After I returned to my company the next day, I sat at my station and started to print out my resignation letter.

Liam and I met and fell in love in university. He later started working at a technology company, and I followed him to that same company. I refused my parents' arrangements for me and started working with him from the bottom of the hierarchy.

After I got together with him, I'd also previously hinted at marriage. However, Liam was busy with work and always insisted that he hadn't successfully carved out a career for himself yet.

He said that he was afraid my parents wouldn't be willing to let me, their beloved daughter, marry him. He'd always told me that he wanted to establish a career before starting a family.

In order to avoid burdening him, I had no choice but to tactfully convince my parents not to mention anything about our family background to him. I was afraid that revealing anything about my family origins would put even more pressure on him.

Now, he had become the vice president of the company. The moment I found the ring in his pocket, I'd been expecting him to finally make the decision to propose to me. In the end, it'd all been wishful thinking on my part.

A colleague of mine, Lina Lindsey, walked over and saw the resignation letter on my computer screen.

"Were you not going to be promoted to technical director soon, Michelle? Why are you resigning all of a sudden?" she asked, looking slightly shocked.

I smiled and replied, "I'm going to get married soon. When that time comes, I may switch over to another company."

Lina smiled in return and congratulated me. "Why have there been so many good things happening around our company recently? I also saw Mr. Sherman's post about him getting engaged last night!

"I must say, Mr. Sherman and his girlfriend really are a good match. Apparently, they were also childhood friends who grew up together, and they had mutual crushes on each other."

I suddenly struggled to keep the smile on my face. I used my phone to check and realized that Liam had blocked me on both his main and alt accounts long ago.

Liam's main account was his personal one, and he'd blocked me on it after leaving the apartment last night.

On the other hand, he used his alt account as a business account. When I looked through our private messages, I saw that the only chat history left consisted of some ordinary messages between a superior and his subordinate.

At that moment, Liam walked into the office with Vivi in tow. The two of them stood closely to each other.

Vivi had a rosy complexion and a bright smile on her face, not at all like a sick person.

Liam then introduced her to everyone. "This is the company's new technical director, Vivi Johansen. Let's all get to know each other and work together in harmony from now on."

Lina was stunned. She looked between me and Vivi, then eventually greeted Vivi with a wave. "Hello, Ms. Johansen!"

I didn't say anything, my hands clenching tightly around my resignation letter.

Liam looked at me in displeasure. "Everyone else has already greeted the new technical director, Michelle Southwell. What kind of attitude is that?"

Vivi chuckled and extended a hand. "We'll be working in the same company in the future, so please take good care of me."

Just as I was about to reach my hand out, Liam pulled Vivi's hand back. "You're the technical director. There's no need to care about the feelings of some low-level employee. Let's go. I'll help you familiarize yourself with this new environment."

The two of them then left, leaving me standing where I was with my hand outstretched, looking like a clown.

Lina sat me down and started gossiping with me at our workstation. "You saw her, right, Michelle? That woman just now is Mr. Sherman's fiancée!

"You know the diamond necklace she's wearing on her neck? Mr. Sherman gave it to her yesterday. It's apparently worth hundreds of thousands of dollars!

"Still, Mr. Sherman's being way too obvious with his nepotism! You've been with the company for five years, and your work capabilities are obvious to everyone. Despite this, he actually gave the position that should've belonged to you to someone else just like that!"

I nodded absentmindedly. I'd been planning to resign anyway, so Vivi's sudden promotion today simply made me even more aware of just where I stood in Liam's eyes.

...

I knocked on Liam's office door with some documents and my resignation letter in hand.

"Enter," Liam said coldly.

I placed everything down on his desk, including the documents I would need to hand over after my resignation.

As Liam flipped through those documents, his expression grew darker and darker. Eventually, he lifted his head and stared at me with a contemptuous smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

He said, "Yesterday, I thought you'd mended your ways and would no longer throw tantrums willy-nilly, Michelle. But you're showing your true colors today, aren't you?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he threw the documents at me, harshly and without warning.

I dodged, then lowered my head and picked up the documents on the floor one by one.

He continued, "She just robbed you of your promotion, that's all! Vivi majored in the same field as me. I gave her the position of technical director because I believed in her capabilities. What right do you have to lose your temper?"

I neatly stacked up the documents, placed them in front of him, then replied calmly, "I'm not throwing a tantrum. I simply want to resign."

So, Liam understood Vivi's capabilities because she'd majored in the same field of study as him. What about me then?

I majored in jewelry design back in university, but chose to double-major in another field for Liam's sake. For so many years, I worked day and night to catch up to him. Yet, it turned out that my efforts were completely worthless in his eyes.

Liam glared condescendingly at me. "Shouldn't you be aware of your own capabilities? I've already assigned you under Vivi, so you can watch and learn from her in the future."

I smiled. "My time is incredibly valuable too. I won't learn about something I won't enjoy ever again."

"Fine! Go ahead and leave! Let's see what company will hire you in the future!" Liam snapped.

As he spoke, he rose from his office chair and glared at me like a vengeful demon. I simply turned and left his office.

I'd considered the six years I'd spent with him as an act of compassion toward a stray I'd picked up off the streets. However, I would never let my world revolve around him again, especially not when he wanted me to let Vivi into that orbit.

At noon, I returned to my workstation, ready to move everything out.

Liam was the one who'd given me the asteroid ornament on my desk. He'd even sworn sincerely that I was his entire world back then.

I smiled self-deprecatingly as I looked at the ornament. In the end, I still took it with me.

Just as I was about to leave with the box of my belongings in my arms, Vivi suddenly walked into the office, looking anxious.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I seem to have lost the necklace I was wearing today. Could I please ask all of you to cooperate for a routine inspection?" she asked.

Everyone else in the office started whispering to each other.

"I saw Ms. Johansen's necklace when I arrived today! The diamond on the necklace was huge! It was so bright and shiny too!"

"I think Ms. Johansen actually worded things too nicely. Someone definitely got greedy at the sight of that diamond necklace and stole it!"

"Oh my goodness! There's actually a thief in our office! I was wondering why the biscuits and snacks on my desk were always going missing!"

Liam was by Vivi's side. He ordered the security guards to block the door, then started searching everyone one by one.

When it was my turn, I put down the box and cooperated with his inspection.

He evidently noticed the asteroid ornament on top of the other items at a glance. After a moment's pause, he still asked someone to empty out the contents of my box.

The contents fell to the floor with a ringing clatter. The ornament was completely smashed and became little more than trash, just like our six-year relationship. The moment cracks formed in it, there was no fixing it.

As several security guards rummaged around on the floor, Vivi suddenly exclaimed in shock, "My necklace!"

Everyone in the office was attracted by the sound of her exclamation. Their gazes landed on me, and their accusations rang out unceasingly behind my back.

"Oh my goodness! Michelle actually stole the new director's necklace! If Mr. Sherman hadn't instructed people to seal off the office, she'd probably have long gotten away with the necklace!"

"I honestly didn't think Michelle was that kind of person! You really can't judge a book by its cover. It's just because the new director swooped in out of nowhere and stole her promotion, right? She's so petty!"

"Damn, Michelle's way too petty. I didn't expect her to be a thief. It's fortunate she's already resigned or I'd be a little afraid of being in the same room as her!"

I turned pale. I definitely hadn't touched Vivi's necklace. Someone must have tampered with my belongings when I was handing in my resignation.

Liam looked ashen as he picked up the diamond necklace from among the assorted items on the floor. He held the necklace with an expression that seemed to say he was extremely disappointed toward me. "Michelle Southwell!"

As he shouted my name in rage, I looked down to see that he'd trampled my belongings underfoot. He even stomped forcefully on the broken fragments of the asteroid ornament.

Just as I lifted my head, he slapped me without giving me any chance to explain. "Apologize to Vivi! Why did you have to steal the necklace I gave her?"

At that moment, I completely gave up on him.

He held in hand a necklace he'd given to Vivi, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars; crushed under his feet was a cheap ornament worth less than a fraction of the necklace's value.

For an instant, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Being misunderstood by my colleagues hurt less than that slap I'd received from Liam, the person I'd been with for six years. He actually didn't believe me.

Seeing that I wasn't saying anything, he dragged me over to Vivi as if he was taking the trash to the incinerator and said harshly, "I told you to apologize! Explain why you stole the necklace."

A hint of smugness flashed through Vivi's eyes. Soon, though, she pretended to frown and reach out to help me up from the cold floor.

I waved her away, gathered the last bit of stubbornness I could muster, and got up from the floor.

Although my eyes were blurry with tears, I kept my back straight. "I didn't take it! There are surveillance cameras in the office! I request to bring up the surveillance footage to prove my innocence!

Then, I stared into Vivi's eyes and enunciated word by word, "Also, a mere diamond necklace like that isn't even worth my attention!'