Chapter 3

When I got to Mia's apartment, she was sitting cross-legged on the floor, eating fried chicken.

Two popped bottles of champagne sat next to her.

Seeing me, she raised a drumstick. "Cheers to being single!"

I kicked off my heels and sat down beside her. "That was a clean splash."

Mia took a bite of chicken and mumbled, "Girl, I've been practicing that splash in my head for three years. I've wanted to do that to that clown forever."

"But I seriously don't get Seraphina's game. She's keeping Julian on a leash while accepting Ryder's advances?"

I sneered. "Just keeping her options open. Classic behavior for a professional muse."

Mia rolled her eyes.

"Does Ryder really think she actually likes him? She's just using him as a backup to make Julian jealous."

"Whatever. We're out."

I pulled a printed resignation letter from my bag.

"First thing tomorrow morning, I'm dropping this off at HR."

Mia pulled out her own document. "And this is my official termination of our engagement contract. I already signed it. Oh, and I couried the diamond ring back to him."

"That ring?" I felt a little pang of pain. "Wasn't that a five-carat rock?"

"Fake," Mia giggled. "I sold the real one months ago and kept the cash. The one I sent back is a high-quality replica that cost me fifty bucks on Amazon."

I gave her a massive thumbs-up. "Brilliant."

We clinked our glasses together.

"To freedom."

"To getting filthy rich."

That night, we slept peacefully.

No cold penthouses, no high-maintenance billionaires to babysit.

Just dreams of endless cash and a bright, independent future.

The next morning, I walked into the top floor of the Thorne Group wearing three-inch Louboutins.

Julian wasn't in yet.

I placed my resignation letter right in the center of his desk where he couldn't miss it, then began packing my personal belongings.

Honestly, I didn't have much. Just a few notebooks and a tiny cactus I had kept for three years.

Just as I taped up the box, the office door flew open.

Julian walked in. He looked terrible, with heavy dark circles under his eyes.

Clearly, his romantic reunion hadn't gone as smoothly as he hoped.

Seeing me holding a box, he frowned. "What do you think you're doing?"

I pointed to the envelope on his desk. "I'm resigning, Mr. Thorne."

Julian looked at me like I had just told a joke.

He walked over, grabbed the envelope, and without even opening it, shoved it straight into the paper shredder.

The machine hummed, shredding my resignation letter into tiny white strips.

"Chloe, there’s a limit to throwing tantrums."

He sat down in his leather chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Is this about Seraphina staying over last night? Or the credit card?"

He genuinely couldn't comprehend that I actually wanted to leave.

To him, I couldn't survive without him.

"Neither," I said calmly. "I'm just done."

Julian let out a cold laugh.

"Done? Where could you possibly go? If you leave the Thorne Group, who's going to hire a pretty face who knows nothing but how to serve coffee?"

"Chloe, don't forget who paid off your gambling addict father's debts."

Ah, that old card.

He had used that to threaten me countless times over the past three years.

But my father had died six months ago, and I had already paid back every single cent of that debt, with interest.

"Mr. Thorne, you must be getting forgetful. I wired that exact amount back to your personal account last month."

Julian froze. He seemed to recall the notification.

His face darkened, and his eyes grew dangerously cold.

"So, you think your wings are fully grown now?"

"Chloe, I'll give you one last chance. Put the box down, go make me a cup of coffee, and we'll pretend none of this happened."

Looking at his arrogant, condescending face, I suddenly felt incredibly disgusted.

Three years. I couldn't believe I had tolerated this face for three whole years.

"Julian."

It was the first time I had ever called him by his first name.

He looked up in sheer shock.

I unclipped my ID badge and dropped it onto his desk.

"Make your own damn coffee. I'm done playing your maid."

I grabbed my box and walked out.

Behind me, Julian’s furious voice roared: "Chloe Miller! If you walk out of that door today, don't you ever think about coming back!"

I didn't stop. I didn't even look back.

Go back?

Not in a million years.