On the day Serena's company went public, she announced her engagement to her assistant, Hugo Snow.

Meanwhile, I, her husband who had quietly stayed by her side for four years, watched as Hugo walked up to the press conference stage.

"None of this would have been possible without Hugo's support," Serena stated.

"I thank you all for trusting Serena. From now on, the two of us will be completing this project together, hand in hand," Hugo added.

As I listened to the crowd shower them with congratulations, my clenched fist slowly loosened.

It was finally time for me to let go of this four-year marriage.

Once I got home, I made a phone call.

"I didn't expect you to accept my offer. If you come to my company, I'll give you the best benefits and pay in the whole company!"

"I will join your company once I settle everything over here, Mr. Richman."

Just as I ended the call, Serena came home.

"Who were you talking with?"

"The technical team had some issues, so they called me to troubleshoot," I said, making a random excuse.

She put down her bag, and the diamond ring on her finger glinted brightly. That was the ring that Hugo gave her at the press conference.

In the four years I'd been married to Serena, she'd never once worn the wedding ring that I gave her. She told me that she was allergic to metal and that she couldn't wear any accessories.

But now, she was wearing the cheap engagement ring that Hugo gave her.

"Why did you leave the press conference early? A lot of investors asked me a lot of technical questions. Were you trying to embarrass me?"

"I saw you were handling things just fine at the press conference, so I figured you didn't need me there."

When she heard me talk about the press conference, she looked somewhat self-conscious for a second.

"You announced your engagement to Hugo, so what does that leave me as your legal husband?" I coldly asked.

"The company just went public, so we need capital. Lots of it. If we announce an engagement, that's going to attract publicity and investors along with it, who can invest in our project!"

I didn't say anything in rebuttal.

Investors had already been approaching Serena for partnerships a month ago.

Now she was using the project as an excuse, knowing full well it was the result of my hard work and research, and that I wouldn’t say anything.

Serena thought that I was still angry. As she sat down next to me on the sofa, I smelled the distinct scent of cedarwood wafting off her.

That smell was only something I'd only smelled before on Hugo.

I glanced at Serena, catching sight of the faint red marks on her neck.

Feeling guilty under my gaze, she carefully adjusted her half-turtleneck sweater.

"Look, here are all the partnership proposals that investors gave me tonight. Hugo's capable, so I'm planning on letting him be in charge of this project. All you need to do is focus on the technical stuff, alright?"

Serena thought I would be happy about the proposals, but I simply said, "Since Hugo's so capable, why not let him deal with the technical aspects of the project too?"

Serena's expression twisted.

"Elio, you'd better learn to separate your private feelings from your work. There's a line to acting petty! You want Hugo handling the technical side just to make things difficult for him!

"Since when did you become so petty, Elio?"

She thought I was simply jealous because of what happened at the press conference, acting upset with her like I used to.

Then, she glared at me, before ordering me around like she used to in the past.

"Go run my bath and give me a massage later."

Whenever she returned from business dinners in the past, I would always prepare her bath and massage her to help her relax. In her eyes, I was nothing more than a male nanny.

Four years of love still couldn’t compare to an assistant she had hired only three months ago.

"I'm tired. If you want to take a bath, go do it yourself."

When I refused her orders without a second thought, a flicker of disbelief flashed across her face.

"Elio, are you really throwing a tantrum with me over something so minor? I did all of this for the company, for our future!

"Don't you hear me speaking to you? Have you gone deaf?!"

Serena continued to scream from the sofa, but I'd already returned to the bedroom to rest.

-

Probably trying to get back at me for what I did, Serena didn't return to our bedroom at all the entire night.

The next morning, I made a two-person breakfast like I always did.

To my surprise, she offered to drive me to work with her.

Ever since we got married, she had never made our relationship public, insisting that business and personal matters remain separate at the company.

Even when we left home for work in the morning, she had never once let me ride in the same car with her.

I didn’t refuse.

I thought that this unnatural act of her fetching me to work was because of how coldly I treated her last night, but the car had only been on the road for ten minutes before it stopped. There outside the window was Hugo, standing there and waving.

After Serena parked the car steadily, Hugo opened the door and sat in the front passenger seat.

"Why is Mr. Goodman here too today?"

I glanced at Hugo, catching the provoking glint in his eyes.

"Serena fetches me every day, and this is the first time I've ever seen you on here, Mr. Goodman."

So Serena had been fetching him to work every day.

During the rainy season this year, with several consecutive days of heavy rain, I went to Serena's office to ask her if she could fetch me home after work because I couldn't get a ride.

She immediately scolded me harshly right then and there, telling me to remember that personal matters weren’t to be discussed at work. If I couldn’t get a car, then I could walk home.

Later, I saw Hugo get in her car.

She was willing to go the long way to send Hugo home, but wasn't willing to fetch me home with her during a rainstorm.

"Hugo doesn't have a car, and he lives far from the company, so I'm only giving him a ride on the way to work," Serena explained.

"Mhm. Mr. Snow's capable enough to warrant this kind of treatment, I'm sure."

When he heard my words, Hugo turned around and looked at me with a smug expression.

"Serena wanted to assign me a car, but I turned her down because I'm not all that good at driving. You don't mind that she fetches me to and from work, right?"

Serena replied before I could: "It's just fetching you to and from work. He doesn't care about small matters like these."

I retracted my gaze from outside the window, turning to meet Hugo's gleeful gaze.

I only replied with a soft "mhm", not bothering to elaborate further.

Serena was clearly displeased by my attitude, and she took one glance at the office building before ordering me with an aggravated tone, "Once I turn that corner, get out of the car. It's not far from the company anyway, so walk the rest of the way yourself."

Serena disliked the notion of having our colleagues find out about our relationship more than anything, so even if she brought me to work out of the blue today, she was still unwilling for others to see her doing so.

"We're almost at the company, so why don't you let Mr. Goodman get off with us at the company?"

Just one sentence from Hugo was enough to make Serena change her opinion.

"Fine, then you can get off at the parking lot with us, Elio."

With Hugo also in the car today, even if company employees saw me there, they probably wouldn't think much of it. They'd simply assume the two of them were kind enough to give me a ride.

I did not pay attention to whatever Serena and Hugo were saying. I only wanted to get to the office quickly and figure out a way to get HR to approve my resignation.

Hugo and I got out of Serena's car one after another.

It was the morning rush hour, and several colleagues looked our way, but all the colleagues were focused on was how Serena and Hugo walked into the office, hand in hand.

Last month, the company had recruited several interns, but once the project ended, only two of them would be kept on.

I slipped my resignation letter in together with the interns’ termination notices.

The HR manager simply assumed I was helping deliver paperwork for the interns. Without even glancing through the documents, he signed them immediately.

After signing, he even praised me a little.

"You and Mr. Snow are Ms. Lockhart's greatest helpers!"

I smiled, not saying much more.

-

The moment I arrived at my office, I received a message from Serena.

It was a screenshot of two movie tickets.

I knew this was Serena trying to make peace with me.

After all, she understood perfectly well that the company’s future project collaborations still depended on the chip technology I had developed.

"We haven't watched a movie in ages. Let's go see one tonight."

I thought about it for a bit, before replying, "There isn’t much going on in the project department tonight, so I can head over after work. I’ll wait for you near the cinema."

This was as good a chance as any to talk with her about our divorce, after all.

After work, I saw Hugo getting into Serena’s car yet again.

A few minutes later, I received another message from Serena.

"I've got business to deal with, so wait for me at the cinema."

I didn't wait.

I immediately headed to a lawyer firm, discussing with a lawyer to draft a divorce agreement.

By the time I returned to the cinema area, the movie had already been playing for half its runtime.

I had never liked the romance films Serena chose. Every time, I only forced myself to sit through them to accommodate her.

So I simply bought a ticket for another showing. After the movie ended, I grabbed dinner before heading home.

While I scrolled through my feed, I saw a picture posted by Hugo.

The background showed a posh restaurant, complete with steak, red wine, and two people clasping hands tightly together.

Even though the photo only showed their hands, I immediately recognized that they belonged to him and Serena.

The caption said: Only people who love each other in a relationship will be blessed by others. Thank you for the gift, baby.

Not long after I got home, Serena returned as well.

"I specially bought you a tie. See if you like it."

Every time Serena broke a promise, she would casually buy me some gift to brush me off.

And every time I received one, not only would I stop being angry, I would even act delighted and treat each present like treasures for ages.

As such, this was a trick that Serena never got tired of using.

"Put it in the wardrobe."

Taken aback by my different attitude, Serena seemed annoyed.

"I know standing you up tonight was my fault, but I bought a gift for you especially, so what’s with this attitude?"

"This was probably some tag-on gift for your purchase, wasn't it?"

Serena's face reddened, glaring at me in embarrassment.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

In the past, no matter what Serena gave me, I never cared about the value of the gift, because I believed that anything she gave me was proof that she cared.

Just then, the lawyer sent me the divorce agreement. Without even raising my head, I replied flatly, "Nothing."

Serena seemed convinced that as long as she got angry, I would soothe her, but even when she looked at me coldly, I didn't so much as flinch.

I read through every line of the divorce agreement, I replied to the lawyer with my confirmation before locking the phone.

"Serena, the tag on that tie literally says 'Not for sale'. Do I really need to say more?

"I don't want a leftover gift that someone else threw away."

"Who do you think you are? You spend all day lifelessly buried in R&D, so what good would come of you wearing anything good?

"This tie is a gift I gave you, so how could you pick and choose? Take it or leave it!"

No matter what Serena continued shouting behind me, I simply got up and headed straight for the study.