Chapter 4

A few days later, the moment I signed the contract, I hurried straight back.

Then a typhoon rolled in and delayed my flight by twelve hours.

While I was waiting in the lounge, I overheard the people beside me.

"What is this garbage game doing? What kind of update is this?"

"I'm so mad. I spent that much money on it too!"

I glanced over, and it was our company's software.

I updated it right away, and when the page loaded, my whole body went rigid.

Our immersive farm-life game, built on a classic Eastern aesthetic, had been crammed full of Western elements. The most iconic character's costume had been completely redesigned.

The second my plane landed, I went straight to the office.

I'd barely stepped through the door when Ken rushed over with a folder, his voice choked.

"Ms. Matthews, it's over…"

I opened the folder and saw the illustrator's signature under a pen name I'd never heard of.

I flipped further and saw the real name. My hand clenched. Edith Hardy.

My chest went numb, my breath tight.

I looked at Ken.

"Upload the first version to replace it. Keep the losses as small as possible."

Then I pushed open the door to Marlin's office, ready to speak.

But there he was, playing some little tablet game with Edith, a tender smile on his face.

The instant he noticed me, his brow furrowed and irritation crossed his face.

"Why didn't you knock?"

I tossed the folder onto his desk and looked straight into his eyes.

"So this is the person you picked, and the work you did?"

He glanced at the folder, then looked at Edith beside him, tense and uneasy, and his body instinctively shifted to shield most of her from view before he turned back to me.

"Edith just came back to the country. As an old classmate, I figured this was a good chance for her to get some practice."

"Besides, your PR skills are so strong. For you, this is nothing."

I watched the way he was guarding Edith, and I thought back to the year the software first took off, to how earnest he'd looked.

He'd said that no matter how the company grew from then on, this software would always be the most important thing in his heart.

Because it was what the two of us had built together.

I dropped my eyes and forced down the ache rising in my throat, steadying myself.

When I looked up again, I caught the diamond bracelet on Edith's wrist and the little chip-diamond necklace Marlin had given me as an "apology." Same raw material.

And just like that, it came together.

So the necklace he gave me was made from the leftover scraps.

The so-called apology was really about buying himself a chance to let Edith practice.

A cramp of pain twisted in my stomach. I looked at Marlin, and my throat worked.

"And if I told you that this time, I don't want it anymore?"

Marlin blinked, then laughed.

"Sophia, you won't."

"I know what this software means to you."

I twitched a corner of my mouth up, pulled out my phone, took the resignation notice I'd drafted long ago from my bag, and set it on his desk.

"You're wrong."

"Right now it means nothing to me."

"Do whatever you want with it."

I turned to leave.

Marlin's expression froze, and he lunged forward to grab my wrist.

"Sophia, listen to me…"

"Marlin, I can't breathe…"

Edith cried out and slumped into the chair, her face drained white.

He yanked his hand back, scooped her up, and rushed for the door.

As he passed me, he threw out one line.

"Sophia, wait for me. We'll sit down and talk this through."

Once he was gone, his assistant's eyes swept over me, tinged now with pity.

I drove home, packed my bags quickly, arranged to ship the car registered in my name, and listed my property for rent.

I bought a one-way ticket to the new company.

I canceled the wedding dress I'd ordered and the venue I'd booked.

I deleted his parents' contacts and left that necklace on the table.

From now on, my life and Marlin's would never cross paths again.

……

The next morning, after sitting up all night with Edith and finding that the online backlash still hadn't died down, Marlin finally lost his nerve.

He rushed over to Sophia's department, only to find every desk empty.

"What's going on here?"

His assistant lowered his head and answered.

"Once the whole department heard Ms. Matthews had quit, they left with her."

The veins stood out on his forehead as he shouted.

"Who approved that? Why don't I know about it?"

A voice came from behind him.

"I did."

"Mr. Carr, from now on, I'm afraid you'll be losing on both fronts, in love and in business."

Marlin turned around, and the moment he saw who was speaking, his pupils shrank sharply.