Claimed in Public

It was no secret that I liked Brogan Sheppard.

When I went to deliver some documents, I heard voices inside the office.

"She’s basically a rich girl, lowering herself to be your assistant. You really don’t care?"

Brogan clicked his tongue. "She insisted on coming. What was I supposed to do?"

Someone nearby laughed. "True. She’s always liked sticking close to you. After all these years, nothing’s changed."

"So, Brogan, you're not planning to get together with her? She probably dreams about being with you every night. Last time her family set her up on a blind date, you called us out for drinks late at night. I thought you actually cared."

The moment that sentence landed, Brogan’s mood shifted. His voice turned ice-cold. "She’s just a clingy nuisance. Why would I care?"

Outside the door, my hand froze mid-knock, then slowly lowered. Instead, I grabbed the handle and pushed the door open.

Everyone inside paused for a second at my sudden entrance for just a second. Then they went right back to their usual teasing smiles.

"Ava, bringing breakfast for Brogan again?"

Like clockwork, every single day, Brogan didn’t even look up, as if he’d already expected me to show up. He just tipped his chin lazily toward the desk. "Put it there."

I shook my head, then placed the documents—and my resignation letter—on the table together.

"It’s not breakfast. It’s my resignation. Mr. Sheppard, please review it."

The room went silent.

A few of them rushed over, bending down to read the letter. When they saw the words clearly, their expressions shifted to disbelief.

"Wait, Ava, you’re serious?" Brogan finally looked up, frowning. His gaze landed on me. "What’s this supposed to be?"

I nudged the resignation letter closer to him. "I’m resigning. I’ve emailed you the digital copy too. Don’t forget to check it."

Brogan glanced at the letter, irritation creeping into his voice. "Is this because I made you stay late yesterday?"

I shook my head. "No. I just don’t want to do this anymore."

His expression darkened, inch by inch. Just as I turned to leave, he called out, "Ava, if you walk out now, don’t expect to ever come back to my side." It sounded like a threat or maybe a warning.

I didn’t even turn around. "I wouldn’t want to."

The atmosphere in the room instantly dropped to freezing.

As I pushed the door open and stepped out, I heard cautious voices behind me.

"Brogan, she’s just throwing a rich-girl tantrum. Don’t take it seriously…"

"Yeah, you know how much she likes you. She’ll probably regret it by this afternoon and come running back…"

Brogan stared at the closed door, then let out a cold laugh. "Who cares?"

I cleared out everything from my desk. In the end, there was nothing left. Looking at the empty workspace, I almost laughed.

Then my mind drifted back to last night. When I’d been stuck at the office working overtime, I received an anonymous video.

In a dim, neon-lit private room, Brogan had his arm around a stunning woman, listening lazily as people around him talked.

"So Ava’s still playing the obedient worker bee at your company right now?"

"What did you expect? Brogan’s got his ways. Despite being a rich girl, she hasn’t shown up to any of our gatherings in ages."