Chapter 3

Lily's POV

I returned to the penthouse I currently shared with Ethan and left the cufflink box on the shoe cabinet before heading to the bedroom.

I barely slept until dawn.

The next day, as I was preparing to leave, I noticed the gift box on the cabinet hadn't moved.

Clearly, Ethan hadn't come home all night.

I stared at it quietly for a few seconds, then left it there and headed out.

News of Ethan's proposal had spread throughout the company.

"Lily!"

The moment I stepped through the company entrance, Sophie rushed over angrily and pulled me into the break room without a word.

"What's going on? How could Ethan propose to Vivian? Has he lost his mind? Who is this Vivian anyway? Where did she come from?"

Sophie was a friend from college who'd joined Sterling Tech two years ago.

Now we were both friends and colleagues.

In the entire company, besides Ethan's assistant, only Sophie knew about my relationship with Ethan.

Just as I opened my mouth to answer, someone knocked on the break room door.

Ethan's assistant stood outside. "Lily, Mr. Sterling would like to see you in his office."

I patted Sophie's shoulder reassuringly. "I'll explain later."

Outside the CEO's office, the assistant announced, "Mr. Sterling, Lily is here."

"Lily."

Ethan immediately rose from behind his desk, walked over in a few strides, took my hand, and led me into the office.

His tone was apologetic. "I had too much to drink at the party last night and ended up sleeping at the hotel. I couldn't come back to be with you. Did you eat breakfast on time? Your stomach's been bothering you. You're not mad at me, are you?"

I didn't know if he'd really gotten drunk and slept at the hotel. I didn't want to ask.

I gently withdrew my hand and held out what I'd brought. "If you're worried I'm angry, just sign this."

"What is it?" Ethan took it curiously. When he saw what I'd handed him, he looked up at me in surprise. "A resignation letter? You're resigning?"

"Yes."

I offered no further explanation.

Ethan seemed puzzled by my sudden resignation, but seeing my calm expression, not looking like I was throwing a tantrum, his face relaxed.

Something seemed to occur to him.

"You're right. These four years you've been with me, you haven't had a proper day off. Now that the company's on solid footing with plenty of talented people, it makes sense for you to resign and rest." He smiled. "After all, I can give you everything now."

He picked up his pen and signed the approval line.

"There. Submit this to HR, finish your handover, and you won't need to come to the office anymore." He handed back the resignation letter, his tone light. "I'll take you to lunch. What do you feel like eating?"

"Mr. Sterling!"

Before I could respond, the assistant rushed in.

He approached Ethan and said quietly, "Miss Lynn is here. She says she needs to see you. She's downstairs."

Ethan's expression changed. He turned to me. "Lily, something urgent came up. I need to step out."

He didn't even wait for my response before grabbing his jacket from the chair and hurrying out of the office.

Watching his retreating figure, I clutched the resignation letter tighter.

Come to think of it, my current career success was all because of him.

Because I'd fallen for him at first sight and learned he was a leading figure in artificial intelligence, I'd applied to the same engineering university without hesitation, diving headfirst into boring algorithms and code.

Through four years of college, I achieved excellent results, which gave me opportunities to discuss topics with him and get closer to him.

Later, when the Sterling family collapsed, I brought all my love and courage to live with him in a shabby little apartment.

We crammed into that tiny room, pulling countless all-nighters together, discussing programming algorithms, celebrating every breakthrough with hugs.

Those days and nights fighting side by side, built on our combined efforts, ultimately formed the solid foundation of today's Sterling Tech, allowing the company to transform and return to everyone's view.

I thought after four years together, I'd entered his heart. But in the end, he passionately proposed to another woman.

The pain in my chest spread. I took a deep breath and put away the resignation letter.

Walking out of the building, the sunlight was a bit harsh.

I squinted, and suddenly saw Ethan by the roadside carefully helping Vivian into a car, then quickly moving to the driver's seat.

"Ethan?" Sophie beside me was furious and about to march over. "What does he think he's doing? What does he take you for? I'm going to ask him."