Too Good For You

Not a single one of them even glanced at my father's photo.

"No way. So the rumors are true? You're just using your dad for clout?"

"I can't believe you! No wonder Lance ended up with his secretary. How much of a failure does a wife have to be to lose her own husband to another woman?"

"I was hoping to introduce him to my niece. Everyone knows the best son-in-law is a rich one!" Laura admitted.

My knuckles turned white. All they cared about was how wealthy Lance was. I had naively believed they came because they still cared about their relative and wanted to pay their final respects. But no one gave a damn about my father or me, after all.

I pointed at the door and shouted, "Get out!"

The crowd froze in shock.

Laura tried to salvage the situation by guilt-tripping me, but I wasn't having it. When no one showed any sign of leaving, I grabbed the nearest floral spray and started swinging it at them until they fled.

"Get out! All of you, get out!" I yelled before slamming the door shut in their bewildered faces.

They ranted and whined on the porch for a while before finally leaving.

It was just me and my father again.

"I guess I'm the only one here to say goodbye. I hope you don't mind," I muttered as I tidied the room and picked up the urn to place it in a columbarium.

…

My eyes were puffy and sore when I showed up at the office the next day.

I came with only one goal: to hand in my resignation letter.

Idle chatter was already underway when I stepped into the HR office. Apparently, Lance had moved Lucinda into an office of her own, and the company was even renovating it for her.

"Mr. Mitchell really dotes on her, huh? She has her own office now, and he's paying to get her into a new home!" a woman said. "I wish I had a CEO boyfriend like that..."

Someone noticed my arrival and hushed, "Ms. Carter!"

The woman pursed her lips and greeted me reluctantly, "Good morning."

I handed over my resignation letter. "I'm leaving today."

They were stunned. The department head, Monique, responded reflexively. "You can't resign immediately. You need to wait for two weeks—"

"I can. I have the right to resign whenever I want. Mr. Mitchell signed a document granting me that right."

It was an agreement I had made with him a month earlier. I would take the blame and be held responsible for the losses caused by Lucinda's forgetfulness. In exchange, he would allow me to quit whenever I wanted and give me the freedom to compete against him in the same industry.

He had sneered from his luxurious chair, "I'll sign if you agree to take this shit off Lucy's hands. But do you really want to quit? I doubt it. No other company out there would be willing to give you so many benefits. You won't find a position this good anywhere else, I guarantee it.

"Don't do anything rash just because you're itching to throw a fit. I'm only helping Lucy because I feel sorry for her, that's all. You don't have to be so dramatic over nothing."

He had assumed it was an impulsive decision. He couldn't have been more wrong. I had planned to resign the moment Lance abused his authority as CEO to promote Lucinda to chief secretary and give her the power to hire and fire employees.

"Just sign it. I'll take the blame," I had said.

…

After verifying my documents, the HR department got to work.

As I waited, I could already hear the gossip spreading.

"She sure has a lot of tricks up her sleeve."

"She knows she can't get Mr. Mitchell to look at her, even after turning her father's death into a melodrama, so now she's moving on to her next backup plan. It's pathetic."

I ignored them and let the gossip continue. Once I received my formal discharge letter, I left without giving the company a final glance.

…

Three days passed.

I arrived at the courthouse early to receive my divorce decree.

I had also managed to see all the posts Lucinda had shared on social media. She must have unblocked me.

They all appeared to have been posted within those three days.