Chapter 3

I didn't answer.

By the time I left the station, the sun was already up.

Exhausted, I dragged myself into work, only to find that my employee badge wouldn't open my office door.

I frowned and tried several more times.

The cold red light flashed again and again.

My coworker Sophie walked over cautiously.

"Grace, stop trying."

"Mr. Rivers revoked your access. He said a new employee is starting soon and she'll be taking over your position."

I stood there, my mind going blank.

"A new employee?"

Sophie looked furious on my behalf.

"Yeah. She was hired without going through any of the normal hiring process."

"She has no relevant experience, and she doesn't even have the required qualifications. She doesn't meet Rivers Corp's hiring standards at all."

"But Mr. Rivers personally hired her and put her straight into your position as Executive Assistant."

I already knew.

Still, I asked.

"What's her name?"

"Sienna Blake."

I finally released the employee badge I'd been gripping.

A chill ran through me.

Ethan had bought me this office after receiving payment from his very first client.

Over the years, Rivers Corp expanded dramatically, eventually taking over the entire building.

But he'd always kept the office with the best view for me.

He'd told me there would always be a place for me, both at home and at the company.

Apparently, "always" lasted three years.

When I handed Ethan my resignation letter, he didn't even look up.

"Over an office?"

I said nothing.

He looked perfectly calm.

"Sienna's been working as a bartender at a nightclub. Someone followed her home last night. She needs a stable, respectable job."

"So I'm supposed to give her everything?"

His tone hardened.

"Do you have to put it that way?"

"If she has a stable job, she won't have an excuse to bother us anymore. I'm solving the problem."

As if saying he was "solving the problem" erased everything I'd endured because of Sienna over the last three years.

Because of her, we'd postponed our wedding several times.

I'd lost a baby.

And now, because of her, I was losing my job.

Before last night, I might have believed Ethan when he said he was trying to solve the problem.

But now I knew better.

Sienna would always have another problem that needed solving.

And Ethan had never truly wanted her gone.

I was the one who'd been in the way all along.

I pushed my resignation letter farther across his desk.

"I'm solving the problem, too."

Ethan finally looked away from his screen and stared at me for several seconds.

"Don't bring your personal emotions into work."

He dropped my resignation letter into the shredder.

His tone remained indifferent.

"I can't keep letting this kind of behavior slide. I'll pretend I didn't hear you resign this time. But if it happens again—if you start a fight with me over something this trivial—"

He paused.

"I may have to reconsider whether this relationship is worth continuing."

I told myself I wouldn't let his words get to me anymore.

But hearing that, the words still hurt.

When I didn't respond, Ethan's expression softened.

His tone became almost condescending.

"Enough. After we go to City Hall tomorrow, we'll move."

"This time, I won't let her bother us again. Okay?"

I said nothing.

I simply turned and walked away.

Behind me, I heard Ethan quietly instruct his assistant.

"Make sure the new apartment is set up properly. Decorate it the way Grace likes."

Sophie asked the usual question.

"Should we keep Ms. Blake's fingerprint registered on the smart lock this time?"

My steps faltered.

Two seconds of silence.

Then Ethan answered evenly.

"We'll see."

We'll see.

Not "no."

Not "of course not."

Just—"We'll see."

That told me everything I needed to know.

Sienna had always been the one he truly wanted.

I drew a deep breath, fought back my tears, and kept walking.