Chapter 4

Matthias' triumphant expression froze, and immediately, a layer of cold sweat beaded on his forehead as the color drained from his face. He lunged forward, attempting to snatch the contract from my hands. "W-What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"

I tilted my wrist, easily avoiding his grab. "There's a nine-billion-dollar discrepancy. Do you want the company to go bankrupt?"

Flustered and driven to a rage by his own embarrassment, he slammed his hand on my desk and bellowed, "What the fuck are you trying to say, Kieran? Naomi put me in charge of this contract! You've already been fired, so what right do you have to go snooping through it?"

He seemed to have forgotten that only minutes ago, he had asked me to sign off on the handover. His twisted logic made me so exasperated that I chuckled. "Matthias, is your head filled with nothing but air?"

My words stung his fragile self-esteem. His eyes darted around before he abruptly raised his voice. "I get it now. You're just jealous. You're jealous that Naomi promoted me! So, you're intentionally nitpicking on the contract because you want to drive me out of the company!"

His loud voice successfully drew the attention of all the employees outside who had been craning their necks to watch the drama unfold.

It also drew Naomi, who came rushing over the moment she heard the commotion. Like a gust of wind, she burst into my office and shot daggers at me without even bothering to ask what had happened.

"That's enough, Kieran!" Her voice was shaking a little from how angry she was. "You're no longer part of this company. Why are you still making things difficult for Matthias?"

I handed her the contract. "I hope you won't regret this, Ms. Prescott."

Matthias, who was hiding behind her, poked half of his head out and lowered his voice, whispering venomously at a volume only the three of us could hear, "Naomi, do you see it now? He's doing all this just to prove the company can't run without him!"

That was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Naomi took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, the last trace of hesitation had vanished from her eyes, replaced by a cold, unwavering resolve. "I won't regret any of my decisions, Kieran. Please leave my company right this instant!"

I nodded slowly. "Very well. I'm the one who built Celestial Group from the ground up. I'd like to see how you manage it without me."

I took one last look at Naomi's pallid face and Matthias' grin. Under the complicated gazes of the staff—many of whom were reveling in my misfortune—I walked out of the company.

Naomi was still unaware that the scale the company reached today was entirely due to my hard work and sacrifice. I genuinely wanted to see how she would manage to keep her company running after losing its backbone.