Chapter 3

I kept my voice steady. "Melvin, have the receptionist let me in right now. I'm here to see you. Otherwise, intimate photos of you and Lucia will be in the inboxes of all your business rivals tomorrow morning."

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end.

I pressed on, my tone flat. "Sure, you can scrub the internet clean, but your rivals will make sure the scandal of the Barnes Group's CEO cheating on his wife stays trending for three days straight. Want to test that?"

After a brief, tense silence, Melvin spoke through gritted teeth, "Carol, you're ruthless. Give the phone to the front desk."

The receptionist took the call, her expression shifting as she listened to the instructions. In the end, she reluctantly buzzed me in.

Lucia, ignored and left standing awkwardly, huffed in annoyance.

As she walked past me, she shot me a mocking smile. "You sure know how to play your cards. But no matter how hard you try, Melvin's never coming back to you. You know why? It's because I'm his first love."

With that, she lifted her chin and strode straight to the executive elevator.

I, meanwhile, squeezed into the regular employee elevator with the crowd.

A bunch of people had seen the drama at the front desk, and now they were gossiping in hushed tones.

Every bit of their whispered chatter made its way to my ears.

"Did you catch that? That's Melvin's legit wife and she was stopped at the entrance for ages."

"Just a few days ago, Melvin rented the entire rooftop revolving restaurant for Lucia's birthday. That's some serious flex."

"Ever since Lucia came on board, Melvin's been way more chill. Last week, he even doubled the team bonuses."

"Of course. Lucia's the one Melvin's been chasing forever but never got. Won't be long before they're out in the open together."

"So, does that mean the wife is about to get dumped?"

"She's just clinging desperately now. Moreover, she looks like she just walked in from the sticks. Honestly, what does she have that makes her good enough for Melvin?"

The chatter continued.

After I got off the elevator, my chest tightened painfully.

This floor used to be the one I loved most, all cozy wood and sunlight.

But now, Melvin had redone everything in a sleek style, just to please Lucia.

Still, this wasn't the time to get all emotional.

I opened Melvin's office door and saw Lucia and Melvin cuddled up together on the couch.

Lucia shot me a defiant look. She pretended she was about to get up, but Melvin just pulled her closer into his arms.

"Why leave?" he said to Lucia, his voice full of exaggerated tenderness. "There's nothing you can't hear."

With that, he kissed Lucia right in front of me.

If this had been before, I would've stormed over, grabbed the files off his desk, and smacked them right in their faces.

Then, I would've gotten into a full-blown fight with him.

But now, I just stood there, not moving an inch.

Melvin arched his brow in surprise, a sneer tugging at his lips. "Carol, unless it's about the divorce, there's nothing left for us to say.

"Even if you were on your deathbed right now, I wouldn't waste a single minute coming to see you."

I met his gaze, saying nothing.

He'd thrown these vicious words at me more times than I cared to remember.

And now, I was done caring about winning and losing.

I calmly took the divorce papers from my bag and handed them over. My voice was flat. "I've already signed them. See you at the city hall tomorrow."

Melvin was caught off guard, instinctively letting go of Lucia's waist. "What?"

I placed the papers on the desk in front of him and turned away. "It's the agreement you left in the study. I've already signed it. If you're worried, check it now. See you at the registry at ten tomorrow. Don't be late."

Melvin flipped through the agreement. When he reached the page about the asset split, he jerked his head up to look at my back, his voice trembling. "You... you really agreed?"

I didn't turn around. "As you wish."

He asked, "But didn't you keep stalling the divorce just to get a bigger share of the assets before? So why agree now?"

I let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh, didn't answer, and just pushed open the office door.

I hadn't cared about the assets at all.

The first time Melvin brought up divorce, I totally lost it. I smashed a glass on the floor and yelled, "Don't even think about getting rid of me with that pathetic amount!"

That was when he convinced himself I was just in it for the cash.

He'd never understand what I was really clinging to was the vow of us remaining together forever.

If I was really just after his money, I would never have stood by him without a second thought when he lost everything and everyone turned their backs on him.

It was not rocket science, but Melvin just couldn't understand that.

I stepped out of the office and hit the elevator button. Just as I was about to walk into the elevator, a sudden grip yanked me back from behind.

Forced to turn around, I found myself staring straight into Lucia's contemptuous eyes.