto her desk and turned to leave.

I tidied up my things at my desk and at the end of the day, I took some personal belongings with me.

As I was strolling outside the company building, the weather suddenly changed and it started to rain. I didn’t have an umbrella and got soaked by the unexpected downpour.

I quickly ran a few steps, then suddenly felt the rain being blocked.

I looked back and saw my colleague Yara holding an umbrella for me.

“Thank you!” I said politely.

Yara looked at me and smiled.

Her smile was bright and radiant. Every time I saw her smile, it made me feel warm and comfortable.

Yara smiled and said, “Zion, I like you. Will you be with me?”

“Huh?” I was momentarily stunned and didn’t respond immediately.

Then I said, “I like you too!”

Yara and I were actually college classmates, so we were quite familiar with each other. She’s a really nice person—kind-hearted and like a little sunshine, always giving people a warm feeling.

Whenever I made mistakes at work and got scolded by Jasmine, Yara would comfort me and help me fix those errors to meet Jasmine’s standards.

I often saw her feeding stray cats in the company garden downstairs, so I’d always thought she was a very caring girl.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll take that as a yes! Come on, my boyfriend!” Yara said as she leaned closer to me, holding the umbrella with one hand and linking her arm with mine, walking alongside me.

“I’ve actually liked you for a long time, but I knew before that your eyes were only on Jasmine, never giving any other woman a glance. Now it’s different. She’s done such terrible things and doesn’t deserve you. She’s the one without the blessing. I don’t want to see you get hurt anymore,” Yara said as we walked.

I was about to say something, but Yara interrupted me.

“You don’t need to say anything. I won’t give you a chance to regret this! I don’t mind if your heart still belongs to her right now. I believe it’s only a matter of time.”

After I saw Yara home, I went back to Jasmine’s place to pack my things. It was time to leave.

I had lived there for quite a while, but as I packed up to leave, I realized that very little in that house actually belonged to me.

Even the style of clothes in my wardrobe was almost identical to Hayden’s. So, I didn’t take anything with me. I just left.

I returned to my own apartment, took a hot shower and just as I was about to lie down and sleep, I received a message from Jasmine.

[Meet me at the Wisteria Club at 8 a.m. tomorrow.]

Wisteria was a high-end local club, the kind that only VIPs can enter. Jasmine used to go there for business talks, always bringing Hayden with her. I once protested about it, but every time, I was met with her rolling eyes.

Her reason was always the same: Hayden had a higher degree than me, was an overseas returnee, spoke better and was great at charming those wealthy socialites. She’d ask, “What could you possibly do if I brought you along?”

Today, I didn’t know what she was thinking. Why did he suddenly insist on bringing me along? But honestly, I didn’t want to go with her anymore.

The next day, I ended up at Wisteria too, not because I wanted to accompany Jasmine, but because I also happened to receive an invitation.

When I arrived, Mr. Zander, who had invited me, hadn’t shown up yet.

A few minutes later, Jasmine arrived, still with Hayden. Since she brought Hayden, why did she ask me to come yesterday?

“Zion, if it weren’t for Mr. Zander specifically asking for you, I wouldn’t have bothered to bring you. Make sure you’re smart about this and help me close the deal,” Jasmine said as soon as she spoke.

Right after her words, Mr. Zander arrived.

“Haha, sorry, I’m late, I’m late.”

“No, Mr. Zander, you’re just in time. We got here early,” Jasmine replied.

Mr. Zander glanced up and saw Jasmine holding hands with Hayden.

“You two got some good news?” Mr. Zander asked with a smile. “I always thought you two made a good match.”

“No, Jasmine and I are just…” Hayden started to say, but Jasmine interrupted him.

“That’s right, Mr. Zander, you’ve got a great eye! We’re together now and I’m already expecting a baby,” Jasmine said shamelessly with a smile.

“Haha, congratulations to you both! Don’t forget to invite me to the wedding party!” Mr. Zander chuckled.

“Thank you, Mr. Zander!” Jasmine replied.

After their friendly exchange, I politely greeted Mr. Zander.

“Yeah, long time no see! Have a seat, let’s chat!” he said warmly.

Under Mr. Zander’s invitation, we all took our seats one by one.

“Mr. Zander, here is our company’s proposal for this cooperation,” Jasmine handed over the materials.

“Zion, why don’t you explain it to me?” Mr. Zander looked at me.

“Mr. Zander, this isn’t really convenient right now. If you want to discuss work, maybe we should arrange another time,” I quickly declined.

“Zion, what are you saying? Mr. Zander asking you to explain means he respects you! Don’t cause trouble now!” Jasmine whispered sharply in my ear.

Mr. Zander looked puzzled and asked, “Zion, what do you mean by that?”

“Mr. Zander, perhaps you don’t know, but I’ve already resigned. I’m no longer an employee of Fletcher Group, so I’m not in a position to be involved in Fletcher Group’s business,” I explained calmly.

“Oh? In that case, I’ll have to reconsider this cooperation,” Mr. Zander said immediately after hearing that I had resigned, clearly reconsidering his willingness to work with Fletcher Group.

“No, no, Mr. Zander, he’s talking nonsense. I haven’t even signed his resignation yet!” Jasmine quickly contradicted me as she saw Mr. Zander about to leave.

“Sort out your own matters, don’t waste my time.” Mr. Zander said angrily, then turned to me and asked, “Are you interested in working at my company? I want to hire you!”

“Thank you, Mr. Zander, but I want to take some time to rest first.” I declined his offer.

“Alright, think it over. You can come find me at the company anytime. I’m leaving now.” Mr. Zander said and left.

Only Jasmine and Hayden were left, staring at me fiercely.

“Zion! Are you serious or not?” Jasmine angrily asked.

“I’m just stating the facts. What’s wrong with that?” I replied calmly.

“You know how important this deal with Mr. Zander is to me and Fletcher Group, yet you had to tell him you resigned and caused me to lose this deal. Isn’t this taking revenge?” She said, then slapped me hard across the face, making stars burst before my eyes.