Henry glanced at the dishes Autumn had ordered and frowned.

"Why only vegetables? There’s no nutrition in these. You need to eat more meat. Look how thin you are."

As he spoke, he took the menu and ordered several of her favorite dishes.

During the meal, Lily kept placing food onto Autumn’s plate.

They were all the dishes she used to love.

But Autumn hadn’t had much of an appetite lately.

After a few bites, she couldn’t eat any more.

Noticing this, Lily asked with concern, "Autumn, what’s wrong? Don’t like the food?"

Autumn shook her head. "No, I ate something earlier, so I’m not really hungry right now."

The truth was, ever since her diagnosis, her appetite had vanished.

But she couldn’t tell them because she didn’t want to worry them.

After a bit more time passed, her stomach began to feel uncomfortable, so she stood up, excusing herself to use the restroom.

As she passed by the smoking lounge, she heard a few familiar voices—it was Julian’s friends.

"Julian, you’re not going home tonight? Isn’t your wife calling to check on you?"

"With how clingy she is? No way she’s not checking. He probably just sweet-talked her again."

"She’s such a pain. Always checking up on him. No wonder Julian’s tired of her. After all these years, the spark’s long gone."

"Exactly. That Luna’s way better than Autumn. She has better looks, figure, and background. Honestly, even I’d be tempted."

The fact that his friends could talk about her so freely meant Julian had never bothered to stop them from speaking badly of her.

Autumn lowered her eyes and gave a bitter smile before turning to leave.

Julian stayed silent, taking a drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaling through the haze.

Then, through the curling smoke, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.

Instinctively, he stubbed out the cigarette and tossed it into a nearby bin, then strode out.

His friends, seeing him move, quickly put out their own cigarettes and followed.

"Autumn."

Julian called out to her, his tone sharp. "So, you’ve changed tactics? Following me now instead of just calling?"

The group behind him froze in surprise, exchanging glances.

None of them had expected Autumn to show up here.

Tonight, Hector Lewis had thrown together a last-minute gathering to celebrate his sister, Luna’s birthday, booking an ultra-private SVIP room to keep things discreet.

Somehow, Autumn still managed to find them.

No one knew if she had overheard what they’d just said.

Autumn paused in her tracks, a sharp ache piercing her chest.

For a moment, an old memory flashed through her mind—Julian once getting into a fight for her.

That image overlapped with the man standing before her now, accusing her without hesitation.

He used to love her so much.

But now...

When had Julian’s love turned into nothing but impatience and disdain?

Steadying herself, Autumn turned and gave a faint smile. "Sorry, I’m just here for dinner. I’m not looking for you."

She started toward the restroom, but Julian grabbed her arm.

His face was tense, and his tone held a trace of irritation. "Autumn, can you not make a scene? I’m here for business. You’re making things awkward for me."

Autumn calmly pulled her arm back, raising a brow. "How exactly am I making a scene?"

Going to the restroom counted as causing trouble?

What a joke.

Back when she first realized Julian had changed, she did cling to him constantly, driving him to frustration.

Because she’d once experienced how deeply he loved her, she could instantly sense the moment he stopped.

It had been selfish.

She wanted him to go back to the man he used to be.

She had tried to force it.

However, she would never do that again.

Julian froze, his expression darkening.

Just then, a few of his friends quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.

"Autumn, don’t take it the wrong way. We really are just here for business."

Autumn nodded with understanding. "Oh, then take your time. I won’t disturb you."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she turned away.

But as she did, a mocking smile tugged at her lips.

Whether he was here for business or seducing another woman into bed didn’t matter to her anymore.

In a month, he’d be nothing more than a stranger.

What did any of it have to do with her?

Watching her walk away, the group shifted uneasily, a few reaching up to rub the back of their necks.

"Julian, your wife’s really overdoing it. She follows you everywhere."

"Maybe you should head back and smooth things over."

Julian stared at her retreating figure, irritated, pulling out a cigarette.

Someone immediately lit it for him.

He took a deep drag. "Shut up."

A few seconds later, his face was calm again, as if nothing had happened, and he walked back into the room.

Autumn stepped out of the restroom and returned to the private room.

They had nearly finished eating, and the group dispersed shortly after.

By the time she got home, Julian still hadn’t returned.

She took a shower and went straight to bed.

She slept through the night without dreams.

The next morning, Autumn went to the office as usual.

After completing her work summary for the previous month, she knocked on the CFO’s office door.

Frank glanced over the report and nodded in satisfaction.

After watching Autumn leave, Frank opened his drawer, took out the resignation letter she had submitted the day before, and headed toward the HR department.

As the elevator doors opened, he ran into Alex Song, the CEO’s assistant.

He greeted him with a smile. "Good morning, Mr. Song."

Alex nodded with a polite smile.

Once the elevator doors closed, Alex asked, "Which floor are you headed to, Mr. Miller?"

"Tenth."

Alex paused for a moment before asking casually, "Are you going to HR to pick up some documents too?"

Frank shook the resignation letter in his hand. "No, I’m submitting Autumn’s resignation."

Alex’s expression shifted slightly, as if he had misheard something.

"Who did you say is resigning?"

"Autumn Lewis," Frank replied, giving him a puzzled look.

Why did Alex react so strongly to her resignation?

Maybe he also recognized her talent and didn’t want her to leave.

With that thought, Frank sighed.

"I actually wanted to persuade her to stay, but she said she was resigning because of health issues. I couldn’t push it further. Health always comes first."

As Julian’s personal assistant, Alex naturally knew about Autumn’s relationship with him.

His gaze fell on the resignation letter in Frank’s hand, and sure enough, Autumn’s name was signed at the bottom.

A flicker of shock crossed Alex’s mind.

But the next moment, a mocking smile tugged at his lips.

Autumn had always been in good health.

There was no way she looked like someone who was sick.

Most likely, she was faking it again, trying to get Julian’s attention.

Tears, tantrums, and threats were typical tricks women used to fight for affection.

When the elevator doors opened, Frank stepped out first.

Alex picked up some documents and headed back to the executive floor on the seventeenth level.

After handing off a file to the secretary, he noticed another assistant holding a stack of documents, just about to deliver them to the CEO’s office.

Alex walked over and reached out his hand. "I’ll take those. You can get back to your work. I need to speak with Mr. Carter anyway, so I’ll drop them off for you."

The assistant handed him the documents with a polite smile. "Thanks, Mr. Song. Coffee’s on me next time."

She was more than happy to let Alex handle the delivery.

She still had a pile of work waiting.

After she left, Alex knocked on the CEO’s office door.

Julian’s deep voice came from inside. "Come in."

Alex stepped in with the documents and gave a thorough report on the day's agenda and tasks.

When he finished, he hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "There’s one more thing..."

Julian looked up at him. "What is it?"

Alex carefully considered his words. "It’s about Mrs. Carter..."

Julian assumed Autumn was making trouble again after last night and his face instantly darkened.

Before Alex could say more, Julian cut him off coldly. "Don’t report anything about her to me again. Whatever she wants to do, let her."

"Understood."

Alex pressed his lips together and swallowed the rest of what he had wanted to say.

Clearly, Julian was completely fed up with his wife.

Otherwise, why would he grow impatient the moment her name came up?

It was obvious Julian didn’t want to hear a single thing about Autumn anymore.

With that thought, Alex left the office, documents in hand.

At lunchtime, Autumn went to the company cafeteria.

Her presence drew surprised looks from her colleagues.

She had just sat down with her tray when a coworker she was friendly with took the seat across from her.

In a low voice, the colleague asked, "Miss Lewis, aren’t you going home to cook lunch for your husband today?"

The coworker knew she was married but had no idea her husband was the big boss of the company.

Autumn stirred the food on her plate. "I don’t have to do that anymore."

She used to head home during every lunch break to cook for Julian.

He rarely came home to eat, so she would deliver the meals to him herself.

Just watching him eat happily was enough to make her day.

She’d kept that routine for years.

Only later did she learn that the meals she made with such care usually ended up in the trash.

The coworker asked curiously, "Did you two have a fight?"

"No, he’s just keeping a mistress now."

Autumn took a bite of her chicken leg and replied with a mouthful.

The coworker immediately shut up and lowered her head, quietly digging into her food.

She couldn’t believe Autumn would stay this calm after finding out that her husband was cheating on her.

Anyone else would’ve stormed in with a knife by now.

At around three in the afternoon, Autumn received another message from her business partner, Ethan Sharp.

It was an offer, just like the last two, stating that the Medical AI Research Department was extending an invitation for the third time.

He asked if she was really going to turn it down again.

He also reminded her that third time was the limit.

If she missed this one, the opportunity might never come back.

Ethan was two years Autumn's senior in university.

A few years ago, when his company hit a bottleneck, their professor recommended Autumn to him.

She didn’t let the professor down.

With her team, she developed the earliest version of AI-based medical diagnostics in the lab.

After the project successfully went to market, Ethan promised to give her a twenty percent stake in the company as compensation.

Over the years, the company earned significant profits from that project, and Ethan kept his word.

Every quarter, he sent her dividends directly into her account.

That technically made her one of the company’s shareholders.

Three years ago, Julian told her he wanted her to learn financial management, so one day she could take charge of the family’s finances.

She believed him.

She gave up her field of expertise and worked diligently in his company, managing the books down to the smallest detail.

Every cost estimate she handled was calculated to the lowest possible margin to ensure healthy cash flow.

But what did she get in return?

With that thought, she replied to Ethan, “I’ll accept the invitation this time.”

As soon as he saw her response, Ethan called. "You’ve made up your mind? You’re coming back?"

Autumn glanced at the documents in her hand.

"Yeah. I’ve made up my mind. But I’ll need a month to finish my resignation."

There was a pause on the other end before Ethan spoke again.

"I’m really glad you’re coming back. Honestly, I didn’t expect it. Autumn, the company truly needs you. Come back."

Thinking about how she had been away from the field for three years, Autumn started to feel unsure.

"AI has developed so fast over these years. I’ve been out of the loop for so long. I don’t know if I can still keep up."

Ethan dismissed the concern. "That algorithm you created? No one’s been able to surpass it even now. Stop being so modest.

"By the way, there’s a CADD conference next week. They’re hoping you’ll attend. Interested?"

Autumn nodded. "Yeah, I’ll go."

Since she had already decided to return to her field after resigning, there was no reason to turn down such a good opportunity.

"Got it."

After hanging up, Autumn quickly shifted back into work mode.

Thankfully, she hadn’t completely let go of her professional knowledge over the past three years.

She had just been too focused on Julian, prioritizing family over everything else, and had gradually let other things slip away.

After work, Autumn went home and sat in front of her computer, catching up on recent developments in the industry and brushing up on technical material.

Julian still wasn’t back by dinnertime.

Autumn ate a few bites without much interest before setting her utensils down.

Seeing how little she ate, Zoe couldn’t help but ask, "Ma’am, your appetite hasn’t been great lately. Are you feeling unwell?"

Autumn walked over to the sofa, crouched down, and tore the page marked “2” from the calendar, tossing it into the trash.

"No, it’s probably just the heat. I don’t really feel like eating."

Even Zoe, someone outside the family, had noticed.

But Julian, her husband, acted like he was blind to everything.

Zoe didn’t say anything more.

She figured Autumn had no appetite because her husband hadn’t come home in days.

After taking a shower and stepping out of the bathroom, Autumn saw Julian coming upstairs with his briefcase.

She paused for a moment, surprised he had come home at all.

Since the affair, he rarely returned.

Was he back because something had happened?

But after just a few seconds, Autumn acted as if she hadn’t seen him and picked up the hairdryer to dry her hair.

Julian merely glanced at her before heading into the study on the second floor.

Though she had grown used to this, a flicker of disappointment still passed through her heart, but it faded quickly.

After drying her hair, Autumn opened her laptop and continued reading up on materials related to CADD.

She had given up so much for Julian over the past three years.

Now that she’d come to her senses, catching up would take even more effort than before.

In the study, Julian was going through emails.

After a while, he began to feel parched.

His hand reached out to the side out of habit but found nothing there.

His brows furrowed slightly.

Autumn hadn’t brought him water.

She used to do that without being asked, always coming to him the moment he got home, asking what he wanted to drink and preparing it for him.

She’d remind him not to stay up too late, to cut back on coffee, and to get more rest.

Of course, he’d never really paid attention.

Was she still throwing a tantrum?

Fine!

He picked up the cup on his desk, got up to pour himself some water, then took a few sips before returning to work.

Just then, the phone on his desk vibrated.

Julian unlocked it and saw a message from Luna, along with a short video clip.

In the video, the woman wore a silky, revealing nightgown.

Her eyes were hazy as she held a glass of red wine, tilting it until the liquid spilled down onto her collarbone, the rich burgundy trailing slowly across her pale skin.

It was alluring and dazzling.

A direct hit to every nerve.

Luna texted, “Room 1008, at the hotel next to your home. Master, are you done with work? Hungry? Want a quick bite?”

Julian’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.

The shadowy calm in his eyes gave way to a rising heat.

He tugged at his collar and typed a short reply with one hand.

“On my way.”