Chapter 3

An hour later, I arrived at the company alone.

As soon as I entered the work area, I heard colleagues whispering.

"Hey, I just saw a new guy get off Ms. Jacoby's front passenger seat. He sprained his ankle when he got out, and Ms. Jacoby carried him upstairs."

"Does that mean Ms. Jacoby is dumping Clint?"

"Definitely. For all these years, have you ever seen Ms. Jacoby give Clint a ride?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. It is so obvious whether one loves someone."

When they saw me come in, the colleagues shoved each other and scattered.

I walked straight to my office, but found Ethan sitting in my seat.

"Why are you here?" I asked with a frown.

Ethan pointed innocently at the plaque on the desk and said, "Sienna asked me to sit here."

The nameplate still showed the same position, but my name had been replaced with Ethan's.

Sienna handed the onboarding manual to Ethan and turned to leave.

I called after her, "Sienna, should you not explain this to me?"

Sienna did not turn around. She said icily, "I told you to address each other by our titles in the company."

Ethan jumped up, his voice urgent. "Sienna, you should explain. Or Clint will misunderstand."

A two‑second silence followed.

Sienna turned to me and pointed to the workstation next to the restroom. "Your seat is over there."

A growing crowd of onlookers had gathered outside the office.

I suppressed my rising resentment and managed to squeeze out a few words. "Why?"

Perhaps too lazy to explain, Sienna glanced at the supervisor, George Norris, who immediately pushed his way through the crowd.

"Clint, calm down. Ethan's artwork represented our company in a competition and just won a major international award. Although you have been with the company for many years, this position is ultimately given to the most capable."

"What artwork?" My heart skipped a beat as I snatched an artwork from George's hand and flipped through it page by page.

This was my sketchbook.

It was something I had painstakingly drawn stroke by stroke over a month of sleepless nights, yet the signature in the bottom right corner was Ethan Quinn.

My eyes widened in disbelief as I looked at Sienna. "Was it you?"

Only she could enter the study and take my manuscripts.

"You gave my designs to Ethan and put his name on them?"

When I confronted her, Sienna stood beside Ethan, her expression unchanged. "Does it matter? It will not change the outcome anyway."

Her tone was flat and emotionless.

My words were like a pebble thrown into a deep pool, creating no ripples because she did not care at all.

However, I did.

"This is my life's work. Of course it matters." I finally could not hold back and cried out to her.

George lowered his head and remained silent.

Sympathetic glances fell upon me from the crowd.

Sienna did not react. She turned around and said to George, "He is too emotional. He is not suited for this job. Let us suspend him."

I gave a bitter laugh, tears falling to the ground. "Suspend? Sienna, listen here. I quit."

I ripped off my employee badge, slammed it heavily on the table, and turned to leave.

On my way home in a taxi, the sky was overcast. The summer breeze felt cool on my face.

I suddenly remembered that it was a similar rainy day when I confessed to Sienna.

Back then, we had been in a situationship for a long time, but Sienna never made her feelings clear.

Unable to keep my feelings to myself any longer, I confessed to her first.

Unexpectedly, Sienna disappeared for three days after my confession.

Just when I was about to give up on this relationship, she appeared at my doorstep in the rain. She said she had always been avoidant and was afraid to face her feelings because her parents had been divorced since she was little. However, she decided to be brave for me.

I would never forget what she said when she slipped the silver ring onto my ring finger. "Clint, I am not good with sweet talk, but I will prove my love with my actions. One day, I will replace this silver ring with an expensive wedding band and give you a good life."

Her eyes were sincere, seemingly glistening with tears.

From then on, I quit my job to fully support her in starting her business.

Ethan once spoke up for me. "Clint, you have a high level of education and a strong resume. Many big companies want you. Why join her small company?"

I smiled, grateful to have a friend who stood up for me and a girlfriend who truly loved me. At one point, the two of them grew closer and closer.

Raindrops fell on my face, and it felt cool.

I took off the silver ring I had caressed countless times and threw it out the car window. "Sir, change course and go to the city hospital."