Chapter 1 Whoever Loves This Substitute Can Have Her

Afternoon.

In the secretary's office, inside the rest area.

Breathing heavily, Fiona was recovering from the aftermath of their intimate encounter, while Darwin was tightly embracing her from behind.

Hot kisses were planted on her neck.

Darwin had been away on a business trip for half a month this time, and surprisingly, he didn't bring Fiona, his personal secretary, with him. Fiona wondered if perhaps Mr. Solomon had finally wearied of her after five years together.

To be honest, she was quite happy about it.

Five years ago, burdened by debt and with her grandmother seriously ill, she was in urgent need of a large sum of money. It was at her lowest point that she met Darwin. People said that she bore a strong resemblance to Darwin's high school sweetheart, whom he still pined for. However, when his high school sweetheart had the accident and fell into a vegetative state, she married a European aristocrat and moved overseas.

Darwin was probably heartbroken over losing his first love and couldn't let go of the past. After meeting Fiona, he helped her pay off her debts, arranged for the best hospital for her grandmother's treatment, and she became Darwin's publicly acknowledged secretary and secret lover.

For these five years, she had hidden her true nature and imitated everything about his first love: gentle, obedient, and eager to please Darwin. She had grown tired of it a long time ago and hoped that Darwin would quickly find someone else.

Unexpectedly, when Darwin returned from his business trip, he didn't even wait for her to finish work before rushing to his residence, storming into the company with a fierce and harsh attitude, nearly wearing her out completely.

After a moment of calm.

"Mr. Solomon, the shareholders are waiting for you to start the meeting," Fiona reminded him softly.

Darwin responded coldly, released Fiona, and headed straight for the bathroom.

Fiona breathed a sigh of relief.

Suppressing her discomfort, she obediently fetched Darwin's spare suit and brought it to the rest area. When Darwin finished showering and came out, she helped him change into the suit, gently tying his tie for him.

He maintained his aloof gaze, yet when he lowered his eyes to look at Fiona, his expressions softened.

As always, she was gentle, obedient, and considerate. He was very satisfied.

"There's a check on the table, 20 million," Darwin said casually. "In addition, the Emerald Pool villa will be transferred to your name."

Fiona was stunned, looking bewilderedly at Darwin.

Could this be the rumored separation agreement?

"Mr. Solomon, why all of a sudden..." Fiona began to ask.

Looking at her shocked and bewildered expression, Darwin's eyes brimmed with disdain. He raised his hand in satisfaction, pinching her chin. "Consider it a reward," he said in a cool, insidious tone.

A reward?

What did she do to deserve such a generous reward?

20 million was already a lot, not to mention the market value of the Emerald Pool villa, which was over 100 million.

Although Darwin had always been generous to her, he had never given her such a large sum at once.

Darwin rubbed Fiona's slightly swollen lips with his thumb, his chilly tone carrying a hint of seduction. "As long as you continue to be obedient and submissive like this, in the future..."

" I'll give you more in the future," he said. Fiona, puzzled, looked at Darwin. "What do you mean by 'in the future'? Does he not intend to break up with her?" Fiona averted her gaze, still pretending to be charming and gentle, and nodded softly.

"Mr. Solomon, I understand." Fiona wondered if it was her imagination, but Darwin's irritation seemed to vanish instantly after she responded. "Hmm," Darwin responded coldly, "there's nothing going on this afternoon, so you can go back and rest." "Okay." Fiona nodded.

Afterwards, Darwin left her very quickly. After he walked away, Fiona picked up the check and furrowed her beautiful brows. Over the past six months, Darwin had clearly grown tired of her. Not long ago, she even unintentionally saw another girl who resembled Lilian more than herself by Darwin's side.

"This shouldn't be happening..." Fiona murmured. At that moment, the phone that had fallen at the foot of the bed suddenly buzzed. Fiona picked it up. The first thing she saw was a financial news notification. "Breaking News! Solomon Capital's president is set to marry the young heiress of the dynastic Ross family.

This alliance of the two major financial conglomerates may lead to significant changes in the world's capital structure." Fiona's eyes seemed to sting for a moment. Coincidentally, the president of Solomon Capital was Darwin. The rest area was still in disarray. Her dress and Darwin's designer suit were scattered all over the floor. Fiona gently touched her forehead and laughed silently.

So, this was the reason behind Darwin suddenly giving her money and a house. Twenty million and a villa to keep her as his obedient bed partner and third party in his marriage? Fiona's stomach churned. She rushed into the bathroom and vomited.

Then, she lifted her gaze and saw her own pale and somewhat disheveled reflection in the mirror. She finally understood the game this scumbag, Darwin, was playing. He was about to get married but couldn't let go of his first love, so he clung onto her as a substitute.

Whoever wanted to be a substitute can take the job. I'm not going along with it anymore! After tidying herself up, Fiona estimated when the meeting would end and prepared her resignation letter to go to the president's office.

When she reached the door, Fiona was about to knock and go in. Then she heard the voice of Darwin's friend, the wealthy playboy of the capital, Wyatt, teasingly from inside. "Darwin, you're getting married. What are you planning to do with Secretary Woods?"

There was a brief silence in the room, followed by Darwin's cold voice. "No action needed, same as before." "Is she willing to be a mistress?" Wyatt asked. "As long as I give her enough money, she'll do anything," Darwin's tone was full of mockery and contempt.

Fiona froze on the spot, and her heart ached sharply. From the beginning, she had sold herself to Darwin.

In the end, in Darwin's eyes, she was nothing more than a commodity that could be renewed and played with when the price was right.

"Really?" Wyatt's voice suddenly became excited, "So, if I offer a higher price than you, will she sell to me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the voice of Darwin's assistant, Clarke, came from outside the door.

"Secretary Woods?"

Fiona snapped back to reality.

She turned her head and nodded at Clarke, then knocked on the office door and walked in.

Wyatt, who was just joking moments ago: "..."

Awkward for a moment, he gave a mischievous squint with his eyes and greeted with a warm smile as if nothing had happened, "Hello, Secretary Woods ~"

Fiona thought of Wyatt's words just now, and her stomach churned again. She found him disgusting and ignored him.

She walked straight to Darwin, who had a cold face.

"Weren't you supposed to go back and rest?" Darwin asked in a deep voice, with a clear displeasure in his tone.

"Mr. Solomon." Fiona looked at Darwin. Gone was her usual gentle and obedient appearance. She handed over her resignation confidently, "This is my resignation letter."

Darwin's face turned cold in an instant, "What do you mean?"

"When we were together, we agreed that I wouldn't be a mistress. If you got married, I would leave." Fiona put down the resignation letter, "I will hand over my work and unfinished projects as soon as possible. You and Mr. Durham can continue, and I won't disturb you anymore."

After speaking, Fiona turned around and walked out.

When she passed by a shocked Wyatt, she stopped in her tracks.

She didn't want to pretend to be docile for another second.

She looked at Wyatt.

Her eyes were cold, as if looking at garbage.

She answered Wyatt's question from earlier.

"No, she’s not for sale."