Chapter 3
"Fine, Mr. Mitchell. Understood. I'll get the data myself." I turned away.
Behind me, I heard him whispering gently. "Don't cry, Jasmine. Ignore her. She's just jealous of you. She's crazy."
The humiliation didn't stop. It escalated.
Ryan's protection gave Jasmine and the rest of the office a free pass. The "Spinster" nickname became a public joke.
Two new interns smirked as I walked by.
One whispered just loud enough for me to hear, "Hurry up, the Spinster is coming. Watch out."
"I heard there's a group chat about her... are you in it?"
"Not yet, add me quick."
This happened daily. It finally blew up during a major project pitch.
The CEO was already unhappy with my last presentation, so I made sure I was perfectly prepared this time.
But ten minutes before the meeting, Ryan walked in with Jasmine. "Jasmine has been shadowing this project. Let her present today. You can fill in the gaps."
I tried to fight it. "Mr. Mitchell, I've managed this project from day one. I know it best."
Ryan scoffed. "You know it best? Then why was the CEO so disappointed last time?"
He gave Jasmine an encouraging nod. "Jasmine, get set up."
She eagerly stepped up and plugged her flash drive into the laptop.
During the pitch, Ryan nodded along, looking incredibly proud.
I sat on the sidelines in cold silence.
As she was switching windows, her hand slipped. She accidentally clicked her taskbar.
Her private group chat instantly flashed onto the massive conference screen.
The chat name was glaringly obvious: Spinster Observation Diary.
Inside were secretly taken photos of me, complete with nasty commentary.
[The Spinster is wearing yoga pants and drinking Starbucks again. Living the high life.]
[Only because Mr. Mitchell keeps her around. Eight years? I would've dumped her ages ago.]
Even through the screen, Jasmine's fake innocence made me sick. She had replied: "You guys shouldn't say that."
Right below that, Ryan had replied: [Stay away from the Spinster, Jasmine. I don't want her giving you a hard time again.]
I looked at Ryan. He was completely unbothered. He even had a slight smile on his face.
My heart turned to ash. Eight years of sacrifice, all for an absolute joke.
I didn't even wait for the meeting to end. I walked straight to HR and handed in my resignation.
When I walked out carrying my box of belongings, I bumped straight into Ryan and Jasmine.
They were laughing. Ryan's eyes locked onto me, but he didn't say a word.
In my heart, I finally said it. Goodbye, Ryan. Have a nice life.
The door closed slowly behind me, leaving Ryan on the other side, his face frozen. Words left unsaid.
The hollow, weightless drop of the elevator felt just like my heart, spiraling downward for the past three months.
But this time, I finally crashed into the bottom.
I didn't look back.
As soon as I stepped out of the revolving doors, my phone buzzed.
Expressionless, I declined the call and dragged Ryan's name straight into my blocked list.
Eight years of youth, all that passionate love was thrown away, dumped in the trash along with the box.
I turned off all my social media and just slept at home, not bothering with anything, letting the days blur together.
A week later, I was sitting by the window of my new apartment, having breakfast.
My phone rang. It was an unfamiliar local landline number.
I hesitated for a moment, but in the end, I picked up.
"Hello, is this Ms. Freya Sinclair?" an anxious, older male voice asked.
"Speaking. Who is this?" I replied.
"Ms. Sinclair, I am so sorry to bother you. It is Lucas from the Chairman's office." His voice was laced with panic. "Mr. Mitchell needs you to come in right away. It is an absolute emergency!"
"Lucas," I replied, keeping my tone perfectly flat. "I have already resigned from Mitchell Enterprises. Whatever is going on there is no longer my concern."
Just as I was about to hang up, his voice grew even more frantic. "Ms. Sinclair. Please, just listen to me.
"That massive merger Ryan was heading up has completely fallen apart. You are literally the only one who can save this disaster!"
A faint smile tugged at the corner of my lips, but my voice remained ice cold. "I am sorry, but I have absolutely no intention of getting involved with the Mitchell family ever again. You will have to fix your own messes."
"Ms. Sinclair, please don't hang up! The Chairman said you can name your price. Literally anything, as long as you come back!" Lucas was practically begging.