Chapter 6

Lennon shoved me aside in a rage, completely ignoring the flames that were still burning as he rushed to grab the photo album and the jar of paper cranes.

Even Frederick, who was always calm and unreadable, turned pale and dropped his hold on Florence as he ran toward the fire.

However, the album was already gone, reduced to ashes. The paper cranes were also nothing but dust.

Lennon held the pile of ashes in his hands, his eyes bloodshot as he turned to glare at me. "Are you insane? Why would you burn them? Do you have any idea how many years it took to collect these?"

Frederick stared at me, too, his face full of disapproval.

I had no interest in getting yelled at or slapped around, so I gave them the excuse I had prepared long ago. "The old photos weren't printed that well. I've got digital backups. I already sent them to a shop to get reprinted. The clearer versions should arrive soon."

They were clearly still ready to tear into me, but then Florence let out a soft cry, and both of them immediately rushed to her side.

"You twisted your ankle? How'd you get so careless?" Frederick picked her up without hesitation.

"You dummy. How are you going to survive without us?" Lennon questioned, his voice tinged with concern.

Florence bit her lip and spoke in a sweet voice. "Don't just worry about me. Take a look at Lizzy, too. She's packed her bags. Is she mad and planning to leave?"

Lennon didn't even think before responding, "She's just an orphan. She relies on me and Frederick for everything. Where could she possibly go? I've kicked her out so many times, but she's never had the guts to leave."

Frederick laughed before saying, "You don't have to worry about Lizzy. I was her first love. All she ever wanted was to marry me. She's not going anywhere."

All their attention was on Florence, like I'd vanished into thin air.

In the past three years, when they first started hurting me, they at least looked a little guilty. They hated me for leaving them behind during the flood, despised me for "bullying" Florence and "twisting the truth", but they still refused to let me go.

Back then, all I cared about was exposing Florence's lies and clearing up the misunderstandings. I put up with everything, never once thinking of leaving.

Eventually, hurting me became so normal to them that they stopped caring about how I felt or even worrying that I might leave.

However, their thoughts no longer mattered to me. I didn't want to see the three of them clinging to each other, so I went upstairs to sleep.

The next morning, I got up early, washed up, had breakfast, put on my makeup, and wheeled out my suitcase. The sound of it rumbling along the floor drew Frederick's attention.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

I didn't believe that he cared. I figured that he probably just didn't want to lose the person ghost-designing for Florence.

While I was in the hospital, he had already removed me from my position as design director and replaced me with her. He even tried to make me her assistant. I learned about all of that from my coworkers.

The whole thing disgusted me so much that I couldn't even stand the sight of Frederick anymore.

Still, I didn't want to start a fight, so I kept my voice down and said, "Jennie's getting married. I'm going to her wedding."

"She lives in the city. So, why the suitcase?" Frederick asked.

"Her fiance's from Bimern. The wedding's being held there," I replied calmly.

"When are you coming back?" he asked again.

"In three days," I said.

"So the photos should be back by then?" he asked.

"Yeah," I answered.

Frederick was always detail-oriented and would always ask a lot of questions.

Lennon, on the other hand, had no patience. "She's not leaving for good, right? Just let her go, man. Florrie wants to get a cat. Let's take her to pick one out today."

Normally, whenever Florence was involved, Frederick would drop everything else just to focus on her. Surprisingly, this time, he added, "Having you take the fall for that hotel scandal was our fault. Let me know when you're flying back. I'll pick you up at the airport."

"I'll come too, alright? Seriously, it's just a small thing. Can you stop acting like it's the end of the world?" Lennon was visibly uncomfortable.

So, it seemed that they did know they had wronged me. I almost laughed, but kept my expression neutral. I simply said, "Okay."

Then I turned and left without looking back, with my suitcase in tow. I wasn't going to throw tantrums anymore, and I wasn't going to come back.

Let them wait. I would never return again.