Chapter 3

I said nothing.

Through the glass, I saw Catherine standing outside, wrapped in a pearl-white gown that accentuated her poised, cold elegance.

Benedict stood beside her, and the two of them laughed together. A tightness gripped my chest.

For Catherine, I had fought for ten full years. I went from a naive young man charging forward for love to a middle-aged man still holding the line for it. Along the way, I missed and lost far too much.

I turned down high-paying overseas offers, rejected several women who pursued me, and pinned my entire heart on her. I even missed the chance to see my mother one last time.

After everything we had experienced, I truly thought she understood my feelings. I was sure we were meant to be together, and yet…

"William, stop hesitating," Lucas urged, jolting me out of my trance.

After a brief silence, I said softly, "You joined Sanders Technology straight out of your internship. Are you really willing to leave?""

He stiffened at my words, then said nothing.

From the brink of bankruptcy to the point we had reached now, Sanders Technology had been a child we had nurtured ourselves. Lucas couldn't bring himself to leave, and neither could I.

Above all, I couldn't bear losing Catherine, whom I had loved for ten years and nurtured to the heights she now stood at.

To be precise, I was unwilling to accept this, and I refused to give up.

Most of the company's employees had been hired and trained by me. They were deeply unhappy with how the company was treating me and protested in their own ways.

Whenever Benedict gave orders, they either pretended to follow or simply stalled. They looked busy, but nothing got done, and the materials he needed never arrived on time. When he attempted to win them over with dinner, everyone found excuses not to attend. In the end, no one came.

Catherine called meeting after meeting over this. She even lost her temper during them, but everyone continued to do as they pleased.

After half a month of this stalemate, she had no choice but to come to me.

"What do you mean by this?"

I stared at the check Catherine extended before me, then looked up at her with a frown.

Catherine said, "You've put in years of hard work. Without you, the company wouldn't exist as it does now. But for it to grow…"

I cut her short, looking at her with a blank expression. "If you have something to say, just say it."

My bluntness clearly annoyed her. Still, she forced herself to hold back her anger, let out a sigh, and said, "William, you can see for yourself. Because of you, Ben can barely get any work done…"

"William? Ben?" I interrupted her, smiling bitterly.

A profound, chilling sorrow filled my heart.

All these years, she had always called me Will when we were alone, and I called her Cate. Now, she used my full name while addressing him with such an intimate nickname.

It seemed my ten years of devotion were no match for the return of her childhood sweetheart.

Something in my smile or expression must have struck a nerve. Catherine's face flushed with a mix of anger and humiliation as she glared at me.

"Your presence is already disrupting the company's operations. I've decided to ask you to leave. To compensate for your contributions, you may write a check for any amount up to 100 million dollars."

I had already guessed the outcome, but hearing her say it aloud still made me stagger. I stared at her, unable to believe my ears.

"What did you just say?"

She seemed to assume I thought the amount was too small and bristled immediately.

"William, I acknowledge that the company owes its success to you, but you mustn't go too far. For a struggling student like you, trading ten years of your life for 100 million dollars is already an incredible return."

"An incredible gain, my foot!" I raged silently.

To hear that from the woman I had loved for ten years made my heart ache so sharply I could hardly breathe. And yet, I refused to accept them.

"I gave up a high-paying overseas job to join your company on the brink of collapse. I spent ten years devoted to this, giving my youth and everything I had, enduring endless hardships, and even coming close to losing my life—and you think I did it all for money?"

Catherine leaned back in her executive chair, looking at me coldly with a sneer.

"Isn't that the case? People from humble backgrounds like yours are always trying to seize a chance and gamble on a brilliant future. You won the bet. 100 million dollars is more than enough. I hope you know your place."

Only then did I realize that this was how she had seen me all along. No wonder she had always refused to appoint me as the assistant director. It wasn't a matter of ability. I simply wasn't worthy of her.

It seemed I had spent ten years of my life on the wrong person.