Chapter 4

I withdrew from the competition and handed him the entire project I had spent countless sleepless nights creating.

A week later, Julian's paper was successfully submitted.

A few days after that, I was scrolling through social media and saw photos of his mother vacationing in Europe—smiling on a sunny beach, looking healthier than ever.

I confronted him with my phone.

He stayed silent for a long time before finally admitting that both medical reports were photoshopped.

He claimed he was just too terrified of losing me, too scared that if I won that international award, I would soar too high and leave him behind.

He held me, weeping and begging for forgiveness, swearing he would treat me right for the rest of his life.

I looked at the man I loved, and in the end, I forgave him.

From that day on, I stepped back from the industry entirely and hid my own light.

Looking back, I was incredibly stupid.

I stayed up all night in that tiny apartment.

The last shred of foolish hope in my heart finally died.

As dawn broke, I opened the text message I had been too afraid to reply to.

It was from my former boss, who was also the mentor who brought me into the industry.

I scrolled up through our chat history. One page, two pages, three pages...

Over the past five years, whenever there was a major event in the design world, he would text me. Sometimes he complained about ugly new trends, sometimes he shared news of young designers winning awards, and sometimes it was just a simple, "How are you doing lately?"

I had never replied, but he had never stopped.

Last night, during the worst moment of my life, he had texted me right after Julian’s award ceremony.

“I saw the news. If you want to come back, the Creative Director position is always yours.”

Those words pierced through the tough exterior I had forced myself to maintain all night.

All the suppressed grief, anger, and heartbreak exploded at once.

I collapsed onto the cold table and cried my eyes out.

I cried for my wasted youth, my stolen achievements, and my sheer stupidity.

When I finally raised my head, my eyes were swollen, but my mind was completely clear.

I was going back.

I moved immediately.

I dug out the black power suit that had been buried at the bottom of my closet and steamed it flat.

Then, I carefully placed the hard drive containing all my original designs and evidence of Julian's fraud into my briefcase.

Julian called again. I silenced the phone and ignored it.

He sent a text instead, his tone as casual as if nothing had happened last night.

“Regarding the 'Eye of the Cosmos' project, I’ve already finalized the patent transfer and commercial development deal with Apex Development. We’re signing the contract tomorrow morning.”

I looked at the text, feeling nothing but amusement.

I calmly replied with one word:

“Okay.”

Surprised by how compliant I was being, he quickly sent another message, his tone nauseatingly sweet.

“I knew you’d understand, babe. Once the contract is signed tomorrow, let’s go to the Maldives to make up for our honeymoon. We can put all this unpleasantness behind us.”

I didn't reply. I just reached down to my left ring finger and slowly slid off the wedding ring I had designed myself.

I turned and walked out the door.

Downstairs, a black corporate SUV was already waiting.

The logo on the door was one I knew all too well.

I opened the door, climbed in, and told the driver:

"To the office. I have a nine o'clock board meeting to attend."