Only now did I realize that without the rose-colored filter I\u2019d placed over him, he was nothing special.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sitting in the cafe downstairs, I received a phone call.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Shaw, I heard you\u2019re starting your own company. If that\u2019s the case, do you need any investors?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Had word spread that quickly?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you find out I\u2019m going independent? I haven\u2019t announced anything publicly yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The caller chuckled. \u201cMs. Shaw, what happened at your company last night is all over the business circles. But I\u2019m 100% in your corner. If you really do go independent, make sure you give me a call.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sincerity in their tone was genuinely touching.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely. I will.\u201d After hanging up, I smiled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Without me and all my connections, how exactly did they plan to reach greater heights?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I received quite a few calls. Eventually I had someone spread the word that I\u2019d definitely reach out, otherwise I wouldn\u2019t be able to finish my handover work all morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After taking another call, I headed to the office to process my resignation and hand over my responsibilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment I walked through the company doors, I saw Lila perched on my desk, surrounded by colleagues fawning over her like she was royalty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When they spotted me, a colleague immediately approached. \u201cCharlotte, go buy everyone drinks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy should I?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I checked the time. I wasn\u2019t even late. Besides, I was resigning anyway. Being late didn\u2019t really matter anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The person smiled smugly. \u201cMr. Hayes just said whoever gets here last has to buy treats for everyone. You were the last one here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, forget it.\u201d Lila stepped forward, deliberately smoothing down her dress.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I recognized it. This was the outfit Owen had mentioned buying for her. \u201cHow could we possibly make Charlotte run errands for everyone? I\u2019ll go instead.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As she spoke, she raised her voice deliberately but made no move to actually leave. Right on cue, Owen emerged from his office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he noticed the dress Lila was wearing, his expression flickered for a moment before quickly returning to normal. He deliberately adjusted her hem and smiled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks even better on you than I imagined.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone else started cheering and teasing them. Lila\u2019s face flushed red. She immediately glanced back at me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was she worried I\u2019d still get jealous and cause a scene?\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was probably overthinking it. At this point, my heart was like still water. Nothing could stir it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I didn\u2019t react, Owen seemed dissatisfied. He said coldly, \u201cI just announced that the last person to arrive has to buy treats for everyone. If you\u2019re not going to cooperate, what are you even doing here?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A colleague immediately pointed at me. \u201cCharlotte was the last one to arrive. And she says she\u2019s not going!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Owen had known it was me all along. He sneered. \u201cGo. If you don\u2019t, I\u2019ll actually fire you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It seemed he was deliberately hiding and ignoring my resignation letter. He hadn\u2019t told anyone?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing this, I stopped playing along. \u201cWhether or not you actually fire me today doesn\u2019t matter. I came here to resign anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruby Walker is a rising voice in the world of romance and spicy fiction. With a gift for weaving deep emotions, sizzling chemistry, and unexpected twists, her stories are a blend of passion and drama that captivate readers from start to finish. Ruby\u2019s writing style is bold and irresistible\u2014perfect for those who crave intense, addictive love stories.<\/p>\n
Royal Blood in Exile by Mark Twain 3 Chapter 3 Only now did I realize that without the rose-colored filter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-betrayed-wife-to-heartless-ceo-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23417\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}