"There's no need for that anymore. Let's break up, Kiera," I said coldly.

The atmosphere in the room instantly became tense.

Kiera panted heavily as the emotions she had been suppressing finally burst out. "I'm only doing all this for the sake of the company's growth! Any other man would've loved to be in your position, so why can't you?"

I ignored her twisted sense of reasoning.

Kiera continued as she usually did, iterating how crucial it was for the company to grow. She even promised to give me a share of the pie once the company went public.

I was getting tired of her building castles in the sky. I then raised my hand to cut her off, saying, "No need. I'll pack my things and go right now."

This was the first time in years since Kiera became CEO that she had been interrupted while speaking. She went red in the face and glared angrily at me for a long while before sneering.

"No! I'll go instead!" She snapped. She then left the house, slamming the door behind her.

I didn't go after her and continued silently packing my things instead.

Maelstrom Corporation had prepared a deluxe single-person staff dorm for me and told me I could move in whenever I pleased.

After packing my luggage, I called a moving company.

When most of my belongings had been loaded onto the movers' truck, I happened to see Trevor walking Kiera home.

Their hands were intertwined as they chatted merrily while walking together. Kiera's usually cold and distant demeanor had evaporated as she giggled while looking down at her feet. She seemed so warm and loving beside Trevor.

Trevor saw me before Kiera did. He immediately tightened his grip around her hand.

When Kiera noticed something was off, she followed Trevor's gaze and saw me standing right there. She then quickly let go of his hand.

She walked up to me, ready to give me another excuse just like she always did. But the sight of me putting my belongings in the movers' truck surprised her for a moment.

"Where are you going so late at night?" Kiera asked.

Was she blind? Couldn't she see the words "Hilton's Movers" emblazoned on the side of the truck?

I continued moving my things, but Kiera suddenly got in my way. She then shoved a shirt into my arms.

When I didn't react, she reached for the shirt and draped it across my chest.

"I know you've been really busy lately, and that you haven't had time to buy any new clothes. So, I bought this for you earlier at the mall," Kiera said.

Did Kiera get this for me? I usually wore XL size, yet this shirt was clearly an M.

I then took out the receipt from the plastic bag the shirt was in. It cost over one thousand dollars. Kiera had paid for this with her own card.

She didn't buy this for me. She clearly went to pick this out for Trevor.

How generous of her.

Two days ago, I had asked Kiera what she thought about a new shirt I had bought. It cost me 200 dollars.

In response, Kiera had snapped at me and berated me for wasting money. She spent an hour lecturing me on how money wasn't easy to come by, and that no amount of quality clothes could outshine good working capabilities.

What now?

Was she suddenly finding it easy to make money?

I put my hands in my pockets and gazed coldly at Kiera and Trevor.

"No, thank you. You know what people say—clothes make the man. I think it's best that you save this shirt for Mr. Horton," I said.

Trevor was in the middle of taking back the shirt when he heard what I said. He then angrily flung it aside and yelled, "What do you mean by that?"

He ran toward me, raising his hands to strike.

I stood where I was and swiftly slapped him across the face, making him fall to the ground.

"Since you hit me, it's only fair I do the same," I retorted.

Trevor's arms were skinny like breadsticks. He only managed to strike me before because he had caught me off guard.

Now I returned this slap in kind.

Kiera cried out in shock. She touched Trevor's swollen cheek, feeling incredibly sympathetic to him.

"Be civilized, Alfred! Why must you be violent? If you're going to leave, then leave! Don't ever come back again!" Kiera cried.

I didn't need Kiera's permission to do so. After all, I wasn't planning on coming back.

I turned around and got into the moving company's truck, making my way toward my new life.

After quitting my job at Ripley Corporation, I started working for Maelstrom Corporation, where I was given immense responsibility.

When I next returned to Ripley Corporation, I was greeted by the receptionist as Maelstrom Corporation's representative.

The moment I arrived at the office area, I spotted Trevor wearing his director's nametag, standing a distance away. He stood proudly above the other employees, instructing them on what to do.

"I want you to both enlarge the logo as well as shrink it a little."

"It's not pure black I'm looking for, it's the kind of iridescent black a crow's feathers are in the sunlight."

"I still think the first rendition is better. But I prefer the seventh render for the font and the 16th render for the colors… Send the finalized render to me later today."

All the employees were frustrated by Trevor's direction. One of them couldn't help but complain out loud.

"Maelstrom Corporation has already approved this version's structure. Our main issue now is verifying whether the program has a stable function."

Trevor sneered. "Maelstrom Corporation is nothing but a flashy upstart. What do they know about real art? I'm the director here, so you guys should be listening to me!

"Maelstrom Corporation will be pleased with my exceptional sense of aesthetics. Who knows, they might end up being so pleased with the results that they give us a bonus!"

Oh, please.

Maelstrom Corporation was developing a new system for the sake of their users' convenience, not to host a digital art exhibition!

Plus, the artistic fonts Trevor used were too difficult to read. Was he trying to supply the local optician with new customers?

The fact that someone of Trevor's caliber had been hired to be the director of Ripley Corporation's tech department would explain why the programs they produced were losing efficiency. Most of the programs they delivered crashed right after booting up, and their quality had also suffered greatly.

Some of my ex-colleagues saw me standing in the office. Their once-hateful gazes now turned to me, pleading for help.

As for Tyler, my backstabbing ex-mentee, he had already been kicked off the main project team. His position in the office had been reduced to nothing more than a coffee runner who paid for everything out of his own pocket.

Trevor glanced at me with disdain. "It seems like I should tell Ms. Ripley to strengthen the company's security. That way, we can avoid any irrelevant folks from wandering into the office."

The receptionist was about to remind Trevor to be mindful of his words and that I was representing Maelstrom Corporation.

But Kiera then arrogantly marched past me. She snorted, thinking I had come to apologize.

"Isn't this Mr. Wickham? Did you finally come crawling back after struggling to find a job outside?" Kiera mocked.

Trevor burst out laughing and said pretentiously, "I really respect Alfred's capabilities. I think I can give him the role of supervisor. I'm sure he'll prove he'll make a name for himself in due time as long as he works hard under my care."

Kiera crossed her arms, gazing at me disdainfully.

"Alfred—a supervisor? Is he even fit for the job? He can rejoin the company if he wants to, but he'll have to start from the bottom of the food chain. We'll also be docking his pay by half and revoking all performance bonuses," Kiera said.

The surrounding employees gasped fearfully. They instantly distanced themselves from me, not wanting to be jinxed by my terrible luck.

I couldn't help but chuckle.

Kiera still had no clue that I was now part of Maelstrom Corporation and was no longer her obedient little lackey.

Kiera cocked an eyebrow and asked curiously, "What are you laughing about?"

I quietly took out an agreement from my suitcase and placed it on the desk.

"Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Alfred Wickham, and I'm the tech director at Maelstrom Corporation. I'm here to inform you that the joint venture has been halted and that our contract is now void!"