I didn't put my phone down until the sun had set.

Zachary was right. If I had accepted his invitation to start a business with him overseas back then, I would have already been quite successful by now, if not thriving.

But yet, for the past ten years, I turned down countless offers from big companies, taking the lowest pay while doing the most work in this small company, all for the sake of keeping Irene company. It had been a complete waste of my youth.

And now, I was finally tired of it all. I wanted to just live for myself.

After reaching home, I hurriedly packed up my bags and belongings.

Actually, aside from a few personal items, I didn't own anything else in the house. In fact, I felt like I was a guest in my own home.

Irene had locked up all of the valuables in the house—from the safe containing her fine jewelry to her wardrobe full of formal wear. She was so guarded against me, it was as if I were a thief.

I caught sight of a game console tucked away at the very bottom of the desk drawer.

It was something that both Irene and I had bought in the early days of our company. We'd made quite a lot of money back then, and in a moment of excitement, I decided to buy this game console for myself as a reward.

However, after only playing it a few times, Irene said that I was wasting my time and, in turn, doing a terrible job at the company. If she said that I wasn't allowed to play it, I didn't even dare to ask permission for it anymore.

In my eyes, her orders were absolute and not to be contested. But now, I wasn't going to be treating her words like the gospel anymore.

I retrieved the game console and turned it on. The screen lit up, to my surprise. It was still functioning very well.

After playing for a couple of rounds, controlling my character to run around in the game and battle a few "villains", I realized that I never felt any of the excitement I used to feel for this same game I played in the past anymore.

It was just like my relationship with Irene. There was no going back to how things used to be in the past.

I put the slightly dusty game console back inside the desk drawer where I'd found it. When I looked up at my phone screen again, I realized that it was already past midnight.

I had been so used to working overtime until this late at the office for so many years that I wasn't even feeling sleepy yet. However, I had to catch a flight tomorrow, so I decided that I had to get some rest.

After washing up, I lay in bed and scrolled for a while on my phone. I happened to see Cody's latest Instagram stories just then.

He had posted a photo of Irene sleeping peacefully next to him in his hospital bed. His caption read, "I just told my boss I wasn't feeling well, and she immediately came to look after me. Are y'all jealous of me yet?"

I snorted coldly.

He sure wasn't wasting a single opportunity to flaunt his close relationship with Irene. And from the looks of things, I figured that she would be staying the night at the hospital tonight and not come back anymore.

I put my phone on the bedside table and finally closed my eyes to go to sleep.

I fell into a deep sleep in almost no time. However, around 3:00 am or so, I was suddenly rudely awakened by the sound of the front door slamming open.

One second later, Irene's voice was heard throughout the house.

"Sebastian! I'm ravenous! Make me some supper!"

In the past, I would always stay up late and wait for her to get home every night, no matter how late it was. I would always have some sort of supper waiting for her, along with a warm cup of hot cocoa, waiting on her hand and foot until she finally went to bed.

But today, I just got out of bed and locked my bedroom door to stop Irene from disturbing me.

I thought that it was a little strange, however. Every time Cody got "ill" and had to be hospitalized, she would always stay at the hospital for the entirety of the night without ever coming back.

The first time she didn't return home, I'd gotten so worried about her because I thought she'd been involved in a car accident.

After getting the local police to help locate her, they found her at Cody's house instead, taking care of him because he had a fever, cooking and cleaning for him. Back then, I'd even gotten an earful from Irene for being over-controlling of her life and suffocating her.

When I snapped back to my senses, I heard her pounding against the locked door, exclaiming in confusion, "Why did you lock the door? Didn't you hear what I said? I'm starving!

"Don't tell me that you went to bed without waiting for me! You were never like this in the past. What the hell is wrong with you, Sebastian Hart?"

Irene used to think that I only stayed up late at night waiting for her because I hadn't been working hard at the office and therefore wasn't able to sleep at night. So, she would coldly tell me to focus more on working hard instead.

But now that I was ignoring her at night, she was still as unhappy and unsatisfied as ever.

She was just so hard to please.

I rolled over, frowning as I pulled the covers over my head.

Still, she continued pounding on the door. Her voice softened as she said in a helpless manner, "I know that you're still mad at me, but I'm back now, aren't I?

"Excuse me, Mr. Sebastian Hart, but I'm really starving and ravenous. Why isn't there anything edible in the fridge?"

I ignored her again.

Her voice grew more and more frustrated as she began threatening me next.

"Sebastian! If you keep this up, I'm leaving now!"

I used to be the most afraid of Irene leaving. She also knew that it was my biggest weakness and often used it against me so that I would relent and immediately give in to her wishes, begging her not to least.

But all I wanted now was for her to shut up and stop disturbing me while I was trying to sleep.

I felt for the noise-cancelling earplugs in the bedside table drawer and fell back asleep once more.

…

I woke up very early the next morning, but my head was as clear as the day.

I heard some rustling sounds in the living room and went out cautiously before realizing that it was Irene.

She was ironing a shirt, her lips slightly pursed, with a serious look on her face.

I was confused. Why wasn't she at the hospital taking care of Cody?

She seemed to have sensed my eyes on her and looked up. Then, she walked over to me with the white shirt she'd just ironed and held it up to me before nodding in approval and saying, "It's pretty befitting. Makes you look a lot more alert than usual."

I looked at the clothing label and saw that it was from a luxury brand that she often bought her clothes from.

A second later, she turned around and shook the sleeves of the shirts, muttering, "Your physique is about the same as Cody's. If you look alright in it, I bet he looks even more stunning in it. I really do have a good eye for things after all.

"But why is it still so wrinkly after lying around for just a few days? I've been trying to get the creases out of it since forever. This won't do…"

Then, she suddenly turned around as if she'd just thought about something and beckoned toward me with her fingers.

"You. You often do the ironing in the house, don't you? Iron this shirt."

I sneered coldly in my heart.

I knew it. Irene couldn't possibly even be thinking of trying to win me back. She only had eyes for Cody and Cody alone, after all.

I shook my head, rejecting her.

She didn't seem surprised. She just pouted and said, "I knew you'd refuse to do it. What a petty loser. Whatever. Cody wouldn't mind as long as I gave it my best shot."

She then glanced at the watch on her wrist and exclaimed in shock.

"Shit! It's almost his breakfast time!"

Then, she hurriedly brought out a gift box and carefully folded the shirt before boxing it up nicely.

I had more important things to do than to argue with her.

I went back into my room and nudged the divorce agreement toward her.

"Sign this before you leave."

She didn't even glance at it as she continued carefully ruffling the ribbons on the gift box to make it look prettier. Her head was bowed as she casually said, "We'll talk about whatever documents it is another day. I'm busy. I need to go back to the hospital to take care of Cody."

I stopped her from leaving and handed the divorce agreement to her.

"It won't take a single minute of your time."

She frowned before finally taking a look at the document in my hands. Then, her eyes narrowed at once.

However, she seemed to think of something immediately, and a look of frustration crossed her face. She yelled at me instead.

"Sebastian! Did you think you could walk all over my head just because I was being nice to you last night?

"All I did was eat one single bite of Cody's cake, and you ended up being just a petty, jealous loser that you're even divorcing me over it?

"How could you still be so petty and immature even after so many years?"

I shook my head and continued nudging it toward Irene. I stated, "Just sign the divorce papers. You'd be able to make it official with Cody once I'm gone anyway. Isn't that so?"

"Sebastian!"

Irene was really enraged this time. She snatched the papers from me and tore them into pieces.

"I already told you that there is nothing going on between Cody and me! Do you not understand a single word I said?

"I'm telling you, if you dare to make another huge fuss about this again, the celebration party will be called off, and you can firmly say goodbye to all your promotions and raises next time!"

Then, she turned on her heels and left without another word, without giving me a chance to speak.

I clicked my tongue impatiently.

Since things had turned out like this, I decided that perhaps I should just hand in my resignation first.

I turned on my phone, and countless text messages immediately popped up on Slack.

"Mr. Hart! Why aren't you putting in any overtime for Christmas? Do you know what time it is? Why aren't you at the office yet?"

"Wow, Seb, has the sun risen in the west today? This is the first time I'm seeing you not at your desk early in the morning. Have you already stopped being a workaholic?"

I didn't reply to a single text message.

I first handed in my resignation to the HR department before contacting a lawyer to have the share transfer agreement notarized.

I kept my word and gave the shares to Cody as their wedding gift. I wasn't going to go back on my word.

However, just a short while later, I received a notice that my resignation had been rejected.

I called up the HR representative, and they simply said helplessly, "We're sorry, Mr. Hart, but it was Ms. Owens herself who rejected your resignation. There's nothing else we can do about it.

"Also, this is Ms. Owen's location. She wants you to see her there if you have any questions."

As expected, it was the private restaurant that she and Cody often went to.

By the time I arrived, the atmosphere was cheery and lively, bustling with activity.

"Mr. Harrington! You're such a young and promising lad, and the company's future is going to depend on your leadership!"

"Mr. Harrington, please accept my best wishes for you and Ms. Owens. I hope you'll both be taking your relationship to the next level real soon!"

I frowned hard and pushed open the door to the private dining room.

Everyone in the room was leaning toward and crowding around Cody, who was sitting at the head of the table.

He was wearing the white shirt Irene brought him this morning, and he looked every bit the professional. The work tag bearing the title of "Department Manager" was also already pinned to his chest, where it was prominently on display.

As soon as the people caught sight of me at the door, the clinking of glasses in the room ceased, as if time had suddenly stood still.

Cody stood up first, breaking the tension.

He went up to me and tugged me into the room by my arms like we were best buddies, smiling as he said, "Sebastian! Why are you only here now? I've been waiting for you. Hurry up and take a seat!"

I chuckled mockingly and flung his hands off.

What was the point of taking a seat? They were already done eating, with only bones and leftovers left. Did he think I was a beggar or something?

Meanwhile, Irene, who had been sitting straight in the corner ever since I appeared, finally moved. She shielded Cody behind her and crossed her arms over her chest, scoffing coldly in my face.

"Didn't somebody threaten to resign just a while ago? Why did you come all the way here now to join in the company's team-building activity instead?"

I took a look around the room.

Almost everyone notable was there. They were all people whom I knew well, and yet, not a single one of them had informed me about this "team-building" activity.

They all looked awkward and embarrassed, and none of them dared to look me in the eye.

I didn't even have to use my brain to know that this had to be all Irene's doing. She had to have told them not to inform me of this, afraid that I'd throw a tantrum and make a huge fuss about it.

Also, what kind of team-building was this anyway? It was obviously a celebration for Cody's promotion instead.

Irene kept her chin high as she snorted and said haughtily, "I don't think you're suited to be a department manager at all, Sebastian Hart. You're way above your league.

"You're too impetuous. You should start all over again as an intern from now on."

With the CEO of the company speaking to me that way, the other colleagues immediately and naturally understood the implication and quickly chimed in with their support.