Resign with Grace, Return with Fire

Upon hearing my words, Sandra looked at me in shock.

In the past, I would have thrown a fit over this. But now, instead of arguing, I calmly told her to take care of Lester instead.

She stared at me for a moment, but with no time to think it through, she said, "Take a cab to the wedding venue first. Once I'm done with Lester, I'll come find you right away."

With that, Sandra hurried off.

This time, I didn't stand there waiting for her like I used to. After she left, I took a cab straight to Skyborne Group.

My phone kept buzzing nonstop along the way. Every notification was another goading message from Lester.

In the photos he sent, Sandra was gently tucking him into bed. She had even spent a fortune calling in every top specialist at the hospital just to treat a scratch on his leg no bigger than a fingernail.

"Fred, do you know how worried Sandra is about me? She gathered the entire hospital's experts just for me. Has she ever done this for you?

"So what if you were with her for so many years? You ultimately lost to me.

"I'm the most important person to Sandra. With just one word from me, she'd even abandon your wedding."

This wasn't the first time Lester had tried to provoke me.

In the past, I would have had a complete emotional meltdown. Now, I was just bored. I locked my phone and ignored him.

…

When I arrived at Skyborne Group, the HR representative led me to my workstation. I had just sat down when Sandra called.

The moment I picked up, her angry voice exploded through the phone. "Fred Sloan! The officiant just called me. He said that you didn't show up either! What are you trying to pull? You said you'd be there. How could you go back on your word?

"Is this because I took Lester to the hospital? Didn't you say that you didn't care? I really thought you'd grown up. Turns out you were just pretending. Fred, you haven't changed at all."

Faced with her accusations, my tone remained unexpectedly calm. "Sandra, I never agreed to attend the wedding. And besides, we've already broken up. There's no reason for us to get married."

Sandra never expected me to refuse to marry her. After all, I used to want that wedding more than anything. Even my birthday wishes were about marrying her.

More importantly, she was sure that I couldn't live without her.

In her eyes, we were never equals. She was the CEO, and I was just a man living off her. Without her, she believed that I'd be nothing.

After a brief silence, Sandra coldly said, "Fred, all the guests are there. If you don't show up, what will our friends and family think of me? Go to the wedding venue and explain everything now. It's an order! Otherwise, we're done for good!"

A second later, Lester's voice chimed in, "Fred, this is a momentous occasion. Don't throw a tantrum now. How can there be a wedding without the groom? You're just embarrassing Ms. Wendell.

"Ms. Wendell, don't worry about me. I'll be fine on my own. Your wedding matters more—"

Hearing Lester start his act again, I cut in coldly, "If you're so worried, why don't you be the groom instead? Honestly, you two look far more like a couple than we ever did."

Sandra flew into a rage. "Fred, do you even know what you're saying? You—"

I hung up before she could finish her sentence.