Chapter 1

When Winston Sterling returned to the office, I was just hanging my soaked coat over the back of my chair.

Water dripped steadily from the cuffs, pooling into a small puddle on the office floor.

The receptionist frowned as she watched the water drip. "Hey, Director Cross, didn't you go with Mr. Sterling to meet with Genesis Capital? How did you end up getting completely drenched like this?"

Before I could open my mouth to answer, the elevator doors slid open again.

Sera Thorne stepped out, perfectly wrapped in Winston’s overcoat. Her face was just the right shade of pale, and she was holding a warm cup of coffee carefully in both hands.

Winston followed closely behind her, whispering low, attentive instructions. "Go straight to the lounge first. Stay away from the air conditioning vents."

Sera nodded softly. As she passed by my desk, she paused.

"Nat, please don't get the wrong idea. I just suddenly felt unwell, so Winston..."

I cut her off. "Is the coat warm, Director Thorne?"

Sera froze, her eyes instantly welling up with tears.

Winston’s brow furrowed aggressively. "Natalie, do you really have to speak with such a sharp edge?"

I looked directly at him. "I just asked a simple question."

"Sera has a weak constitution, and you know that perfectly well," he replied, his voice carrying that familiar, heavy impatience. It was the exact tone he used whenever he thought I was making a scene out of nothing.

I looked down and wrung the water out of my cuffs. "I was out in the rain too."

Winston stiffened for a second. His gaze fell upon my shoulder, which was entirely dark and soaked through, and his expression softened a fraction.

"Alright, look. I'll buy you a brand new one later. Tonight's launch event is critical, so don't bring your personal feelings into work."

A faint, bitter smile touched my lips. "Am I still the main presenter for tonight's launch?"

He fell silent for two long seconds.

Sera immediately jumped in. "Nat, please don't overthink this. The investors suddenly wanted to hear a much more technical breakdown at the last minute. That's the only reason Winston asked me to step in."

Winston took over the conversation smoothly. "You just need to handle the overall coordination behind the scenes. You know the script best out of everyone, so just make sure there are no slip-ups on site."

I just stared at him.

I was the one who had overseen every single detail of this launch event—from scouting the venue to sending out the media invitations, managing the budgets, and planning the entire itinerary.

Yet, in the end, the person standing on that stage was still going to be Sera Thorne.

On my phone, an email from Genesis Capital had already been sitting in my inbox for two days.

【Dear Miss Cross, if you confirm your exit from Sterling Tech, we are highly interested in continuing our discussions regarding an independent advisory partnership.】

I hadn't replied to them yet.

Back then, I genuinely thought I was just exhausted. I didn't realize I was actually preparing to walk away for good.

My colleagues began posting rehearsal photos in the company group chat.

Sera stood in a pristine white blazer in front of the main projector screen while Winston bent down to carefully adjust her microphone.

The caption under the photo read: Look at the incredible chemistry between Mr. Sterling and Director Thorne! No wonder Genesis Capital specifically demanded to hear a roadshow from our two core pillars.

I stared at the words "two core pillars" for a very long time.

Five years ago, on the night before our very first server subscription was set to expire, Winston had sat on the floor of our cramped, rented apartment, clutching his laptop with bloodshot eyes, completely frantic.

I had wired him five thousand dollars, claiming it was emergency money sent by my family.

In reality, that money was earned from working shifts at a warehouse for two months straight, loading heavy cargo until the skin on my back peeled from the brutal sunburn.

That night, he had held me tight, repeating the same promise over and over. "Nat, in the future, half of this company belongs to me, and the other half belongs to you."

Now, looking at the equity exit agreement I had sent him, he had only replied with three words.

【Don't be silly.】

At seven o'clock in the evening, the launch event officially commenced.

Sera stood directly beneath the spotlight. She spoke beautifully about entrepreneurship, about perseverance, and about how Winston had led the technical team through endless dark nights when things were at their absolute worst.

Old photographs began flashing across the massive screen.

One photo showed Winston sitting in front of a computer while Sera handed him a cup of coffee.

But the far right side of that photo had been cropped out entirely.

That cropped section was me, holding a second-hand hard drive as I walked through the office door.

Thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

Winston stood in the very front row, his eyes shining with absolute pride.

I stood right beside the control console, my finger resting heavily on the switch key. Suddenly, I felt like nothing more than a complete joke.

When the launch event finally ended, he walked over to my side. "You worked hard tonight."

I didn't say anything.

Assuming I was still angry about what happened out in the rain, he reached his hand out, intending to affectionately pat my head. "Don't keep a long face. Let's go home, and I'll whip up some pasta for you."

I tilted my head, deliberately dodging his touch.

His hand froze mid-air, and his expression instantly darkened. "Natalie, I've already had an incredibly exhausting day today."

I pulled out the freshly printed documents and handed them to him. "Just sign it."

Winston stared down at those few pages of paper, the warmth in his eyes completely dying out, degree by degree. "Do you really have to humiliate me on a day like today?"

"It wasn't just today," I said, looking him dead in the eye. "Today is just when I finally stopped tolerating it."