Chapter 3

Julian Lennox POV

Seeing me arrive, Vanessa instantly put on a victimized expression and cozied up to me. "Julian, you're finally here. I have no idea what got into Ms. Vance, but she suddenly wanted to resign. I tried to advise her out of goodwill, but she ignored me. She's clearly acting out of dissatisfaction with you!"

Vanessa attempted to redirect all the anger onto Zoe. However, I didn't spare her a single glance.

My gaze, like a poisoned vine, wrapped tightly around Zoe and the jarring cardboard box she held in her arms. An inexplicable anger rushed straight to my head. I marched up to her and looked down, my eyes cold enough to form icicles.

"Resign?" The word squeezed through my teeth, laced with the furious rage of betrayal.

"Yes, Mr. Lennox," Zoe met my gaze, her tone so calm there wasn't a single ripple. "I have already submitted my resignation letter to the HR Department, and the handover of my duties is complete. Thank you for your care over the years, Mr. Lennox."

She called me Mr. Lennox. She was speaking to me in such a businesslike manner.

My heart suddenly twitched. A fleeting sense of inexplicable panic vanished as quickly as it came, instantly smothered by an even stronger surge of rage. I sneered and snatched the copy of Zoe's resignation application from the desk.

"Zoe Vance, what is the meaning of this?" I lowered my voice, gritting my teeth in a tone only the two of us could hear. "A few days ago, you begged my mother to arrange an engagement with me, and I rejected you. Now you're playing hard to get? You think I'll look at you twice just because you resign? Do you think the Lennox family lacks a servant like you to wait on me?"

This time, she didn't cry.

"You misunderstand, Mr. Lennox," Zoe smiled slightly, her smile carrying a sense of relieved finality. "My resignation isn't to play hard to get, let alone to force your hand. I am getting married. My fiancé doesn't like me working as someone else's secretary, so I am leaving this city."

"Getting married?" I froze. The words hit me like a heavy sledgehammer to the back of my head, leaving me dazed and dizzy.

She was getting married? To whom? Didn't she only love me? Hadn't she followed me like an inescapable shadow for ten years? How dared she marry someone else!

An unprecedented irritability and jealousy spread wildly in my heart like weeds. My eyes instantly turned red. I stared intently at Zoe, trying to find any trace of a lie on her face. But all I saw was a dead-flat calm.

*Rip!*

In front of everyone, I tore her resignation application into shreds and threw them violently at her feet. The snow-white paper scraps drifted down like snowflakes.

"You want to resign? You want to get married? Impossible!" Like a raging lion, I completely tore off my usual disguise. "Zoe Vance, you belong to me forever! Without my permission, you are not going anywhere!"

"Mr. Lennox, we live in a society ruled by law. You have no right to restrict my freedom," Zoe said, looking at me coldly.

"Fine, very well. Talking about the law with me, are you?" I laughed out of pure anger, my gaze terrifyingly sinister. "You want to leave? Fine. There is a cooperation project with Mr. Harrison that the company hasn't been able to close. Go close it and get him to sign this contract. If you succeed, I'll sign your release immediately. Otherwise, you will pay the company thirty million for breach of contract!"

At those words, a collective gasp ran through the room. Mr. Harrison was notoriously difficult to deal with in the industry, especially when it came to tormenting people at the drinking table. Sending a young girl like Zoe to negotiate was practically throwing a sheep into a tiger's den.

"Ms. Vance, don't be angry with Mr. Lennox. Just apologize to him," a colleague who usually had a good relationship with Zoe couldn't help but tug at her sleeve, whispering advice. "You know what Mr. Harrison is like. If you go, you'll definitely suffer. Just apologize to Mr. Lennox, and he'll surely forgive you."

"Exactly. As long as you admit your mistake and stay obediently by my side, we can let this go." I stared at her as if doling out a final act of charity. I was certain she wouldn't dare to go, certain that in the end, she would still beg me humbly just as she had in the past.

However, Zoe only gently brushed off her colleague's hand. She looked at me, her eyes filled with mockery and sorrow.

"Fine," Zoe's clear voice echoed through the quiet office area. "I will negotiate. I hope you keep your word, Mr. Lennox, and prepare my certificate of discharge."

With that, she didn't look at me again. She turned and strode out of the office, leaving me standing there, staring at her resolute back. My hands hung at my sides, clenched into tight fists, my nails digging into my flesh until beads of blood leaked out.