Bennett stood inside the apartment and never stepped through that door.

He only watched the figure outside. He knew he did not need to go after her. She would come back on her own.

Just now, his mother had called from Switzerland, which was rare. After a few casual remarks, she had asked about his girl.

“Are you ever going to marry her? When are you going to let me meet her? You’re always so unserious about commitment.”

He gave a noncommittal smile. “What wedding? When did I ever say I was getting married?”

His glamorous mother sounded indignant. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you play with a woman’s feelings, karma will come for you.”

“The last business rival who lost to me warned me the same way.” Bennett sprinkled Parmesan over the pasta with unhurried care.

“And what happened after that? My career kept taking off and climbing higher.”

“How is that the same? I always tell your father that everything has gone too smoothly for you. Even the woman in your life adores you. You need to learn the hard way for once.”

Bennett raised an eyebrow and did not take it to heart. “Who’s going to teach me that lesson? Her? She could never bear to do it.”

After giving a few casual replies, he ended the call and looked outside.

His gaze met hers just as she turned back to look at him through the dark night.

Even through all that darkness, he could see the emotion surging in her eyes. How could she possibly bear to leave?

For the next few days, Bennett and I never brought up what had happened that night again.

People with jobs did not even get the freedom to fall apart over heartbreak. Even if we were crying, we still had to send files to clients.

After the business trip ended, I rushed straight back to the office.

As I walked toward my office, I gave out several instructions along the way.

“Kelly, help me check Mr. Weston’s schedule. If he’s available, set up a meeting with him for three tomorrow afternoon. Tell him I want to sync up on the progress of the Europe project.”

“And have Alex come to my office in ten minutes.”

Deciding to leave was one thing, but I liked finishing what I started.

Kingsley was the first real milestone of my career. The longer I stayed, the more there was to hand over.

A few days later, the company had a new smart factory project, and no one had been assigned to lead it yet.

Just as rumors were spreading everywhere, Mr. Weston called me into the conference room.

Besides me, there was one other person in the room. I nodded to her.

Marin was proud by nature, especially when it came to me. She did not even look at me before launching straight into it.

“Whether we’re talking about the technical proposal or prior collaboration experience, my team is clearly the best fit. I’ve been following this project from the beginning, so why is someone unrelated being brought in now?”

Mr. Weston looked at me. “Stella, what do you think?”

If this had been any other time, I would have fought for it, but this time I did not speak right away.

After a while, I stood up.

Marin pressed the file down on the table and said mockingly, “You really have to compete with me over everything. My team did extensive research in the early stage of this project. You can’t beat me on this one.”

I looked at her and lost focus for a moment.

At the very beginning, we had not been this hostile toward each other.

We had joined the company in the same cohort and had been each other’s first real colleagues. There had been real mutual respect between us.

But later, I landed several key projects in a row, and my position rose faster than hers.

When she looked at me after that, all that mutual respect had been replaced by wariness and rivalry. She had to compare herself to me in everything and oppose me at every turn.

I was just about to speak when someone pushed open the conference room door.

Marin’s eyes lit up. She pushed the materials in front of him and said, “Mr. Lancaster, our team has already done a detailed analysis for this smart factory upgrade project. I’m confident that my team and I can successfully secure this partnership.”

I had used work as an excuse and had not been to Bennett’s place for several days.

With a strictly businesslike expression, he glanced over everyone in the room, lowered his head, and opened Marin’s proposal. After reading only a few pages, he made his decision.

“Send it to my office.”

“Thank you, Mr. Lancaster!”

Bennett did not spare me another glance. In truth, even if he had looked at me a few more times, no one would have thought anything of it.

Who could have guessed that the untouchable Mr. Lancaster they saw by day spent his nights in bed with an ordinary employee like me?

Marin shot me a triumphant look and followed Bennett out.

Mr. Weston patted my shoulder, and I nodded to show I was fine.

Bennett had always been like this. At work, he treated everyone the same.

He had never given me special treatment because of the relationship we had to keep hidden.

He cared only about the company’s core interests. If I failed to perform, he would still tear into me without mercy.

At first, I had resented him for it. Later, I realized he simply looked down on everyone equally.

After that, when I accepted his criticism during the workday, I would not talk back, not even half a word.

But at night, he could never bear to see me discouraged. He would patiently break down what was at stake and where I had gone wrong.

Even now, I could no longer see any special regard for me in his eyes.

Still, I had to admit that back then, Bennett had never been stingy with me.

Over the years, he had broken me down and built me back up again and again. I improved faster under him than anyone else.

That evening before I left, I sat in my office for a long time, until the last light went out.

Only then did I click the submit button on my computer.

When the screen showed that my resignation request had been submitted, I closed my laptop.

Just then, my phone buzzed with a message from Bennett.

Bennett: [There’s a dinner tomorrow night. I had a dress sent over.]