They both looked at me with the same animosity, as though I were the enemy. It was almost laughable how seamlessly they formed a united front.

When Lindsay looked at me, her face was cold and unyielding, but when she turned to Nigel, her demeanor softened, a smile playing on her lips.

All my efforts for her—all the years I stood by her side—were eclipsed by Nigel’s smooth, insincere words of defense. Years of devotion reduced to nothing in the blink of an eye.

I nodded lightly, keeping my composure. “If that’s how you see it, I’ll resign. Expect the divorce agreement shortly.”

Nigel’s eyes flickered with barely contained joy, but he still played the role of the considerate mediator. “You know Lindsay’s just upset, yet you deliberately say things like this. Do you really want to cause a scene?”

Watching him—a grown man—speak like that, with an air of smug innocence, made my stomach churn.

Lindsay snorted coldly. “He always talks about breaking up and divorce, but it’s just a game of hard-to-get.”

Without waiting for a reply, she turned on her heel, her voice dripping with contempt as she walked away. “Go upstairs and take charge of the situation for me. If you don’t, don’t blame me when I dock your salary or reassign you to another position!”

I couldn’t help but recall what she had once promised me: that if I worked hard and climbed the ranks step by step to become vice president, she would finally announce our relationship to the world.

For years, I treated promotion and salary increases as my sole purpose, believing they were stepping stones to the future Lindsay promised.

In the past, I would’ve swallowed my pride, followed her upstairs, and handled the situation, only to hand over all the credit to her.

But now, I finally understood. No matter how many multimillion-dollar deals I closed, she would always find a reason not to promote me, claiming the plans needed further refinement. The truth was simpler and far more painful—she had no intention of making our relationship public.

Because she didn’t love me.

I turned and walked away without looking back.

Behind me, Lindsay’s angry voice echoed through the hallway. “If you take another step forward, I’ll really lose my temper!”

I chuckled quietly to myself. Did she still think I cared about her moods?

When I returned to the villa alone, I expected to have the house to myself until the press conference wrapped up. I didn’t expect Lindsay to follow me home so soon.

She found me sitting on the sofa and approached, her tone soft and slightly aggrieved. “You just left me there like that. Don’t you feel the least bit guilty?”

It was rare for her to back down—her first attempt this entire year.

But I stayed silent, unmoved.

Her tone shifted, now tinged with frustration. “What are you so upset about? Fine, leave the press conference in a mood if you must, but divorce? What did I do to offend you this time?”

"If you’re upset because I didn’t clarify things with Nigel at the press conference, I’ll find an opportunity to explain it later."

Seeing a slight change in my expression, Lindsay quickly continued:

"You have no idea what happened after you left. A few major clients you negotiated with suddenly started backtracking, and one of them even said he’s considering pulling his investment."

She hesitated, then added, "Nigel doesn’t have enough experience to handle this mess. Can you come with me tomorrow to visit them and smooth things over, okay?"

She lightly tugged at my arm, her tone soft, almost playful, as though trying to charm me.

But I wasn’t moved. I looked at her with a sharp, mocking smile. "So, the real reason you’re here is to get me to clean up your mess?"

There was a time when I cared deeply for Lindsay. Back then, if she lowered her head and acted sweetly, I would’ve done anything for her, no matter how difficult.

But now, that fire—my passion, my devotion—had long since burned out.

For the first time, I felt calm, truly calm. And in that calm, I saw everything more clearly.

How had I been so blind?

All these years, was she with me because she loved me? Or simply because I was useful to her?

Lindsay’s face darkened, and her tone turned sharp. "How can you even think of me that way? What do you mean by cleaning up my mess? Don’t you have a stake in the company? Don’t you share in the profits? Isn’t it your responsibility to work for the company?"

Lindsay always shifts the narrative, raising the stakes with each argument. But I wasn’t buying it this time.

Instead of wasting more time in a pointless argument, I just wanted to get some rest.

"Wait!" Lindsay said with a sigh. "I can’t do anything with you."

She pulled a box from her bag. "This is a shirt clip for you. Don’t be angry. I didn’t come back to fight with you. Can you calm down?"

Looking at the shirt clip, I almost laughed.

High-end suits always come with a shirt clip, and I’d just seen Nigel wearing one. He had proudly said that the gift was just a small gesture, not matching the value of the expensive suit.

Now, Lindsay was using the same gift to try to calm me down. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

I took the box and tossed it into the trash in front of her. "Anything else? I’m going to bed."

Lindsay’s expression darkened. "Don’t be so ungrateful! I’m trying to make peace, and you throw it back in my face! What else do you want from me?"

I slammed the divorce agreement on the table. "Signing this would be the best thing you could do."

Lindsay stared at me, stunned, her eyes wide in disbelief. "What do you mean?"

I looked at her directly. "Do I really need to explain? I want a divorce."

Lindsay's eyes burned with fury. "You want to cause trouble, don’t you? You’re doing all of this just to make me fire Nigel, but I won’t do it!"

"Not only will I not fire him, I’ll promote him and give him a raise. I want him to climb higher than you!" she snapped.

I couldn’t help but applaud her imagination. "You really know how to stretch the truth," I replied.

A few months ago, when Nigel first joined the company, I saw him for what he was—a clueless rookie. I suggested to Lindsay that we should fire him before he caused any more trouble.

But Lindsay insisted that Nigel was just a young man starting out, needing more chances to prove himself. She even said that seeing him reminded her of me when I was beginning my career, struggling just like he was.

I knew Nigel was her first love, but I didn’t want to spoil her fun, so I kept quiet.

Yet Nigel kept making mistakes, and every time I pointed them out, Lindsay accused me of being jealous, asking me not to suppress a newcomer.

Hearing my sarcasm, Lindsay stormed out, slamming the door behind her. "Fine, do whatever you want! I won’t fall for it!"

Just as she left, Nigel updated his social media status.

It was a photo of a neck adorned with strawberries, accompanied by the caption: [The mark given by my sister.] Below, colleagues were sending blessings, 99 to be exact.

I didn’t care. I turned around and went back to my room, intending to sleep peacefully.

I also responded to the old friend who had been sending me subtle signals.

The next morning, I submitted my resignation to HR once again. I also sent the divorce agreement to Lindsay’s email.

The email remained marked as unread, while HR hesitated, typing out a message, asking me to come into the office to discuss it.

As soon as I stepped through the door, I overheard a few hushed conversations:

"I heard the president is secretly married. Who’s the guy?"

"Who else could it be? Nigel, the new guy who joined a few months ago. Didn’t you see the product launch yesterday? President Logan basically confirmed it."

"I was wondering how he got promoted so fast. He’s already above Director Duncan. Do you think Director Duncan is okay with that?"

"I saw Director Duncan taking secret photos of the president last time. He definitely has a thing for her. Too bad she’s already taken..."

I had to admit, Lindsay was good at keeping secrets.

Despite working with us for years, none of the colleagues realized that the husband they were gossiping about—President Logan’s husband—was actually me.

I walked past them, expressionless, and they immediately fell silent, too scared to continue speaking.

When I entered the meeting room, Lindsay and Nigel were already seated, waiting for me. Several papers were spread across the table, densely filled with writing.

Lindsay’s expression was cold: "Is it really just because I didn’t promote you that you had to go this far and resign?"

Even now, she still thought this was just me throwing a tantrum.

Nigel pretended to comfort me: "Brad, don’t be so upset. Even though I’m the vice president now, I don’t have as much experience as you. I’ll need your guidance moving forward."

Lindsay pushed the papers in front of me and said, "I’ll pretend I didn’t see your resignation letter, but this won’t happen again. I don’t want you playing games with serious matters. Here’s the deal—you’ll be Nigel’s assistant for the next few months. Once you’ve learned your lesson, you can return to your original position."

"I’ve already informed Nigel that he will take over the project you’ve been working on. He’ll handle the negotiations from now on, and you’ll assist him."

The people around us, who had been listening quietly, were shocked.

I’m the founder of the company and the most experienced leader here. Nigel, on the other hand, is a newcomer. Yet, Lindsay was assigning me to be his assistant.

Assistants are typically the ones who handle paperwork and odd jobs—tasks anyone could do.

Nigel feigned surprise. "Lindsay, is this really the right decision?"

Lindsay scoffed coldly, "He dared to threaten me with his resignation. I didn’t ask him to leave immediately, so this is more than fair."

Nigel pretended to resist. "Forget it. Director Duncan is too proud. How can he be my assistant? Let’s just drop it."

I let them finish their little act, then calmly spoke, "Sorry, I don’t plan to continue working here. Please sign the resignation report."

Lindsay’s face froze, her teeth clenched as she glared at me. "Don’t be so ungrateful!"

"You think you can just come and go from the company like that?"

"If I sign this, you’ll never have a chance with me, not even if you beg. Think it through!"

She threatened, but I wasn’t concerned.

"Oh, I understand. I’ve signed it. Just sign it."

I had no intention of returning to this place.

Lindsay’s fists tightened, and her eyes were filled with emotion as she stared at me.

I pushed the resignation report toward her. "Please, go ahead."

Lindsay held her neck stiffly. "Don’t regret it!"

Then, without another word, she picked up the pen and signed it, driving the tip into the paper with force.

Nigel couldn’t hide his smugness and sneered, "Some people are so short-sighted, they angered our Lindsay. It won’t be easy to make things right in the future!"

I chuckled. "If you have time to mock me, you might as well focus on the problems you’re facing right now."

Lindsay was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Before I could respond, the HR representative rushed in, visibly anxious.

"It's bad, President! The investors you invited have backed out, and a representative from one of the partners downstairs is saying they want to withdraw their investment!"