Chapter 4

The next day, I was woken up by the smell of something burning.

When I opened my eyes, I heard Sabrina's panicked screams coming from the living room. "Ah! Help! Shane! Your pan caught on fire!"

By the time I pulled the blanket off me and dashed outside, the kitchen was already filled with smoke.

Sabrina was holding a frying pan on fire, and she frantically flung it into the sink. It only produced even more smoke.

Shane's laptop was still running on the kitchen island, but the screen had turned dark.

Shane never let anyone touch that laptop. Even when I offered to clear the cache for him, he'd say, "Don't touch it. I'll do it myself."

My heart sank.

After a quick check to make sure Sabrina didn't suffer any severe burns, I grabbed the fire extinguisher and rushed forward to put out the fire.

While I was dealing with the fire, a few drops of hot oil splattered onto my arm. I drew a sharp breath in pain.

Just then, Shane hurriedly arrived at the scene.

Ignoring my own injuries, I hastily told him, "Sabrina is fine. Go check on your laptop."

But he simply walked right past me. Grabbing Sabrina's hands, he frowned as he looked her over. He asked anxiously, "Did you burn yourself? What were you thinking?"

Sabrina's eyes were red-rimmed as she whimpered in a wounded tone, "I-I just wanted to make breakfast for you and Marina… You guys were so nice to me last night, so I thought… Oh, and… I think I broke your laptop."

"You had an accident, and all you can think about is some stupid computer?" Shane harshly interrupted her, but he was also gently blowing on her hands. "Didn't I tell you that you'd be helping just by staying out of trouble?"

I stood at the entrance of the kitchen as I watched on.

The burn on my forearm was getting painful. It felt like a fire spreading throughout my body.

I parted my lips weakly. I wished I could just say I was also human and that I could also feel pain.

But if no one cared about me, who would listen to what I had to say?

Shane said to me, "Please take care of things at home. I'll take her to the hospital to get her burns treated. Come over when you're done."

He had a look of urgency on his face as he passed by me with Sabrina in his arms. He didn't even look back.

So of course, he didn't see the tears rolling down my face.

I simply stood where I was. After patching up my burns, I called the HR department. "Ruth, please pass my resignation letter to Mr. Falkner by today. Sabrina got hurt, so he'll be with her the entire day. He probably won't be in the mood to read every document, so just get him to sign it.

"You don't have to let him know I'm resigning."

The other end of the line went silent for several seconds.

Ruth McKay responded in a low voice, "Ms. Kennelly, have you thought this through?"

She was an old lady who had been working with Shane and me since the early stages of our business. She had seen me braving various challenges with Shane over the years.

She said, "All these years, you've been doing the work of five people. This law firm can't keep running without you. Mr. Falkner is an excellent lawyer, but with that personality of his, he has always relied on you to handle the social aspect of work. If you leave, who's going to help him?

"Still, I'm happy for you that you're leaving. Ms. Kennelly, you deserve so much better in terms of both work and relationships."

I tightened my grip on my phone, my eyes getting uncomfortably warm.

All these years, Shane had made me feel like everything I did was taken for granted, and even I myself believed it. But now, I finally realized how nice it was to just be seen.

I hung up.

Then, I took off the diamond ring and placed it on the kitchen island. I took one last glance at the house. In my heart, I whispered a quiet goodbye.

Shane was still waiting for me to clean up after him. Unfortunately, he had no idea that this time, I was truly never coming back.