1 Valentine’s Day Eve, I asked my boss—and fiancé—Simon for PTO to get our marriage license. He rejected it before the whole team and approved his new assistant Daisy’s lengthy vacation instead. She booked St. Barts ages ago, he said, tossing my form aside. Cover her shifts. I’ll be there on business anyway, keep an eye on her. The license? Push it back. A few days won’t kill you. The office went silent. Daisy looped her arm through his, cooing her thanks. When we return, I’ll bring you duty-free souvenirs. Watching them play the perfect couple, I didn’t swallow my pride this time. Simon didn’t know our wedding date was a hard deadline. If I wasn’t married by Memorial Day, I’d lose my bet with Grandfather and face his arranged marriage roulette. I unclipped my badge, dropped it in the trash, and signed a resignation form in one stroke. Then I called Manhattan’s wealthiest patriarch. Grandpa? I yield. I’ll take that arranged marriage. ... "Fine," I said out loud, hanging up the phone. "I won't take the time off. I quit." The moment those words left my mouth, the breathing in the office seemed to stop entirely. Simon's expression froze for a fraction of a second before he let out a scoff. "Audrey, what kind of tantrum is this?" "Are you trying to use your job to blackmail me into marrying you right this second? Can you please act like an adult?" He casually snatched the resignation form off my desk and tossed it into the trash without a second glance. "Daisy finally has a chance to go out and relax. As her senior, what is so wrong with taking on a little extra work to help her out?" Daisy immediately forced tears into her eyes, shrinking timidly behind his broad shoulders. "Are you really mad at me, Audrey? Maybe I should just cancel my flight. I don't want to ruin your relationship over a silly trip." "You are not canceling anything," Simon snapped, pulling her securely behind him. "I already booked the flights and the resort." He glared at me with absolute frost in his eyes. "I've spoiled you too much. That is why you have zero concept of the bigger picture." I just stood there and looked at him in total silence. Eight years. I had stood by his side from the moment he had absolutely nothing, carrying him through the darkest days of his startup. I pitched to investors, wrote business proposals, and dragged in clients. During our hardest month, I survived on three hours of sleep a night for two straight weeks. And now, he was pouring all his affection and privilege onto another woman. I gave a slow nod, pulled a fresh resignation form from my drawer, signed it, and placed it on his desk. "This isn't a threat. I am actually done." Simon's face darkened instantly. My calm demeanor seemed to infuriate him. He snatched the massive project proposal I had just finished off my desk and shoved it right into Daisy's arms. "Fine. Since you want to throw a fit, Daisy will be taking over this project from now on." Daisy feigned panic. "Mr. CEO, I really shouldn't! Audrey pulled all-nighters to write this." "Take it," Simon commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I run this company. If I say you are ready, you are ready." He shot a venomous look in my direction. "If certain people don't want to work, their resources will naturally go to someone who actually brings value to this firm." The office was dead silent. Even Sarah, the HR manager who never made waves, couldn't sit still anymore. She stood up abruptly. "Simon, that isn't fair. Audrey built this project from the ground up. Daisy has only been here for three days." "Sarah." Simon cut her off with a lethal glare. "Are you questioning my executive decisions?" "This company is preparing to go public. I need people who are hungry and ready to fight, not someone whose brain is entirely consumed by wedding bells and marriage certificates." Sarah's face went completely pale. I didn't even look at him anymore. I pulled a cardboard box from under my desk and began packing my personal belongings one by one. Eight years of my prime, finally shoved into a single cardboard box. It was so light it was almost laughable. I turned and walked toward the exit. As I brushed past him, Simon suddenly reached out and clamped his hand around my wrist. His grip wasn't tight, but it carried a faint, frantic energy that even he didn't seem to realize. "Audrey." "If you want to throw a tantrum, I can give you the time." He stared down at me, still using that arrogant, patronizing tone. "One week." "When I get back from St. Barts, you will swallow your attitude and come back to work like a professional." He paused, then added a final sentence like he was granting me a royal pardon. "When that happens, I will consider taking you to City Hall for that license." I looked down at his hand gripping my wrist and suddenly let out a soft laugh. "Simon." "You have lost the right to marry me." I pulled my arm free and turned to leave. Sarah grabbed my sleeve, her eyes red. "Audrey, are you really just walking away? Aren't you just letting them win?" Before I could comfort her, a sickeningly sweet voice floated over from behind. "Sarah, what do you mean letting us win?" I glanced back. Daisy was strutting over in her designer heels, unable to hide the smug triumph in her voice. "Audrey is so obsessed with locking down a husband that she completely abandoned the company's future. Our CEO hates women who can't see the big picture. If Audrey ruins her own winning hand, she has no one to blame but herself." Sarah's face turned thunderous. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to march over. "Who are you calling blind to the big picture?" I reached out and stopped her. "Let it go." A second later, the doors to the private executive elevator chimed open. "Daisy, the car is waiting outside. Let's go," Simon called out. Then, he lifted his gaze and looked in my direction. His eyes lingered for a fraction of a second, as cold and detached as if he were looking at an irrelevant intern. No explanations. No begging me to stay. Not even a fake polite goodbye. Sarah cursed under her breath. "What an absolute piece of garbage." I felt strangely at peace. It turns out that when a heart dies thoroughly enough, even the pain becomes a whisper. Right at that moment, the sky outside darkened violently. Following a low rumble of thunder, a torrential downpour smashed against the city windows without warning. The security guard had already pulled the luxury sedan up to the front steps. He ran over, holding a large black umbrella. Simon took the umbrella from him. His first instinct wasn't to look back at me. Instead, he tilted his head toward Daisy. "Come on, don't get wet." The guard opened the car door for them. Daisy didn't get into the back. Instead, she naturally pulled open the passenger door and slid into the front seat. Resting on that specific seat was a custom embroidered lumbar pillow. When Simon's neck issues flared up last year, I had stayed up for three nights stitching it by hand. Now, Daisy stroked the fabric of the pillow. She deliberately rolled down the window and flashed me a crescent-eyed smile. "Audrey, this pillow is so soft. Since you already quit, you won't mind if I keep it, right?" Simon slid into the driver's seat, resting one hand casually on the steering wheel. Hearing her ask, he glanced at me through the rearview mirror. "It is just a pillow. Keep it if you like it." With one careless sentence, he rendered eight years of my devotion completely worthless. The tinted window slowly rolled up, entirely cutting off my view. The next second, the sleek black sedan sliced through the puddles, speeding away from the corporate building without a hint of hesitation. The red taillights were quickly swallowed by the blinding rain. I stood perfectly still on the steps, watching until the very last drop of suffocating hope in my chest was washed away by the storm. Eight years really amounted to nothing. The rain was torrential, yet he couldn't even be bothered to ask how I was getting home. By the time I gave the taxi driver the address to the apartment I had lived in for five years, my voice was so steady I barely recognized it myself. I pushed open the front door. Sitting in the entryway, right next to Simon's expensive leather loafers, was a strange pair of women's house slippers. They were pastel pink, adorned with a cheap faux pearl on the toe. I stared at those slippers for two seconds before a dry laugh escaped my throat. It turns out he had crossed the line long before today. I honestly didn't have much to pack. Over the past five years, I had poured every single dollar of my savings into keeping his startup afloat. My own closet was filled with nothing but basic, out-of-season clothes I bought on clearance. As I opened my bedside drawer to grab my passport, my fingers brushed against a dust-covered jewelry box. Driven by some phantom impulse, I popped it open. Resting quietly on the velvet cushion was a plain silver band. Eight years ago, Simon bought it for twenty bucks at a local flea market. That night, he had dropped to one knee, his eyes shining with tears. "Audrey, I have absolutely nothing to my name right now. This is all I can give you." "But I swear to God, when I make it big, I will buy you the biggest diamond in this entire city. I will make you the most envied bride in the world." I believed him back then. I believed him so deeply that I cut ties with my family. I stood in front of my grandfather and declared that I would rather die than marry anyone else. Grandpa had just looked at me with cold, calculating eyes. "Fine. Eight years." "If he does not marry you in eight years, you come back here, and you accept the arranged marriage I choose for you." I was so utterly convinced I was going to win that bet. Now I realize the only true joke was me. I was just about to snap the jewelry box shut when the electronic deadbolt on the front door beeped open. Simon collapsed his wet umbrella and walked into the apartment, smelling of rain and expensive cologne. When he saw the open suitcase on the bedroom floor, his brows knitted together in deep annoyance. He marched over and slammed his hand down on the lid of my suitcase. "Audrey, are you ever going to stop?" "Throwing a tantrum at the office is one thing, but you're giving me attitude in my own house?" I calmly brushed his hand away and folded my last two sweaters, placing them neatly inside. "I am not throwing a tantrum. I am moving out." Simon looked at me like I had just told the funniest joke in the world. "Moving out? Where exactly do you think you can go?" He let out a heavy sigh and softened his tone slightly, playing the benevolent peacemaker. "Audrey, I know you are upset that I delayed the city hall appointment." "But I already explained this to you. I am going to St. Barts to meet with some massive investors. Daisy is taking a vacation down there anyway, so it made perfect sense to travel together." "She is young, she is pretty, and she has a silver tongue. She can drink the clients under the table and close the deals for me." "You need to stop being so damn sensitive and acting insanely jealous over nothing." "We are about to be a married couple. Can you please act like a supportive future wife?" Listening to his shameless justification, a wave of pure, bone-deep exhaustion washed over me. What gave him the right to trample my dignity into the dirt and then demand that I be understanding about it? "Simon." "Do you honestly believe that no matter how horribly you treat me, I will always just forgive you?" He froze for a second, clearly taken aback by how blunt I was being. The next second, his phone screen lit up. He had tossed it onto the nightstand. The message preview flashed brightly in the dim room. [Mr. CEO, I'm at the airport! I really want to eat at that seafood place you took me to last time!] Sender: Daisy. The bedroom fell completely silent. Simon's face shifted, and he reached out quickly to snatch the phone. I gave a hollow smile. Any lingering doubt I had was instantly eradicated by pure disgust. "Just a business trip?" "Just traveling together?" "Simon, you are too lazy to even come up with a decent lie." A flash of guilt crossed his eyes, but his tone immediately hardened to cover it up. "Daisy is young and she does not have a filter. Are you seriously going to obsess over a stupid text message?" "I do not have the time to argue with you right now. We will talk when I get back from St. Barts." He still wore that invincible, arrogant armor. But right at that moment, my own phone lit up. A new message popped onto my screen. [Miss Sinclair, the Patriarch sent me to pick you up. I will arrive at the apartment in one hour.] The sender contact was saved simply as: Benson. Simon caught a glimpse of the message out of the corner of his eye. His brow twitched in confusion. "The Patriarch? Pick you up?" I didn't answer him. Instead, while maintaining dead eye contact, I slowly and deliberately slipped the cheap silver ring off my finger. I dropped it into the velvet box. "It is nothing." "Just someone finally coming to take me back to where I truly belong." Just as the words left my mouth, his phone buzzed again on the nightstand. This time, it was a voice memo from Daisy. Simon didn't even try to hide it. He tapped play right in front of me. "Mr. CEO, are you done packing? I'm waiting for you in the VIP lounge!" The flirtatious, breathy tone was so thick it practically dripped out of the speakers. Yet Simon stared at me with total self-righteousness. "Did you hear that? That is perfectly normal coworker communication." "Daisy is a bubbly person. Stop projecting your own filthy insecurities onto other people." I didn't say a single word. I just picked up the twenty-dollar silver ring and walked over to the open window. Simon seemed to sense a shift in the air. His face changed. "Audrey, what are you doing?" I stared out at the gray, rain-soaked skyline of the city and slowly uncurled my fingers. The silver ring, heavy with eight years of my youth and his lies, plummeted straight down into the muddy alleyway below. It didn't even make a sound. Like our eight years together, it rotted away completely. I turned around, looked Simon dead in the eyes, and spoke with absolute clarity. "Simon, I am done waiting for you." He visibly flinched. A brief flash of panic crossed his features. But almost instantly, that panic was buried under his usual mountain of arrogance. "This again?" "Audrey, there really is no limit to the stunts you will pull just to make me bow my head." In his eyes, dropping the ring out the window was just another tactic to play hard to get. He was absolutely certain that I could never survive without him, that I could never bear to actually leave. But this time, I didn't even bother giving him an explanation. I zipped my suitcase shut, pulled up the handle, and walked straight past him. As our shoulders brushed, I didn't spare him a single glance. Sometimes, walking away isn't a tantrum. It's a lifetime. The next morning, the storm cleared, leaving a brilliant blue sky. I stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of my luxury hotel suite, watching the endless stream of traffic below, and let out a long, heavy exhale. The doorbell rang precisely on time. I opened the door to find two rows of men in tailored black suits bowing deeply in unison. Standing at the front was Benson, my grandfather's most trusted butler. "Miss Sinclair, your private jet is prepped and ready for takeoff. We can return to New York whenever you are ready." I nodded, grabbed my designer handbag, and followed them without a word. The motorcade glided smoothly toward the international airport. Before we even reached the private aviation terminal, I could see the massive, chaotic crowds flooding the front of the commercial departure halls. Because of last night's severe thunderstorms, all flights to St. Barts were heavily delayed, leaving thousands of furious passengers stranded. Amidst the sea of people, I instantly spotted the two most recognizable figures. Simon and Daisy. Right at that moment, Daisy's gaze wandered past the massive glass walls of the terminal and locked onto my side of the tarmac. Her eyes widened in unfiltered envy. She tugged aggressively on Simon's expensive jacket sleeve, whispering loudly. "Wow, Simon, look at that!" "That is what real old money looks like." Simon frowned in irritation and looked up. His eyes met mine.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "530555", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel