The blabbermouth Betty said, "Don't tell me it's really like everyone said. Are you really faking your dad's death to get attention? What a mess. No wonder Cara is closer to that assistant of hers. You're so useless. You can't even keep your own wife under control.

"What a shame. I was planning to have her introduce a match for my nephew, you know? Preferably an only daughter of a wealthy family."

She openly stated the purpose of her visit without the slightest restraint.

I clenched my fists.

In their eyes, only Cara's wealth and status mattered. They had never thought much of Dad or me. I had assumed that, at the very least, they would respect Dad out of family ties.

It turned out I had been deluding myself.

Pointing at the door, I said frigidly, "Get out."

They were stunned. Betty was about to put on airs as an elder, but I didn't give her the chance.

When none of them moved, I grabbed a wreath nearby and hurled it at them. "Get out! All of you, get out!"

I drove them all outside in one furious sweep and slammed the door shut amid their astonishment.

After cursing outside for a while, my relatives left.

I said, "Dad, I'm the only one here to see you off on your final journey. I hope you won't mind."

After tidying up the memorial hall, I took Dad's urn to the cemetery by myself and laid him to rest.

The next day, I went to the company to resign, my eyes bloodshot from staying up all night.

The moment I stepped into the HR office, I heard people discussing a new directive from Cara. She had instructed them to arrange a new office for Warren and to renovate it.

"Ms. Lavigne really spoils Warren. Not only is she giving him a private office, but she's even planning to get him a new house. I'm so jealous."

As they spoke, someone noticed me and hurriedly warned the others.

"Mr. Zane." The employee who had been speaking greeted me reluctantly with a grimace.

I handed over my resignation letter.

Ignoring their discussion, I calmly said, "I'm here to process my resignation."

The HR staff froze for a moment before instinctively rejecting it. "You need to initiate an OA application to resign."

I answered, "That's not necessary. I have authorization to resign directly. Ms. Lavigne signed this document that gives me permission."

I handed over the paperwork.

I had obtained it from Cara a month ago. I took the blame for Warren and accepted responsibility for the project's losses. In return, she gave me the right to resign directly and waived the non-competing clause.

"As long as you take the blame for Warren, I'll sign it," Cara had said.

While seated in her luxurious office chair, she had continued, "But can you really bear to resign? The company gives you one of the highest salaries in the industry. If you leave, do you think you'll ever find a position this good?

"Don't act out of anger. I'm only helping Warren because I feel sorry for him. If that's why you're upset, it's unnecessary."

What she didn't know was that this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. I had made up my mind to resign a long time ago.

The moment she promoted Warren over more senior employees to Executive Assistant and gave him authority to recruit staff beyond his role, I had already started planning my departure.

"Sign it. I'll take full responsibility," I said.

After confirming the document's authenticity, HR began processing my resignation.

Around me, people whispered.

"I've never heard Warren mention this document. Could this be another one of Julian's stunts for Ms. Lavigne's affection?"

"He sure has a lot of tricks. His dad's death didn't get Ms. Lavigne's attention, so he's using resignation as a threat now. What a schemer."

I paid no attention to them. I let them take photos and gossip about me in their private group chats. Once I received my resignation certificate, I left without looking back.

…

In the blink of an eye, three days passed by. Today was the day I was scheduled to receive my divorce decree. I went to the courthouse early that morning and obtained it without any trouble.

At the same time, I saw dozens of new posts Warren had uploaded. He must have unblocked me. All of his posts had been published over the past three days.

As I scrolled through them one by one, I realized that every place Cara had taken him was somewhere she had always promised to take me but never had.

The promises she once made to me were now being fulfilled for Warren. Even the angles of the photographs were the same ones she had specially learned for my sake.

Now, she was using them all on Warren.

In the comments section, there was one reply where Cara referred to herself as Warren's girlfriend.

Everything she had done for Warren now, she had once done for me. She was having such a good time that she probably wouldn't be back anytime soon.

Just as I was heading to my usual restaurant with the divorce decree, intending to celebrate by myself, I unexpectedly heard laughter and conversation from Cara's family and Warren.

Inside the private dining room, Cara's mother, Daisy Brown, held Warren's hand affectionately and looked at Cara.

She said, "Listen to me. Don't miss out on a good man like Warren. Hurry up and divorce Julian. All these years, he's been mediocre at the company and never amounted to much. He's been living off you, like a useless freeloader. I can't even hold my head up when I go out to play poker with my friends.

"I've heard Warren is very outstanding. Not only is he capable at work, but he's also popular at the company. Sometimes, he can even keep an eye on things you don't notice. If I had such a capable son-in-law, I'd be proud to tell everyone."

Through the crack in the door, I saw Warren lower his head shyly while carefully observing Cara's reaction.

She remained silent for two seconds before hesitantly lifting her glass to take a sip. "Julian and I have been married for ten years. If we divorced now, people will talk."

She didn't explain why I had supposedly never amounted to much all these years. Nor did she explain whose shoulders Warren had stepped on to obtain those achievements and projects.

I clenched my fists and was about to push the door open when Cara's younger brother, Carl Lavigne, spoke from inside.

"What are you afraid of, Cara? People get divorced left and right these days. Forget ten years. People can still get divorced whenever they want after spending 20 years together.

"I don't want Julian as my brother-in-law. He's so embarrassing. My classmates always make fun of me behind my back for having a freeloader brother-in-law."

"Exactly." Cara's younger sister, Carly Lavigne, chimed in. "Why don't you just marry Warren? He's way better than Julian. I don't want my classmates laughing at me again when college starts."

The only reason Carl and Carly had gotten into college was that I had constantly helped them find tutors, contacted educational institutions on their behalf, and even personally tutored them in their coursework.

Now that they had made it through college applications, they turned around and said I wasn't good enough.

I chuckled coldly and thought how expected it was that the most ungrateful people were all from one family. Even their excuses for looking down on me were identical.

They all thought I was an embarrassment. But they seemed to have forgotten that back when I was investing money and effort into the company, Daisy constantly praised me as the most wonderful son-in-law she could ever have.

Whenever she met an acquaintance outside, she couldn't wait to sing my praises and tell everyone that Cara was so fortunate to have married me.

Now that the company was thriving and Cara's net worth had risen accordingly, they turned their backs on me right away.

I reached up and pushed the door open.

Then, I instructed the server who had been leading me to my room. "There's no need to get me another private room. I'll just eat here."

Upon hearing my voice, everyone turned to look.

Without exception, shock appeared on all of their faces. Cara lifted her glass to conceal her awkwardness, though the flash of tension in her eyes did not escape me.

A moment later, she recovered and questioned me with a frown. "Shouldn't you be at the company handling work? What are you doing here?"

Judging by the puzzled look on her face, she still didn't know that I had already resigned.

But on the day I resigned, the employees had been gossiping everywhere. I didn't believe for a second that they hadn't passed the news on to Warren.

Cara spent every day attached to him. How could she not know?

Even if Warren had intentionally concealed it, HR still had to report the whole resignation process to her via email. So, there was no way she could have been unaware.

If it had been Warren, who was someone she cherished, she probably would have noticed immediately.

I met her gaze and answered calmly, "I resigned. I can go wherever I want."

"Who gave you permission to resign?" Cara demanded instinctively, showing no concern whatsoever for why I had resigned.

Hearing that, Daisy looked surprised.

The moment she realized I was unemployed, she immediately chimed in, "Julian, have you got no shame at all? Are you planning to sit at home and live off a woman now? If I'd known you were this pathetic, I never would've agreed to let Cara marry you!"

Daisy trembled with anger, and Warren quickly stepped forward to comfort her.

Cara's expression turned grim instantly.

After thinking of something, she said icily, "Maybe your resignation is for the best. But let me make one thing clear—I won't give you any living expenses. You'll have to figure out your own finances."

The Lavigne siblings seemed to think of something and immediately joined in.

"Doesn't that mean a position has opened up at the company? Why not give it to Warren? He's so capable. He'll definitely lead the company to even greater success."

Daisy nodded in agreement.

After pondering for a few seconds, Cara readily agreed.

With just a few words, Warren obtained the Vice President position that I had put ten long years of hard work into securing.

Cara's hypocritical act amused me.

Just as I was about to speak, Warren stood up and thanked Cara. "Thank you, Cara. I definitely won't let everyone down."

As he spoke, he flashed me a smug smile. That was the smile of a victor.

Then, he took out a gift box and handed it to me. "I know you're angry with me. I prepared this gift as an apology. I hope you can forgive me."

As he handed it over, he accidentally revealed the expensive watch on his wrist. I had seen a matching pair of those watches on his social media before. The other one was on Cara's wrist.

I glanced at the gift box and scoffed. "So this is how you apologize to others? By giving away promotional freebies from luxury brands?"

I happened to own the same gift set. The one he was giving me was a complimentary item that came free without additional purchase.

"Watch your words, Julian!" Cara immediately came to his defense. "What freebie? Warren personally picked this out for you!"

Warren lowered his eyes and stood beside her dejectedly.

In a hurt tone, he said, "It's okay, Cara. It's normal for Julian to dislike my gift. It's my fault for not having enough money to buy something from a more prestigious brand."

"Warren, it's the thought that counts. This isn't your fault. It's Julian who's ungrateful!" Carl spoke up immediately, picking up the gift box.

Carly comforted Warren. "Exactly! He's the one who doesn't know how to be appreciative!"

Daisy suddenly slammed her glass onto the table and said coolly, "Enough. Julian, let's settle this face-to-face. You're no longer worthy of Cara. You two might as well get divorced."

With his head lowered, the corners of Warren's mouth lifted once again. But when he looked up, his eyes were filled with pretentious regret.

He said, "Mrs. Lavigne, Cara and Julian have been married for so many years. It would be such a shame for them to separate. Cara wouldn't be able to bear parting with him either."

The Lavignes all turned to look at Cara.

Under everyone's expectant gaze, she took a deep breath and walked over to me.

"Julian, you've really gone too far this time. You shouldn't have trampled on Warren's sincerity. As long as you apologize to Warren and hand over the client information you've compiled privately, I can choose not to divorce you," she said.

Hearing that, I couldn't help but scoff. Even now, all she could think about was how to pave the way for Warren.

"There's no need."

I held the divorce decree up in front of her and replied coldly, "We're already divorced."