Chapter 3

Michael visibly flinched.

But after hearing what I said, his expression quickly darkened.

“What did you say?

“Why are you quitting?”

“Ms. Norman!” Joanne’s eyes welled up with tears as she stepped in front of me.

“Please don’t misunderstand. I’m just waiting here for my child.

“Alex’s been sick these past few days. Michael took pity on us and was worried the food at the kindergarten wasn’t healthy, so he told him to come here for lunch.”

I looked around.

Children’s tableware was neatly arranged on the table. A pile of toys was scattered on the floor. A stack of children’s comic books was visible on the bookshelf.

Michael used to be meticulous about cleanliness. He was the kind of person who would fly into a rage if even a smudge of ink from my hand accidentally touched his document folder.

At this moment, his desk was covered in a child’s mischievous cartoon doodles, but he did not seem to care.

Michael seemed to want to say something but held back.

My heart had turned to stone at this point.

“This is just a matter of career progression and personal reasons,” I said calmly as I looked up at him.

“Mr. Spencer, if you don’t approve it, I’ll file for labor arbitration.”

“Nancy Norman,” Michael’s voice suddenly rose, “what on earth are you rambling about?!”

“Ms. Norman, I’m sorry. I’ll beg for your forgiveness. Please don’t put Michael in this difficult position…”

Joanne suddenly came up to me with teary eyes.

But before she could even touch me, her body swayed, and she fell backward.

“Joanne!” Michael immediately rushed over and shoved me hard. “Don’t touch her!”

My lower back slammed hard against the corner of the table. Tears welled up in my eyes from the pain.

Michael wrapped his arms around Joanne. The look in his eyes as he turned to me was filled with disappointment.

“Withdraw the resignation, and I’ll let this slide,” he said coldly.

“But if you insist on leaving, so be it.

“Leave the proposal on your computer. Let Joanne take credit for it.”

My head snapped up.

“Why’d I do that?”

“Because Joanne just returned, and she’s joining a new company. She needs a more impressive resume.

“Your project will definitely make her resume stand out.

“It’s also… an apology for the scare you gave her today.”

I let out a low chuckle.

That was the landscape design proposal I had spent a year on. I burned the midnight oil on it so much that I was ill for days.

One of the main reasons Michael was sitting in this office today was that the proposal had secured a preliminary contract with a multinational corporation.

He was blatantly asking me to give it to Joanne. This was the last straw.

“Fine.”

I stood up, slipped the ring off my finger, and placed it on top of my resignation letter.

“I’m leaving.”

When Michael saw the ring, his eyes narrowed.

Just as he took a step forward, Joanne, who was standing beside him, turned pale and fainted.

He did not come after me.

I packed my things and walked out.

I did not dwell on it with him. When I reached home, I booked a flight for next week.

As if to spite me, Michael appeared that very night alongside Joanne on the region’s trending list.

“I wonder which tycoon celebrated his girlfriend’s birthday by airlifting 9,999 roses in a helicopter. So romantic!”

It was a decorated cruise ship, carrying a sea of roses.

The fireworks went off all night long before finally dying down. Michael did not return home until dawn. He was carrying a bouquet of roses.

They were just a couple of roses casually plucked from the ones he had given Joanne, tied together into a bouquet.

“All right, now that you’ve calmed down, take your resignation letter back.”

He handed me the flowers.

He acted like this was “compensation” he was handing me.

I merely glanced at them indifferently before tossing them into the trash.

“No.

“It’s over between us.”

Michael froze. His brow furrowed once more.

“Nancy, how long do you plan to keep this up?”

“I’m quitting my job, and I’m breaking up with you.”

“But what will you do without me?”

He slammed the door shut and left the house.

I, too, picked up my luggage and silently got into the car that had come to pick me up.

This place was not my home anymore.

I just wanted to spend my final days in peace, but I never expected something even more horrible to happen.

On the day before I was to leave, my father, who had promised to come abroad with me, nearly died in a fire.