Chapter 9

Tessa Pov

The next day was supposed to be another normal day in the office but I didn't expect it to be the most humiliating day of my life.

There was a piping hot silence in the glasses-walled conference room during the staff meeting and having everyone's attention on me while I was being reprimanded was the last thing I pictured happening to me. I could feel the steam of their stare, my colleagues whom I once thought respected me, were now watching in fascination as Aiden stood at the head of the polished oak table, tearing me apart in front of them.

At the end of the table, Damien leaned back in his chair, eyes drifting back and forth between Aiden and I with a smirk on his face. My heart began to race against my ribs; anger and humiliation twisted inside yet somehow, I held firm.

One mistake I made, and we all make mistakes. The ache inside my chest was about to spill over, and I fought hard not to cry. But humiliation in front of everyone?

Aiden's stare grew darker, his eyes heavier with the unspoken anger inside him. "You call that a 'mistake'? You placed the wrong meeting with the wrong client, Theresa. I wouldn't call it exactly a mistake; I'd call it a disaster."

The words cut, and my stomach just somersaulted. Yeah, I'd messed up-one far bigger than I wanted to concede. I had gotten distracted, lost within my own world of confused emotions. Between Damien's constant appearances and unresolved tension with Aiden, my focus had slipped.

But it had never occurred to me that he'd throw this in my face this way-not in front of all these people.

"I'm sorry," I said then, much softer now. "I'm trying to fix it-"

"Sorry doesn't cut it." He leaned forward, eyes boring into mine as his voice dropped to cold, deadly. "Do you know how much that deal was worth? How much we've lost because of your incompetence?"

My breath caught in my throat as I swallowed hard against the well of nausea boiling in my gut. I'd spent the last two days scrambling to reschedule the meeting-patching things up with the client, but it wasn't enough. Nothing I did was ever enough for him anymore.

"I'm sorry, it won't happen again,” I said, desperate to cling to the last rags of my dignity.

His laughter then was mirthless, keen, with a trace of bitterness. "This company, there's no room for carelessness. Not from you. Not from anyone."

There was perhaps more venom in that than I had bargained for, the professional rebuke in it nothing, but that layer of venom beneath, the same manner he had adopted since our love had gone sour, the poison of resentment infecting every transaction since.

My fists writhed under the table, my fingernails burrowing deep into my palms. I turned on my heel and stormed out of the room without waiting for a reply, my heart racing, humiliation hot in my chest.

---

I slammed my office door shut and leaned against it, hands pressed to my face. My breathing was ragged, my emotions frayed at the edges. How did it get this bad? Aiden had always been demanding, but this. this was a new level of cruel.

I slumped back in my chair, staring blankly at the mess of papers on my desk. I did this. All my fault. But he was so angry-the cut of his words so deep. That wasn't about the meeting.

That was about us. That had always been about us.

My cell phone buzzed on the desk, tearing me from my head. I glanced at the screen, an email from the client, responding to my apology for the wrongly scheduled meeting and accepting my offer to reschedule. It should have felt like a victory, but instead it felt so hollow. No matter how hard I tried, it wasn't enough. Not for Aiden. Not anymore.

I typed out a quick response, rescheduling for another meeting date, but my head was someplace entirely different. Constantly, my mind just kept drifting right back to Aiden, the coldness in his eyes, to the way he just ripped into me in front of everybody. I couldn't work under these conditions. I couldn't keep pretending this was just a job when it was tearing me apart inside.

Truth was, I still cared. Despite everything, despite the way he treated me, a part of me still did. And that, really, was the problem. I hated him for the fact that he could make me feel this way. I abhorred not being able to just walk away. But the more I did stay, the more I lost myself.

I twisted my gaze to my computer screen; my finger poised over the mouse. I opened my email, my resignation letter half-written greeted me from the day Damien showed up, my hands shaking as I typed it out. With each word, it was as if a block was being lifted off my chest, while with each word something was being torn from me.

Subject: Resignation Effective Immediately

Aiden,

It has cumulated to a point where this is no longer tenable for me; minute-by-minute disrespect and personal attacks mean I can no longer continue in my tenure.

I ask that this be taken as my formal letter of resignation, with immediate effect from reading.

Sincerely,

Theresa

I read it over one last time-my heart was pounding in my chest. It was it; this was my way out. The end of all the daily torture, desire, and anger residing in me since we had split up.

I hit send before I could have second thoughts.

---

I sat and stared into that empty inbox, waiting for the wave of relief to wash over me. All I found was dread.

What had I just done?

The door to my office creaked open and I straightened. "Theresa?"

Aiden's voice.

I didn't turn around. I didn't trust myself right now to look at him.

"Theresa," he repeated, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "We have to talk about-

"I quit." My voice was flat and dead, while inside I was dying.

A long period of silence fell behind me. "What?"

"I quit, Aiden," I repeated, this time standing and turning to face him. His face was impassive, but I almost saw the flash of surprise there in his eyes. "I can't work for you anymore. Not like this."

He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, he just stood there staring at me, his usual composure cracking for one small moment.

And then it was gone.

"You can't just walk away," he said, his voice low, but with an edge, a desperation in them I hadn't expected.

"I already did." I snatched up my bag, heading toward the door, brushing past him as I left my office for the last time.

I refused to glance at my phone as it buzzed again as I walked down the hallway. There was nothing left for me here.

Except… why did it still hurt so much?