Chapter 2

A breakfast tray sat on the nightstand.

Damian was always like this.

He always assumed that no matter how angry I was, one small peace offering would be enough to make me forgive him.

To him, that had become a simple fact.

Maybe I had been too forgiving in the past.

So forgiving that he took it for granted and stopped valuing me altogether.

I ignored him, got out of bed, and began getting dressed.

Damian’s expression stiffened.

“If this were Sophie, she’d be thrilled.”

He picked up the breakfast and began eating it himself.

At some point, Damian had become convinced that I couldn’t live without him.

No matter what I did, he assumed I was only competing with Sophie for his attention.

I couldn’t believe I had spent years hopelessly in love with a man like him.

How pathetic.

Thankfully, that was over now.

—

By the time the anesthesia wore off, I was lying alone in a hospital bed.

Every other woman in the room had someone beside her.

At their most vulnerable, they had people speaking gently to them, comforting them, and bringing them water.

I couldn’t even use the bathroom without forcing myself through the pain in my lower abdomen and stumbling there alone.

As I struggled to my feet, my phone rang on the table.

By the time I reached it, the call was about to disconnect.

The moment I answered, my manager began yelling.

“Vivian Stone, where the hell are you? Get to the office within thirty minutes!

“Mr. Carter inspected the office today, and you were the only employee missing.

“Because of you, the entire department lost its bonuses. If you’re not here within half an hour, everyone’s scheduled time off for the rest of the month will be canceled.”

A wave of sadness washed over me as I listened.

Damian had once arranged a position for me at his company because he claimed he wanted to see me every day.

But after all these years, not a single person there knew about our relationship.

Whatever he was trying to accomplish today no longer mattered to me.

“I quit,” I said calmly.

My manager went silent for a moment before becoming even angrier.

“What, do you think you’re Sophie Shaw?

“You think you have some special relationship with Mr. Carter?

“Stop acting like a diva and get back here today!

“Otherwise, even if you insist on quitting, I’ll make sure your resignation takes at least a year to process.”

Desperate to be free of them as soon as possible, I dragged my weakened body back to the office.

“Mr. Carter and Sophie finally went public.”

I heard my coworkers gossiping the moment I walked in.

“When Mr. Carter toured the office today, he had his arm around her the entire time.”

“They’re so sweet together. The cold, powerful CEO and his adorable assistant. It’s like something straight out of a romance novel.”

Just then, another coworker spoke up.

“I’ve got even bigger news.”

Everyone turned toward him.

“What is it?”

“Stop keeping us in suspense!”

He cleared his throat.

“Mr. Carter is getting married in a few days.”

The office erupted.

“No wonder he took Sophie on that business trip.”

“Didn’t you see her posts? They were having an early honeymoon!”

It was obvious Damian had done this deliberately.

He had summoned me back to the office because he wanted me to get jealous.

He expected me to lose control and confront him.

Then he would soothe me with a few empty words, just as he always had, and the whole thing would be forgotten.

But I didn’t love him anymore.

I quietly finished writing my resignation letter.

My manager signed it without hesitation.

“Good riddance. Now I don’t have to decide whether to bring you to Sophie’s birthday party the day after tomorrow.”

Then he stood and clapped his hands for everyone’s attention.

“The entire company gets the day off the day after tomorrow. Mr. Carter has invited every employee to Sophie’s birthday party.”

My hand trembled slightly as I accepted my resignation paperwork.

The day after tomorrow was supposed to be my wedding day.

I’d thought he couldn’t hurt me anymore.

But the pain still cut straight through my heart.

I was still so weak after the abortion that I didn’t have the strength to pack my things.