As I brought it up on my own, Ryder was beyond excited.

"You're up for the role? That's great! Alexander, you're an exceptionally rare talent when it comes to business development and management. If you're interested, I'll have them start arranging everything right away.

"The salary will be much better than what you're earning now. If Ms. Lambert doesn't want to let you go, I'll speak to her myself. How does that sound?"

Ryder was a well-known business tycoon in this city, and his wife used to be one of my university professors.

The overseas branch of Ryder’s company was on an upward trajectory but still faced limitations in cash flow and access to top-tier talent.

So, Ryder had been trying to recruit me to help expand his business.

Naturally, I'd turned him down.

After all, my wife and I built Lambert Group together.

It was like our child.

Looking back, I was too fixated to think clearly. I shouldn't have been so set in my ways to have let go of such a great opportunity.

"Thank you, Mr. Zen. I'll give it my best."

…

When Kameron came back, I was in the middle of writing my resignation letter.

She didn't even look at me. From the moment she walked in, she was busy with her phone.

After showering, she was drying her wet hair as she sat in front of the vanity.

"Alexander, I'm flying to Harborview in a few days for a conference. Keep the company in check while I'm gone," she said.

She was always like this.

She would slap me now, but talked to me calmly the next second as if none of our arguments had ever taken place.

That was partly because I always gave in.

Our relationship was so fragile that I constantly feared it would shatter completely if I wasn't careful.

Hence, I kept backing down, pretending not to care.

Evidently, trying to force a fresh start without resolving the issues clearly never worked.

After drying her hair, Kameron walked to the bed and leaned down to kiss me.

I instinctively turned my head, causing her lips to land on my jaw instead.

We were both caught off guard by the move.

Usually, I was the one clinging to her, trying to be intimate.

It was rare for her to take the initiative, yet I avoided her kiss.

I closed my laptop and said softly, "It's late. Let's go to bed."

Kameron frowned slightly. "What's wrong?"

I coughed vaguely. "I caught a cold. I don't want to get you sick."

She didn't question it and changed the subject. "Mr. Sebastian Larkin from Everrise Group invited me for dinner this Friday. Come with me."

"Okay," I answered, not looking at her.

We rarely attended business dinners together, partly to avoid suspicion, and partly because we had different social styles and ways of handling things.

Going separately actually made us more effective. It helped us win more opportunities and benefits for the company.

Usually, Kameron only brought her secretary to these events.

But she had fired her former secretary, who used to work seamlessly with her, after the latter had offended Elliot.

Elliot was all talk and no action. He had no social skills, no ability, and couldn't hold his liquor.

He was no help at all. No wonder Kameron turned to me.

After turning off the lights, we lay down to sleep.

The next day, I met up with a few close friends for drinks—it was a farewell of sorts. But I didn't tell them everything outright.

They could only guess blindly, assuming I'd taken a hit in the romance department.

Just as we were having a good time, I spotted Kameron and Elliot leaving a restaurant nearby.

All my friends knew she was my wife.

Kameron's expression immediately turned awkward. She clearly didn't want Elliot to know she was married, much less married to me.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with a forced casualness.

"Catching up with the guys, as you can see," I replied calmly.

Upon seeing this, my friends couldn't resist throwing some shade her way.

"Ah, if it isn't Ms. Lambert's little sidekick. It must be exhausting staying that close."

"It's after office hours, and she still needs her assistant in tow. That's some serious dedication."

Kameron's face darkened.

She shot me a glare, then refuted, "If you've had too much to drink, just go home. Don't make these stupid jokes in public."

Elliot quickly explained, "You've got the wrong idea, gentlemen. I'm just trying to learn from Ms. Lambert. We're strictly business—nothing like what you think."

This chance encounter wasn't pleasant for anyone.

Kameron was eager to leave, but one of my friends stopped her and said deliberately, "Ms. Lambert, I don't know what's up with Alex today. He's had quite a bit to drink, and he definitely won't be able to get home on his own. Could you drop him off on your way?"

As soon as he said that, Elliot turned his head in confusion and annoyance. "He can call a ride. Why should Ms. Lambert take him home?"

It was obvious to everyone, including Elliot, that I loved Kameron.

Elliot had a scowl on his face. "Besides, they're not even going the same way."

My other friend was so angry that he nearly stood up to punch Elliot.

Kameron quickly stepped in front of Elliot. "Try it if you dare!"

Her protective stance toward Elliot made my friend's blood boil.

He then pointed his finger at her. "Kameron, you'd better not force me to say it. Tell this pretty boy what exactly your relationship with Alexander is right now!"

Kameron's face turned cold as she stared back at my friend. "It's none of your business. You have no right to say anything here."

Elliot, standing behind her, slightly lifted his chin.

He had that look of pride and provocation on display daily.

But at this moment, it was like pouring gasoline on a fire.

My friend nearly lost control.

Just as he was about to give in to his rage, I placed my hand on his shoulder.

Then, I smiled and looked at Kameron. "My friend's drunk. You can leave."

Kameron sighed in relief, wanting to leave quickly.

But Elliot didn't want to give up just yet as he asked, "Ms. Lambert, what did he mean? What's your relationship with Mr. Vaughn? What's going on?"

Kameron's eyes flashed with panic.

I felt both helpless and amused before speaking up to diffuse the situation. "Kameron and I were classmates back in university. We became friends over the years."

Elliot looked at me skeptically.

He wanted to ask more, but when he saw Kameron's unpleasant expression, he didn't dare to press further.

Kameron threw me a confused glance before hastily walking away.

My wife ran off with another man right in front of my friends.

Moreover, I had to step in and say we were just friends.

How bitterly ridiculous this was.

Well, needless to say, everything went into the alcohol.

I didn't get home until after midnight.

To avoid disturbing Kameron, I slept in the study.

The next day at work, I saw her in the company.

She was sitting on the couch in my office, seemingly waiting for me.

I thought she was going to confront me about last night. But instead, she uttered, "I missed our anniversary last week. I know you weren't happy. Let's leave work early today and make up for it."

I was a bit surprised, and I even felt it was unnecessary.

But I didn't want her to give me the cold shoulder all day, as that would make work difficult.

Hence, knowing she loved Falmontian cuisine, I replied, "Let's go to the nearby Falmontian restaurant, then."

Honestly, I wasn't too disappointed about her missing our fifth anniversary.

Before Elliot showed up, she had always been extremely indifferent to our anniversaries.

She either didn't care or she stood me up because on those days, she only wanted to remember Xavier.

Who would have guessed that she would pick the day we got married to be on Xavier's death anniversary?

Before leaving work in the evening, I handed Kameron Elliot's position transfer application for her to review.

"The position section is blank. You can fill it out yourself. Just go through the process so we don't run into issues later," I said.

Neither HR nor I could give a suitable position to someone who didn't even qualify for a permanent role, so it was up to Kameron to decide what worked.

She wrote down "Vice President" without even hesitating.

Then, she signed it on the following page.

"There are two copies—one for the employee, and the other for HR's record," I reminded her.

Again, she signed it with no hesitation.

After she gathered the documents, I felt a little dazed.

I had used the same method to get her to sign the resignation application, but she never noticed.