Love Is Lost

The next morning, as I headed out to the company to resign, I immediately noticed Benji's car parked at the entrance. He opened the door and motioned for me to get in.

"Come on, let's head to work together," he said.

I knew this was his way of making up.

In the past, I would have happily accepted, even if it meant getting out a block early and walking in heels the rest of the way. But this time, I simply waved my phone at him.

"No need, I've called a ride."

"Are you seriously throwing a tantrum because I asked you to apologize to Esme?"

Benji extended his hand again and continued, "Warren Group is preparing to be listed. We need to handle high-level negotiations and elite business circles. Esme is taking care of all that. Can you handle the consequences if you drive her away?"

Five years hadn't left much of a mark on Benji physically, but to me, the man standing before me was nothing like the Benji who had once pursued me.

We'd met at the company's annual gala. I was a rookie intern from the project department, unfamiliar with the occasion, while he was the CEO stepping out for air.

Mistaking him for a colleague, I'd chatted freely with him for the entire evening. From then on, he started courting me and claimed he liked my authenticity and how unpretentious I was.

He'd showered me with flowers, gifts, and candlelit dinners—the clichés of romance. But as someone who'd never been in love before, I lasted only six months before I fell for him.

In the beginning, we were happy. He'd fret over my small lunches during my diet and buy snacks for the entire office just to make sure I wouldn't go hungry.

When I was sick, he'd cook for me.

Because he didn't want to go public with our relationship, he often felt guilty and would cram his work into weekdays just to free up weekends to travel with me.

Back then, Benji was head over heels for me.

However, everything changed when Esme returned to the country.

What he once admired as my authenticity turned into my incompetence. My unpretentiousness became a lack of emotional intelligence.

I couldn't even remember the last time we'd sat down for a proper meal together. The difference between love and indifference was glaringly obvious.

I asked with a faint smile, "If Esme's so perfect, why don't you just marry her?"

"Sydney!" Benji's tone sharpened with impatience.

I knew he wanted to accuse me of being unreasonable, so I spoke first.

"Benji, let's break u—"

Before I could finish, his phone rang. Esme's voice came through, saying, "Ben, I've scheduled breakfast with Mrs. Graham. Come pick me up."

Without a word, Benji shut the car door and drove off.

I sneered.

In the end, the most painful thing in a relationship wasn't a heated argument but this cold indifference, when even the opportunity to fight was denied.

After calming myself, I headed to the company. I still had one last big project to wrap up, and I wanted to ensure the contract was signed before I left.

The moment I stepped into the office, I was met with a guilty look from my supervisor, Amy Myers.

She said, "Sydney, I'm so sorry. You're being taken off this project."

"Why?" I asked, confused. This was a project I had been handling from the beginning. Why would I be removed right before the contract was signed?

Seeing my bewilderment, Amy pulled me into her office.

"Sydney, I've been meaning to ask you something. Have you offended someone higher up? This isn't the first time you've been replaced at the last minute."

She was right. This had happened to me before, and it was one of the reasons I was so eager to resign.

In my five years at the company, I had worked diligently and secured hundreds of deals, big and small. But every time a project reached the final stages, I would be removed.

Because of that, promotions and bonuses always seemed to pass me by.

Benji once told me he'd propose to me if I could make it to the position of project director. Yet no matter how hard I worked, I was always stopped short of that goal.

I had confronted him about it before, but he would only dismiss me.

"There are plenty of employees who work harder and are more capable than you. What makes you think you're the best? Instead of feeling wronged, why not reflect on your own shortcomings?"

The first time he said that, I was devastated by both his dismissal of my efforts and my repeated failures at work.

But now I understood that Benji had never respected me. He didn't think I deserved success, and he'd been gaslighting me all this while.

Noticing the concern on Amy's face, I slid my resignation letter across the table and forced a lighthearted smile. "It's fine. I wasn't planning on staying anyway. I'm getting married."

"You're getting married? To whom?"

A surprised voice came from the doorway.

Turning around, I saw Benji standing there with his brows furrowed in confusion.