Chapter 3

When she handed everything I had built over to Julian, and when she kicked me out the door, she hadn't hesitated for a single second.

When I stepped through the front doors of the Vance family manor, my father’s hair was already streaked with white.

He didn't lecture me. He simply walked over and squeezed my shoulder.

Remembering how cold and distant I had been to my parents all these years for Natalie's sake, a wave of crushing guilt washed over me.

After taking over the executive dossiers for Lumina Global from my father, a sudden realization hit me.

I had left my late mother’s heirloom back at the penthouse I shared with Natalie.

Before my mother passed away, she gave me an antique necklace, telling me to pass it on to my future wife.

When I was cut off from the family, that necklace was the only piece of my past I took with me. I had kept it safe, intending to present it to Natalie one day.

In fact, I had planned to propose to her the moment this pharmaceutical trial succeeded.

Now, it all felt like a sick, one-sided joke.

I drove back to our shared apartment. But the moment I unlocked the door, I froze.

Julian was standing in the hallway, wearing nothing but a bath towel wrapped loosely around his waist.

"What are you doing here?" Julian sneered, crossing his arms and sizing me up with smug condescension, as if my presence in my own home was an outrage.

This place had been bought with our joint savings. My name was on the deed. Why the hell wouldn't I be here?

I didn't dignify him with an answer. I brushed straight past him toward the study to retrieve the necklace.

Seeing me ignore him entirely, Julian blocked the doorway, his voice dripping with venom.

"Look at you, pretending to be all proud and mighty! What's the matter? Regretting your little walkout already? Crawling back to beg Natalie to take you back?"

"Ethan? Why are you back?"

Footsteps sounded behind me. Natalie walked out in a silk bathrobe, her brow furrowed in annoyance.

"I came to collect what belongs to me," I replied flatly.

Panic flickered across Natalie’s face, and she rushed into the study after me.

"The research project was handed over to Julian, and every file belongs to the company now! You're a former employee—taking proprietary research is corporate espionage, do you understand that?"

I opened a desk drawer, pulled out a small velvet box, and opened it to confirm the necklace was inside before turning to her.

"Save your breath. I don't give a damn about your research files. I'm here for my mother’s heirloom."

Seeing the vintage piece in my hand, a flicker of awkwardness crossed Natalie’s face.

Julian leaned against the doorframe and snorted. "Is "that" the junk you told me Ethan wanted to propose with? Couldn't even afford a diamond ring? You can buy a dozen of those cheap trinkets at a flea market for twenty bucks."

Natalie’s expression tightened with faint disgust. Clearly, she looked down on the piece just as much as he did.

It made sense to people like them. The necklace wasn't flashy—it was an antique my great-grandfather had bought for my great-grandmother when he was still an impoverished apprentice.

Its sentimental value far outweighed its market price.

Natalie, of course, had no clue. When I offered it to her years ago, she had taken one dismissive look and waved it away.

Looking back, I was grateful. If she hadn't snubbed it back then, getting it back now would have been a nightmare.

Seeing that I genuinely had no interest in the company files, Natalie’s tone softened slightly.

"Ethan... you really should consider coming back. The Director position belongs to Julian now, but you could still be his lead assistant."

"Julian’s progress on the trial has been incredible these past few days. He's just as capable as you. You really need to drop that arrogant ego of yours."

I let out a dry, humorless chuckle.

Julian’s progress was smooth because he was coasting entirely on the groundwork and clinical data I had spent years compiling.

The real question was: what would happen once my data ran out?

Would he still be standing tall with that smug smirk on his face?