Chapter 3

Mia followed a step behind Lawson, a brand-new badge hanging from her neck.

Design Director.

The position I had just vacated.

She held a stack of documents in her arms, flipping through them uncertainly.

Lawson would turn to her every now and then, walking her through the details.

His secretary, Lisa, trailed just behind and to the left of them.

She was smiling in Mia's direction, but the irritation and contempt underneath it were impossible to hide anymore.

When she spotted me, Lisa stopped short.

"Ms. Eve."

At that, Lawson looked over too, whatever he'd been about to say to Mia left unfinished.

Mia stood there, and her eyes went red on cue.

"Lisa, I know you don't like me — but Eve has already resigned. Isn't it a little inappropriate to keep addressing her that way?"

"Besides, Eve's resignation was a personal matter, wasn't it? Taking out whatever frustration you have over her leaving on me — I really don't appreciate that..."

She put deliberate emphasis on the words "personal matter."

The colleagues who'd been whispering exchanged glances, their expressions settling into something more certain than before.

Lisa stood there, at a loss for words.

I folded my resignation form and spoke up, completely unbothered.

"Lisa was just being polite. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

"And for the record — I never said anything about why I resigned. Spreading assumptions like that, Mia? That's the part that I find inappropriate."

Mia's face went pale. She started to say something, but Lawson put a hand out — not hard, just enough to stop her.

His gaze settled on me.

"This is on me. Let me take you out sometime — a proper send-off."

"You've put in so many years. What you've contributed here matters."

I smiled.

"Don't bother. If I'd known anyone could fill this seat, I wouldn't have worked myself half to death for it."

Lawson's expression shifted. I had no interest in watching it. I turned and walked away.

Outside, a light rain had started.

I raised a hand to shield myself, and it hit me — the day everything between me and Lawson finally broke apart had been exactly like this. Gray and drizzling.

I'd been pulling an all-nighter at the office and my blood sugar had crashed past midnight.

I called Lawson and asked him to bring something to eat.

Instead, a woman's voice answered.

That was the first time I let go of all the composure I'd been carefully holding together. I heard myself demand an answer.

Why is she answering your phone? How dare you let some woman come this close? Lawson, what exactly do you want?

A long silence on the other end. Then a quiet exhale.

That one sound was enough to drain the warmth from half my heart.

"I'll have Lisa bring you something to eat."

"Get some rest tonight. Tomorrow — we need to talk about a divorce."

I sat alone in the empty office, shaking with cold.

"On what grounds, Lawson? Don't forget — I helped build this company from nothing. You have no right to—"

He cut me off, his voice light as air.

"Without me, no one would have hired a designer with your history."

Every word left me instantly.

Years ago, I'd been caught up in a plagiarism scandal — someone in the industry had accused me of stealing their concept. My company fired me on the spot, and the label stuck. I was blacklisted across the entire field.

I had nowhere to go. Lawson — who'd been pursuing me at the time — reached out and pulled me back up.

He said he believed me. He said someone that talented didn't deserve to be buried.

In that moment, I genuinely fell for him.

Naive and foolish enough to trust him completely.

During the six months of our divorce proceedings, my authority at the company had been quietly hollowed out piece by piece. The team I'd built and mentored was reassigned to other departments.

The Director position wasn't something just anyone could walk into.

Lawson had to clear a lot of road for Mia to get there.

More than half of my leaving was anything but voluntary.

I came back to myself. Lisa had followed me outside at some point without my noticing.

She held out an umbrella, speaking quietly.

"Eve — this is from Mr. Lawson. The rain makes the roads slippery. Please be safe."

I smiled at her, but didn't take it. I walked out into the rain.

I'd gotten through worse storms than this.

A little drizzle was nothing.