At the company’s annual meeting, the lucky wheel’s pointer moved past a girl’s name, paused for a few seconds, then pointed at me.

The entire hall burst into cheers, everyone looking toward Lucian Lucero, who had loved me for eight years.

“President Lucero personally arranged this event. Whoever the pointer chooses will become the general manager!”

“Sister Ciara Bernard contributed a lot to the company. She really deserves to become general manager!”

“Sister Ciara promotion! Promotion! General manager!”

Under the hopeful and happy looks from everybody, Lucian walked up to the platform.

I remembered the hundreds of millions in earnings I had earned for the business this year, my chest beating hard as I waited for him to share the news about making me the general manager.

But he gave a soft smile and quietly shifted the pointer away from my name.

The pointer finally landed on a different girl’s name.

Lucian gently patted my hair, his expression still kind. “The pointer stopped on Stella’s name a while ago.”

“Ciara, you’ve given eight years to this company. The next promotion chance surely goes to you.”

Clapping rose for another person.

I stared at the man watching the girl as I tightly held the appointment letter in my hand.

He didn’t understand that there would never be another next time.

I had already signed the agreement with the rival company.

The starting date was next week.

——

The people who once stood around me to win favor with the “future general manager” now showed awkward looks when they looked at me.

Some older employees who had worked with Lucian and me for years quickly came over to ease the mood. “Ciara, President Lucian also hopes to train new people. Otherwise, the general manager role surely belongs to you!”

“Exactly, Ciara, Lucian arranges this part to make you happy. He just doesn’t expect Stella to step ahead first…”

I knew they feared I would make a problem there.

In the end, I had spent eight years beside Lucian building the company from the beginning, yet I still remained a low-level employee.

If something like this happened to another person, nobody would feel happy about it.

Facing their looks of pity and curiosity, I only gave a light smile and switched the subject.

“I hear this year’s reward for the general manager is a vacation on an island. Congratulations to Manager Stella.”

The spotlight landed on Stella Costa.

She looked very happy, tightly holding the tickets for the seven-day island vacation before throwing herself into Lucian’s arms nearby.

Lucian’s body froze briefly, but he still did not move her away in the end.

Only after everyone in the hall looked over did Stella seem to suddenly come back to her senses and quickly step away.

“Sorry, President Lucian. I become too happy for a second and forget my place.”

She said sorry, but her eyes looked directly at me.

The challenging look in her eyes made me suddenly remember the time she first entered the company.

As a new university graduate, Stella’s job background did not match the company’s hiring standards.

But Lucian still agreed to accept her into the company.

Since she lacked work experience, Lucian brought her everywhere to join meetings and activities, and both big and small projects carried her name.

Even her position could stand above mine, even after all my years in the company.

I quietly shifted my eyes away and paid no attention anymore.

Stella’s ways were not difficult to notice. A colleague who knew me well looked at me with worry.

“Sister Ciara, this Stella…”

I gently stopped her. “Annie, starting today, she is Manager Stella.”

Annie stopped talking and shut her mouth.

I understood she wanted to warn me and remind Lucian that Stella’s purpose was not simple.

But her tricks were too obvious. How could Lucian, who had spent many years in the business world, not notice it?

It was just that he chose not to point it out.

The general manager appointment event had already ended, so there was no reason for me to remain there anymore.

Without waiting for Lucian, I left first and drove back alone to our apartment in the middle of the city.

He purchased this apartment when the company’s Series B financing became successful. He said the surroundings here were beautiful and suitable for “looking at our future territory together.”

At that time, neither of us had ever imagined that several years later, things would turn out like this.

Sometime later, noise came from the doorway.

Lucian came back carrying a light smell of alcohol from business gatherings.

He switched on the light, noticed me standing beside the window, seemed shocked for a second, then slowly frowned.

“Why don’t you switch on the light? You come home alone and don’t even inform me.”

He loosened his necktie and walked closer, planning to hold me from behind like before.

I stepped forward and moved away from him.

His hand stopped in the air.

“Are you still upset about what happened tonight?”

He sighed. “Stella is only a young woman who has just entered the company. It’s understandable for her to have goals. Don’t think too much about it.”

“Be good, let’s wait until next time.”

Next time.

That sentence sounded so familiar.

Next holiday, next special day, next time celebrating my birthday properly, next time surely announcing our relationship, next time… wedding.

All those “next times” slowly turned into these eight hopeless years I lived through.

“Lucian,” I stared at him, “do you still remember what you promised my mom three years ago when she was badly sick?”

His hand stopped while touching my hair.

At that time, my mom was already near death, and the company was also dealing with the second investment round.

I was extremely busy every single day, sleeping only four hours, and after one week, I lost a lot of weight.

Lucian looked at me, his eyes becoming red, then knelt beside my mom’s hospital bed and gave his promise.

In three years, he would surely make me the general manager and let me become the honored Mrs. Lucero.

Maybe my mom was touched by his words. While holding his hand, she said “good” three times before passing away.

Now, half of that promise had already come true.

He truly became President Lucero, but the general manager position no longer belonged to me.

“There is only one last week before the three years you promised my mom end.”

Lucian placed his arm behind my neck and held my shoulder.

“Ciara, isn’t this simply because things don’t always happen as planned?”

“Besides, once the company officially becomes public, won’t your position as Mrs. Lucero become even more impressive?”

After saying that, he naturally moved closer, wanting to pull me into his embrace.

I stood and stepped away from his arms.

“Lucian.”

“No one stays waiting forever in one place.”

Lucian became quiet and was about to say something when his phone suddenly rang.

He lowered his eyes to the screen. The caller was Stella.

He did not stay away from me while answering the call, and his face unknowingly became softer.

“Hmm, it’s good that you got back home. You did very well today. Rest soon.”

“The island trip? About that, let’s go after attending the European summit first.”

Europe summit.

We decided earlier this year to attend the conference together so we could grow into a new market.

After finishing the call, he seemed to forget the small issue from before and casually explained things to me.

“Ciara, for the Europe summit happening in a few days, I’ll take Stella with me.”

“You’re already one of the senior people in the company. With you staying behind to handle things, I feel less worried.”

I feel less worried.

Those four simple and fluttering words left me frozen in place.

So, plans truly could not follow changes.

What changed was never the plan itself, but the person inside his plan.

Lucian did not notice my face suddenly turning white, or maybe he noticed but simply did not care much.

He picked up the car keys and headed outside.

“The light in Stella’s home is broken. I’m going there to change the light bulb.”

I calmed my feelings and gently nodded.

Still, Lucian paused near the door, as though waiting for me to fix his untidy collar like before.

But I only walked closer and shut the door.

Once the door closed, I leaned my back against it and slowly lowered myself onto the floor.

I did not know how long I stayed there. Only after my legs started feeling numb did I hold onto the wall and slowly rise, then walk toward the study room.

After switching on the computer, the cold white light shone on my blank face.

The mouse moved and opened that email I had looked at many times already.

The words inside the email sounded honest and recognized all the work and effort I gave during the past eight years.

They even prepared a special investment plan fund document using my name.

It was completely unlike Lucian’s endless “next time.”

Once I finished discussing the exact onboarding details with the CEO of the competing company, I got up and pulled out the proposal from the shelf that I had partly completed earlier.

I had started preparing this proposal near the end of last month.

Based on the schedule, if nothing went wrong, it would be completed and carried out on the first day of my promotion as general manager.

But since Lucian chose to give that position to another person, there was no reason for me to hand this contract to him anymore.

The loud sound of an engine rose from outside the window.

My hand trembled, and I instinctively lifted my eyes toward the clock hanging on the wall.

Three hours had already gone by since he left.

From downtown to Stella’s residence, going there and back only took around fifteen minutes.

What kind of light bulb needed that much time to replace?

I did not want to continue thinking about it.

The study room door slowly opened, and Lucian stood by the entrance.

“Why are you still awake?”

I stayed silent.

Lucian walked inside, and the moment he noticed the proposal in my hand, his expression paused briefly.

Maybe he also remembered how much hard work I had poured into this proposal and how excited I had been to carry it out on my first day as general manager.

“Ciara, why did you bring the proposal out again?” His voice sounded natural, though a little cold. “Even if you’re not the general manager, the proposal can still be carried out.”

“It makes no difference, Ciara.”

No, it didn't make a difference.

I quietly denied it in my heart.

When he saw me staying silent, he didn’t continue speaking. He put an arm around my shoulder and gently said, “Alright, sleep now. We’ll discuss work tomorrow.”

I didn’t move.

“Lucian, let’s break up.”

Lucian’s hand on my shoulder suddenly stopped moving for a second.

Then, he laughed. “Isn’t it only one job position? Right now, you are Mrs. Lucero. Why are you arguing with a young girl? Ciara, don’t be so narrow-minded.”

“When the company becomes public, I’ll give you a higher position, something even above general manager, okay?”

His voice sounded tired but amused, and he did not take my words seriously at all.

After saying that, he ignored my response, turned around, and walked to the bathroom.

I watched his back and quietly said, “Lucian, I’m not becoming general manager anymore.”

“I’m preparing to become a new partner.”

Lucian paused his steps before leaving.

Only after a while did he turn around. His eyes no longer looked at me as gently as they once did.

He rubbed between his brows, sounding a little irritated.

“Ciara, why do you always cause trouble without reason?”

“I told you already, Stella is still a newcomer. I only want to give her some support. Also, promotions must follow the company rules and process. It’s not like you become a partner whenever you want.”

I ignored his words and continued talking to myself. “It’s next week.”

“The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the partner promotion is already being prepared.”

Lucian quietly stared at me for a few seconds, then suddenly gave a cold laugh. “Ciara, how did I never notice before that your attitude is this bad?”

“Yes, I promised your mother, but you also need to understand my situation. The company is preparing to go public right now, and I cannot allow any problems. Can’t you try to understand a little?”

His accusing words came directly at me.

The past me probably would have become emotional after hearing only a few words from him, then immediately stepped back and stopped talking about the promotion anymore.

But now, I had already made up my mind to leave.

In his eyes, during the company’s public listing period, nothing could go wrong.

So he kept choosing to blame me again and again.

And Stella, whose job experience was much lower than mine, still received everything I never got.

Even while the company was preparing to go public, he still spent so much effort promoting her and even went with her on an island vacation.

I should have realized it much earlier.

When I lifted my head again, my heart was calm.

“I promised my mom that within three years, she would see me get promoted.”

“The three years are almost finished, Lucian. I don’t have any extra time to waste on you now.”

Lucian went silent, his face slowly becoming red. After holding back for a while, he unwillingly left behind one sentence, “Completely unreasonable.”

Then, he walked away.

This time, I did not follow him anymore. Instead, I turned around and returned to the bedroom, carefully placing the onboarding certificate into the bedside drawer.

The drawer contained every important document from those eight years.

It included the ID card and household register for marriage, even the prepared speech for the promotion event.

For eight whole years, I had waited for him every single day.

Yet what I received again and again was only “next time.”

Once I locked the drawer, I lay back on the bed.

The phone suddenly vibrated.

A message had arrived from the CEO of the rival company.

[Ms. Bernard, your work results are very impressive, and our company is sincerely looking forward to you joining us.]

[The legal team is already handling the process. When do you think it is suitable to officially share this news?]

After thinking about Lucian, my fingers paused for a second before typing:

[I will settle my private matters as quickly as possible.]

[I will officially join next week.]

The other side answered very fast. [The office has already been prepared based on your preferences. You can come by and check it anytime.]

I thanked him and switched off my phone.

While lying on the bed, I stared at the ceiling, but I did not feel the happiness or comfort I had imagined.

I wanted to give everything a proper ending with Lucian and with the company.

This was not simple.

Eight years, tied together for too long, buried deep inside my heart and soul.

Pulling myself away was bound to hurt badly.

But I knew I needed to leave.

I had already completed the resignation letter.

I planned to give it to Lucian the following day.