Not a single one of them even glanced at my father's photo.

"No way. So the rumors are true? You're just using your dad for clout?"

"I can't believe you! No wonder Lance ended up with his secretary. How much of a failure does a wife have to be to lose her own husband to another woman?"

"I was hoping to introduce him to my niece. Everyone knows the best son-in-law is a rich one!" Laura admitted.

My knuckles turned white. All they cared about was how wealthy Lance was. I had naively believed they came because they still cared about their relative and wanted to pay their final respects. But no one gave a damn about my father or me, after all.

I pointed at the door and shouted, "Get out!"

The crowd froze in shock.

Laura tried to salvage the situation by guilt-tripping me, but I wasn't having it. When no one showed any sign of leaving, I grabbed the nearest floral spray and started swinging it at them until they fled.

"Get out! All of you, get out!" I yelled before slamming the door shut in their bewildered faces.

They ranted and whined on the porch for a while before finally leaving.

It was just me and my father again.

"I guess I'm the only one here to say goodbye. I hope you don't mind," I muttered as I tidied the room and picked up the urn to place it in a columbarium.

…

My eyes were puffy and sore when I showed up at the office the next day.

I came with only one goal: to hand in my resignation letter.

Idle chatter was already underway when I stepped into the HR office. Apparently, Lance had moved Lucinda into an office of her own, and the company was even renovating it for her.

"Mr. Mitchell really dotes on her, huh? She has her own office now, and he's paying to get her into a new home!" a woman said. "I wish I had a CEO boyfriend like that..."

Someone noticed my arrival and hushed, "Ms. Carter!"

The woman pursed her lips and greeted me reluctantly, "Good morning."

I handed over my resignation letter. "I'm leaving today."

They were stunned. The department head, Monique, responded reflexively. "You can't resign immediately. You need to wait for two weeks—"

"I can. I have the right to resign whenever I want. Mr. Mitchell signed a document granting me that right."

It was an agreement I had made with him a month earlier. I would take the blame and be held responsible for the losses caused by Lucinda's forgetfulness. In exchange, he would allow me to quit whenever I wanted and give me the freedom to compete against him in the same industry.

He had sneered from his luxurious chair, "I'll sign if you agree to take this shit off Lucy's hands. But do you really want to quit? I doubt it. No other company out there would be willing to give you so many benefits. You won't find a position this good anywhere else, I guarantee it.

"Don't do anything rash just because you're itching to throw a fit. I'm only helping Lucy because I feel sorry for her, that's all. You don't have to be so dramatic over nothing."

He had assumed it was an impulsive decision. He couldn't have been more wrong. I had planned to resign the moment Lance abused his authority as CEO to promote Lucinda to chief secretary and give her the power to hire and fire employees.

"Just sign it. I'll take the blame," I had said.

…

After verifying my documents, the HR department got to work.

As I waited, I could already hear the gossip spreading.

"She sure has a lot of tricks up her sleeve."

"She knows she can't get Mr. Mitchell to look at her, even after turning her father's death into a melodrama, so now she's moving on to her next backup plan. It's pathetic."

I ignored them and let the gossip continue. Once I received my formal discharge letter, I left without giving the company a final glance.

…

Three days passed.

I arrived at the courthouse early to receive my divorce decree.

I had also managed to see all the posts Lucinda had shared on social media. She must have unblocked me.

They all appeared to have been posted within those three days.

I scrolled through the posts.

Every place Lance took her was somewhere he had once promised to take me but never did. His promises had been fulfilled, along with the photography skills he had learned to take flattering pictures of me. But the woman who got to enjoy all of it was Lucinda, not the wife he had spent the last ten years with.

Under one of the photos, I found a comment where Lance identified himself as her boyfriend.

He used to do all of this for me. Now it was all part of Lucinda's experience.

I doubted he would be back anytime soon. He seemed to be having far too much fun.

…

I took the divorce decree with me and went to a restaurant I had always liked.

To my surprise, I overheard the laughter and chatter of Lance, his family, and Lucinda.

They had apparently reserved a private room, but the door was slightly ajar. His mother, Leah Vedel, held Lucinda's hand affectionately and looked at her son.

Leah said, "She's such an angel, dear. Divorce that one and bring her into the family already! Don't you know how insufferable Brianna has been all these years?

"It's been a decade, and she still puts on airs whenever she's around us, as if she's too good for us! Pfft. Arrogant girl. She wouldn't even give you a child!"

"But this darling? I heard she's incredibly capable. She brings in huge profits for the company and gets along with everyone with ease!

"What you're missing in your life is a sweet, warm-hearted cheerleader, Lance. She's that girl!"

Lucinda lowered her head as though embarrassed while stealing a glance at Lance's reaction.

Lance took a quiet sip of his coffee. "I've been married to Brianna for ten years. A divorce could attract unnecessary attention and bad press."

He conveniently left out the fact that we were childless only because he never wanted children, and that every one of Lucinda's so-called achievements had been built on other people's work and claimed as her own.

I was about to enter the room when Marlene, Lance's sister, chimed in, "Really?! You think people are going to think you're weird for that? Get with the times already! People divorce for far less, even after being with someone much longer!

"Honestly? I hate having Brianna as my sister-in-law. She's embarrassing to talk about. People at school have been laughing at me because of her!"

"I know, right?!" Nolan, his brother, added. "Just marry Lucy already, Lance. She's better than Brianna in every way. I really don't want to be the laughingstock of my class when the next semester starts."

These two ingrates had only gotten into university because of me. I had found the best tutors to give them private SAT prep. I was the one who had contacted college administrators to help secure their admission. I had even tutored them myself when they struggled with their coursework.

And now I was suddenly too embarrassing for them?

I let out a snicker. Ingratitude clearly ran in this family. They even used the same excuses to put me down.

Back when I invested so much of my money and effort into the company, Leah had praised me to the skies. She would tell everyone she met that I was the best daughter-in-law anyone could ask for. She would go on and on about how I was Lance's greatest blessing.

Now? The company was bringing in huge profits, so they no longer needed me. Suddenly, I had become the stain on their otherwise perfect record.

I pushed the door open and told the waitress, "I don't need my own room, thanks."

Lucinda and the Mitchells froze in surprise.

Lance quickly took another sip of his coffee to hide his expression. He managed to put on a frown and asked, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be working?"

I wondered whether he already knew I had quit. My resignation had caused quite a stir, after all.

There was no way no one had reported it to Lucinda. And since he had apparently been spending the last three days with her, why would he be unaware? Besides, HR must have emailed him about it.

If Lucinda had quit her job, I was certain that he would have noticed much sooner.

I met his gaze. "I've resigned. I can be anywhere I want."

"Who approved that?!" Lance shot back instantly.

I noticed he didn't ask why I had left.

Leah reeled. When she realized that meant I was effectively unemployed, she snapped.

"How shameless are you, Brianna?! You're already a terrible wife! And now you're going to live off his money like a parasite?! Damn it! I swear to God, I should have forbidden this marriage back then!" she snarled, trembling with fury.

Lucinda quickly stepped in to console her.

Lance's expression darkened. "Fine. Resign all you want. But let me burst your bubble right now. I'm not paying your allowance. You're on your own."

His siblings immediately chimed in, "Wait! That means there's a vacancy at the company! This is perfect! Lucinda can take the position! She's more than qualified for it!"

Leah nodded at once.

Lance hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

How ridiculous. A few well-placed remarks were all Lucinda needed to become the company's COO.

It took her less than a minute, yet I had spent ten years earning that position.

The way Lance pretended to give it serious thought made me laugh. I was about to point it out when Lucinda suddenly jumped to her feet and put on a show of gratitude. "Thank you for believing in me, Lance, everyone. I promise I won't let any of you down."

She turned to me and flashed a triumphant smile before handing me a gift box. "I know you've been upset with me these past few days, so I prepared a care package as a gesture of goodwill. Please accept my sincerest apology."

As she pushed the box toward me, the diamond ring on her finger caught the light. The gesture was anything but subtle.

I had already seen the ring on her Instagram post. The matching one was on Lance's finger.

I snickered. "Sorry, but your idea of an apology is giving someone a box of free samples?"

I already had the same gift box. It was part of a promotional campaign. Anyone could get one without buying anything.

"How could you say that?!" Lance immediately protested. "Free samples?! She took the time to pick those gifts out for you!"

Lucinda lowered her gaze and stood beside him as though deeply hurt. "It's fine. I shouldn't be surprised Brianna thinks it's cheap. I don't have the money to buy anything better, after all."

Nolan and Marlene immediately grabbed the box. "No! Don't say that! She's just being an asshole, Lucy!"

Even Leah slammed her glass onto the table in outrage. "We've had just about enough of your attitude, Brianna! You and Lance are clearly incompatible. You're not good enough for him. Divorce is the only way forward!"

I caught the slight curl of Lucinda's lips, but when she looked up again, she wore a sorrowful expression. "Mrs. Mitchell, that's too harsh. They've been together for so long! I don't think Lance would be happy with that."

The Mitchells turned to him with bated breath as he walked toward me.

"This is too much, Brianna. You were out of line. You shouldn't have mocked Lucy's goodwill like that," he reprimanded. "Apologize now and transfer your client list to her. Do that, and I won't divorce you."

I couldn't hold it in any longer and laughed scornfully. This bastard was still trying to pave the way for Lucinda's success.

"Save your breath," I sneered, raising the divorce decree right in front of his face. "We're already divorced."