Chapter 3

I dragged myself back to my room and took a shower before falling asleep right away. In the middle of the night, I woke up to find myself running a fever.

I had to muster up the strength to call the front desk for help. After taking the fever medication that was delivered to me, I fell back into a hazy sleep.

When I woke up once again, all of the company staff had checked out—no one came to tell me.

I called my parents and asked them to send a car for me, but to my surprise, they came in person. I threw myself into their arms, finally feeling a sense of warmth.

"Mom, Dad, I'm joining Stellar Group. I've also decided to get a divorce. Please help me find a lawyer."

Patting my back reassuringly, Mom replied, "Alright. You have our full support. It's no loss to you to leave a broke and penniless man! We can easily make his life a living hell."

"I've already prepared an office for you," Dad declared. "Working for our family company is way better than working for someone else!"

After I spent a few days at home recuperating, I got a call from Sean. He said that our new business partner was at Northcrest Co. for an inspection and urged me to go over as soon as possible.

Seeing as how it was the last deal I closed, I decided to head over to settle matters properly.

However, once I got there, I realized it was just a trick.

As soon as I entered the office, Zachary brought out the divorce agreement and threw it onto the desk. Glaring at me, he snapped, "What's the meaning of this?"

The lawyer was so efficient that he already prepared the divorce agreement and sent it to Zachary.

"It means we're getting a divorce. Sign it."

Zachary grabbed the divorce agreement and ripped it to shreds.

"If we get a divorce, what's going to happen to the company?"

"After the divorce, my family will pull out our investment, of course. The company will belong to you and you alone," I said.

Once I finished speaking, Zachary fell silent for a while. Then, he took my hand and pressed me down onto a chair.

"I know you're upset. Give me a chance to explain things."

Just then, Anna came into the office and said, "I'm here to apologize, Elaine."

She abruptly fell to her knees and said, "It's all my fault. I didn't know how to keep my boundaries. From now on, I'll stay far away from Mr. Lowe!"

After just a few short sentences, her tears were already streaming down her face.

Right on time, Isaac and Sean showed up as if it were all planned from the start. They quickly came in, armed with tissues to boot. With one on either side of Anna, they started wiping her tears for her.

"Don't push it, Elaine! You know very well that Anna's health is frail! Why are you letting her kneel?"

Zachary quickly helped Anna to her feet, and the three men eased her onto the couch.

"That's enough. She has already apologized, so stop causing a fuss. Hurry up and come back to work. Don't make Anna do your job for you!" Zachary snapped.

I understood what was going on now—Zachary just felt bad for his precious Anna.

Ignoring him, I started packing my things in the office, but Sean and Isaac refused to stop. They grabbed my things and tossed them onto the floor, saying, "Why are you being so stubborn and ungrateful when we've already compromised with you?"

Staring at the shattered glass tower on the floor, I felt as if my heart was breaking into a million pieces too.

It was a souvenir from a trip the core team of Northcrest Co. went on together. At the time, I had just brought Isaac and Sean into the company. When we met, they had just been fired by their previous company, which also illegally appropriated their research work.

I was the one who helped them get the research project back. I even linked them up with a professor so that they could join a competition and earn some prize money.

When we stopped by a church during our trip, they made a prayer, saying that even when Northcrest Co. became a success in the future, they would never forget the favor they owed me for recognizing their talents and trusting them.

But now, they no longer had any respect for me.

My desk was a mess. My cup was broken, and the floor was covered in glass shards.

Avoiding the glass, Isaac came up to me and grabbed me before hauling me over to Anna.

"Since you want to leave, hand the keys to the company's filing room to Anna!"

I couldn't get myself out of Isaac's grip. Stumbling as he dragged me by force, I ended up tripping and falling right on top of the glass.

The pain shot through my entire body, making me shriek. It was so painful that I couldn't even move.

Zachary seemed to instinctively want to help me up, but Anna stopped him. "Elaine isn't even bleeding, Mr. Lowe. You don't need to help her."

I was wearing black today. In reality, the shards of glass pierced my thighs, making them bleed.

Anna moved in front of Zachary before instructing Isaac and Sean to pin me to the floor.

"Let me teach her a lesson, Mr. Lowe! That's the only way to make her cooperate!"