Chapter 4
There was a long silence on the other end of the line before a voice finally spoke, asking a question that had nothing to do with the conversation. “Did he hurt you?” Tears streamed silently down my cheeks, but I kept my voice steady, unwilling to show any weakness. “Stop beating around the bush,” I said coldly. “Just tell me—are you willing to take me in, even if it means going against Daniel?” A quiet chuckle came through, the voice calm and composed. “Why wouldn’t I be? Kayla, go ahead. Do what you have to do.” “Alright,” I replied. “I’ll submit my resignation tomorrow. Let’s meet this afternoon.” The next morning, I arrived at the company and immediately began drafting my resignation letter. Once it was done, I handed over all ongoing projects to my most trusted assistant. She stared at me, clearly confused, before speaking in disbelief. “Ms. Moore, are you really resigning?” Some colleagues overheard and instinctively glanced in our direction. Those I didn’t get along with didn’t bother to hide their glee. “Well, some people finally realized they’re not as valuable as they thought. Resigning in disgrace, huh?” one said with a smug smile. “Exactly. Everyone knows Kayla Moore got here by clinging to Mr. Murphy’s leg,” another chimed in. “Probably slept with him to get the job. Now that he’s done with her, he’s kicking her to the curb.” “That’s right. Unlike Secretary Brooks—she’s always by Mr. Murphy’s side. Everyone can see they’re in love. Who would care about some used-up fling?” “She’s been here five years and all she ever did was steal credit for others’ work. She’s not even half as capable as a fresh grad. Honestly, she should be ashamed.” Yes, I had switched companies for Daniel. But my position at my previous firm had been no lower than this one. I thought five years of hard work would be enough to prove myself. I thought they’d see my real ability. But it turned out, to them, I was nothing more than a connection. I had chosen to keep our marriage a secret because Daniel said it would interfere with work. Now that I was being slandered, he hadn’t even once considered making the truth public. Even when I worked side by side with him on a major project, people thought I was just trying to take credit—when that proposal had been written by me, word for word, after countless sleepless nights. I swallowed the lump in my throat and ignored the snide comments. Instead, I calmly turned to my assistant and carefully walked her through the next steps. “Yes, I’m resigning,” I said. “Even though the product has already launched, the follow-up data and user feedback still matter. You’ve worked with me for years—I trust you to handle it.” Her eyes reddened as she nodded. Then, suddenly remembering something, she frowned. “But, last night Mr. Murphy announced in the company group chat that all project responsibilities were being transferred to Secretary Brooks. I don’t have the authority anymore.” I froze. Elena? She had been in the company for less than two years. I’d been mentoring her all along—I knew what she could and couldn’t do. There was no way she could lead a project on her own, let alone manage a team. I thought Daniel, even if he doted on her, would at least draw the line when it came to work. Clearly, I was wrong. No wonder my assistant had shown up this morning looking like she’d been crying. She was supposed to inherit the project. And now she’d been pushed aside, too. I reached out and took her hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring this up with Mr. Murphy. You worked hard on this project—it belongs to you as much as anyone.” After calming her down, I took my resignation letter and the signed divorce papers straight to the president’s office. “Daniel,” I said as I walked in, “Elena isn’t capable of handling projects. You know that better than anyone. You shouldn’t have taken this away from my assistant.” Elena stood beside him, pouring coffee. At the sound of my voice, her eyes instantly filled with tears. She turned to Daniel with a pitiful look. “Mr. Murphy, did Ms. Moore misunderstand me? I didn’t mean to take anything…” “I’m here to talk business, not play games,” I cut in, voice sharp. “Elena, if you had any sense, you wouldn’t have stood in my way.” She noticed the resignation letter in my hand and lowered her gaze, biting back her tears. Then she reached out and gently tugged Daniel’s sleeve. “Mr. Murphy, please don’t fight with Ms. Moore because of me… I can apologize.” “It’s fine. You can leave,” Daniel said softly, coaxing her like a child. After she walked out, he turned to me with an unreadable expression, then sneered. “Kayla, sometimes knowing how to network is a skill, too.” “This is my company. I can put anyone I want in charge of a project.”