It turned out she had known I was angry before, but she had never cared. Every time, it was just her scolding me, calling me petty, and saying my heart saw filth in everything.

Just as I was about to tell her I was moving out, Lindsey's phone rang. Gerald was shouting on the other end, claiming someone had bullied him.

Lindsey shot me a sharp glare and let out a cold, mocking laugh. "So you were waiting here for me, Julian. Clever little stunt."

Before I could even process what she meant, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me into her car.

Inside, the scent of a man's cologne filled the air. It was the same one Gerald wore. A plush dog dangled from the rearview mirror, matching Gerald's WhatsApp avatar.

Ever since I started working at Lindsey's company, I had avoided riding in her car. She said it was to prevent gossip and keep our relationship under wraps. The space I could no longer enter had long since been taken by someone else.

The familiar ache of bitterness in my chest had vanished, replaced by a cold, resigned clarity.

As soon as we arrived at the company, Lindsey yanked me out of the car with force. I twisted my ankle and fell to the ground.

She ignored me completely and sneered. "What are you playing at?"

She signaled her bodyguard, who grabbed me by the collar and dragged me inside like I was nothing.

They hauled me straight to my old workstation. My wrists and knees were scraped and bleeding, and I kneeled there like a beaten dog.

Lindsey held Gerald protectively in her arms and warned, "I don't care who instructed you to bully an intern. This company isn't Julian's to run. If you want to remain here, you'd better show some courage."

Joshua Miller's face drained of color as he froze in place. He had already sent me a message on the way here.

After I left, Gerald had been under his supervision.

What could a lazy, manipulative intern like him actually achieve?

He even botched a client's order, and when Joshua reprimanded him, Gerald ran straight to Lindsey to complain.

Gerald rested his head on Lindsey's shoulder, and the two of them seemed completely oblivious to everyone around them.

"Ms. Corwell, I really don't know what I did wrong. I just saw the client was overweight and ordered a diet meal, and Joshua yelled at me…"

Lindsey bent slightly to rub his head, assuring him she would make things right.

Her cold gaze swept over the group. "I know Julian got along well with all of you. You might feel the urge to vent your anger on someone now that he's gone, but this was entirely his own mistake. Gerald has nothing to do with it, and he should not be punished."

She leveled them with another icy stare. "I'll make it clear again. If you want to stay, show some courage. If not, leave now."

Everyone went pale, fully grasping the weight of her words.

Derrick Brown, whom I had personally recruited, stepped forward. He shut his eyes tightly, whispered an apology, and struck me across the face.

Lindsey remained unmoved. "What about the rest of you?"

The rest of them—friends, allies, anyone I had crossed paths with—piled on, slapping me without pause.

Blood ran down the corners of my lips. My head swirled, my ears buzzed, and my thoughts were starting to blur.

Gerald let out a short, mocking laugh. "Ms. Corwell, just look at him. How pathetic. He looks like a fat pig."

Lindsey's eyes were cold as ice, and her words were merciless. "A manipulative schemer like him doesn't belong in this company."

"His resignation was rejected. He's fired, and his year-end bonus is revoked—transfer it to Gerald."

My eyes widened in disbelief. Anger coiled through me like a web, tightening around my heart.

"Lindsey! This is mine! How can you do this?"

According to company rules, bonuses were determined by the projects each employee handled. Every negotiation, every draft, and every client discussion was all my work. I had even stayed up until dawn chasing a single extra point.

This bonus wasn't just money. It was the payoff I had been counting on to clear my mortgage.

When I was a child, my parents divorced, and no one wanted me. I was tossed around like a ball. I ended up at my uncle, Raymond Stark's house. My aunt, Isabella Sterling, hated me and often threatened to throw me out if I didn't behave. That fear of having nowhere to go stayed with me as I grew up.

After being with Lindsey, I clung to her desperately, terrified she might kick me out. I needed to know her every move. Even the strongest love could fade, so I placed my hopes in money and started saving to buy my own home. If Lindsey ever left, at least I would have a place to go.

I threw myself into work like a madman and finally managed to scrape together the down payment. Over the years, I had pinched every bit I could, paying off the mortgage under enormous pressure.

I worked around the clock, and my hair began to fall out and turn gray far too early.

Lindsey had seen everything I had gone through. She knew how much this bonus meant to me, and yet, she mocked me, saying, "This company is mine, and since you bullied Gerald, you owe him compensation."

Every word I wanted to say got stuck in my throat. My stomach churned violently, and a wave of nausea burned up my esophagus.

My year-end bonus, worth over 300 thousand dollars, was casually handed to an intern who had done nothing.

I gritted my teeth and fought the dizziness as the security guards Lindsey had summoned dragged me out of the building.

As soon as I stepped outside, Lindsey sent a message.

"Today's mess is entirely your fault."

Since I didn't reply, she fired off another.

"Alright, maybe I went too far, but only because you showed Gerald no mercy. He's my junior, and I couldn't just stand by while you treated him like that. I'm leaving for a business trip to Francia tomorrow. That new product you wanted is launching there, so I'll get it for you as a way to make up for it."

What Lindsey didn't realize was that Gerald had just posted about it on social media.

He wrote, "I wanted to see the Seylle Tower, and someone made a business trip the perfect excuse to bring me along. It's wonderful being treated like a treasure!"

I instantly blacklisted both of them.

…

A week later, Lindsey returned from her trip, clutching the new cufflinks and feeling uneasy. She had only planned to be away for three days, but Gerald had dragged her from one store and landmark to another, and she had completely forgotten to send me a message.

Today, she had come back hoping to surprise me.

The thought of me waiting at home made her heart lift, and she hurried inside.

She called my name twice as she stepped through the door, but there was no answer.

The suitcases I had packed were gone. Everything that had belonged to me in the house had vanished without a trace.

Lindsey's breath caught, and her face turned pale.

An impossible thought crept into her mind, and panic surged through her like a tidal wave.

"No, this can't be…"

She knew how deeply I cared for her. Over the years, I had proposed marriage more than once, and she had believed that such a promise was a lifelong commitment.

Lindsey had always taken me for granted and never once feared I would leave.

As soon as she said the word "marriage", I would drop everything without hesitation and head straight to the city hall.

Where else could I possibly turn, if not to her?

I had long since cut ties with my parents. Only Uncle Raymond reached out occasionally, but I knew Aunt Isabella would never be happy to see me, so there was no way I would go there.

Would I be at the little apartment I had finally managed to put a down payment on?

Lindsey's eyes brightened for a moment. She grabbed the cufflinks and drove to Westville.

When she reached Westville, she came to a stop. She didn't know where my apartment was.

A flicker of frustration crossed her eyes. She had never imagined I would actually move into that little apartment, so she had never paid attention to its location. When I asked for her opinion while buying it, she just glanced at it and shrugged. Now, she had no way of finding out where it was.

As she drove, Lindsey suddenly realized that I had blocked her on WhatsApp.

She did not know when it had happened, and she had not contacted me all week. Had I done it out of jealousy?

There was no way to tell.

She pulled out her phone and dialed my number. The automated female voice on the other end left her completely stunned.

She hadn't imagined I would go so far as to block all her contacts.

Lindsey's mind flashed back to that day in the office, when I had calmly proposed breaking up. That calm, measured expression made her realize I was serious this time.

A tightening, suffocating rope seemed to wrap around her chest. She sank to the ground, clutching her chest, gasping for air.

"Julian…"

Just as she was about to ask someone to track down the location of my apartment, her phone rang.

Jessie's triumphant voice came through, "Lindsey, I'm getting engaged. My fiancé just said yes. There's an engagement party tonight. You have to come."

A sharp pain throbbed behind Lindsey's eyes. She could hear the gloating in Jessie's tone, but she had no mood for a party.

"I have something to do. I can't—"

Apparently, Jessie had guessed something and cut her off, "You have to be there. Aren't you looking for someone? I will help you."

Lindsey pushed aside the uneasy feeling in her gut and agreed to Jessie's invitation.

She wasn't particularly close to Jessie—they were just college classmates. She didn't understand why Jessie was so insistent about her attendance, but she knew Jessie was the youngest daughter of the Hartwell family. With her connections, it would be simple for her to track someone down.

…

Lindsey had planned to go alone that evening, but Gerald somehow found out and insisted on tagging along. After considering it for a moment, she agreed.

I watched with amusement as Jessie strutted about like a peacock, trying on five different dresses before my eyes.

"Which one looks best?" she asked.

I thought for a moment. "They all look good. Why are you so insistent on Lindsey coming?"

Jessie panicked slightly and hurried over to grab my hand.

"You heard everything? Are you upset? I'm just too happy…"

I shook my head and smiled, wrapping my arm around her as we stepped outside.

As soon as we stepped outside, a gaze locked on me.

Following it, I saw Lindsey trembling in place. Her face was drained of color, and under the glow of the light, she looked completely lifeless.