Chapter 4

The call connected almost right away. A woman's cool voice came through. "Mr. Campton?"

I gripped my phone and got straight to the point. "Ms. Ford, I'd like to resign and terminate my contract."

There was a brief pause on the other end. Then, without needing further explanation, Natalie Ford understood and began walking me through the process.

After hanging up, I returned to my desk and started organizing my resignation documents.

Seven years at the same company meant there was an absurd amount of work to hand over—artist profiles, brand partnerships, film and TV projects, private schedules, and crisis management plans.

I sorted through everything one file at a time, organizing every detail exactly as I always had. I even made a separate page listing Seraphine's dietary restrictions and medication allergies.

When dawn broke, I had compiled everything and emailed it to the company. The subject line read, "Handover Documents".

I removed my employee badge and placed it at the very back of my drawer. It was finally time to bid farewell to these seven years.

The resignation process couldn't be completed immediately, so I took the following day off first. I spent the morning heading home.

When Dad saw me, he was startled. "Levi, why do you look so pale?"

I casually told him I hadn't slept well.

He stared at me for a long while, but didn't call me out on it. Instead, he tentatively asked, "About the blind date we talked about yesterday… Are you still meeting her this afternoon?"

I nodded. "Of course."

Dad was taken aback. His eyes turned slightly red. "Good. I'll make you breakfast."

I sat at the dining table, watching Dad's busy figure moving around in the kitchen, and a warmth slowly spread through my chest.

For years, I had given all my patience to Seraphine. When it came to my own family, however, I had always been distant and dismissive.

Now, after falling flat on my face, I came to a painful realization that the person who cared about me the most was Dad.

At 3:00 pm, I arrived at the cafe on time.

My blind date was Stormi Gallagher. She was a doctor, with delicate features, a gentle presence, and an impressive eloquence.

She didn't immediately ask about my past. Instead, she talked with me about work, life, and the cities we adored. Honestly, the date went better than I expected. It didn't feel forced, at least.

Toward the end of our conversation, she looked at me and smiled. "Mr. Campton, if you came today because you're trying to move on from a relationship, that's okay. We can take our time."

I was caught off guard. I surmised that Dad must've let something slip.

I was quiet for a few seconds before nodding. "Thank you."

Stormi handed me her business card. Her voice was warm. "If you ever need anything, feel free to reach out. Even if this doesn't lead to anything, we can still be friends."

I accepted the card. For the first time in a long while, I felt something inside me loosen.

…

Third-Person POV

Meanwhile, back at the company, the atmosphere in the conference room was suffocating.

The brand representatives had already been waiting for 20 minutes. Seraphine sat at the head of the table. Her expression was ice cold.

She had always been punctual and hated people disrupting her schedule, yet today, she hadn't even received the presentation materials before the meeting.

The company director, Philip Stark, had no choice but to speak. "Perhaps Levi might be stuck in traffic."

Seraphine's brows drew together as she picked up her phone and checked it. There were no messages, and not even an excuse for being absent.

Last night, after hanging up on Levi, she hadn't taken his mention of quitting seriously. This wasn't the first time he had thrown a fit, either.

Every time he got upset before, he would always calm down by the next day and appear in front of her on schedule, handling everything with utmost professionalism.

Hence, this morning, she simply assumed he would do the same as he had over the past seven years and show up, emotions buried.

However, now, it was already 9:07 am. There was still no sign of Levi.

At 9:20 am, the materials still hadn't arrived. By 9:30 am, the brand representatives were starting to look unhappy.

At last, Kai rushed into the conference room with the documents. The moment Seraphine saw his hurried entrance, her expression turned gloomy. "Where is Levi?"

Philip immediately chimed in. "Doesn't he know how important today's meeting is? Where did he go? Why are you the one here?"

Pin-drop silence descended in the conference room. No one dared to answer.

Kai was still catching his breath. After a moment, he finally managed to speak. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Winslow, but Levi took a marriage leave. I just took over his work, so I'm still not familiar with everything."

Seraphine snarled, "What did you just say?"