Chapter 4

Julian stared at me in complete disbelief.

On my phone screen was the official, digitally signed termination confirmation.

Thanks to Julian's ruthless "rank-and-yank" policy, the high turnover rate had forced HR to implement an expedited two-hour offboarding protocol.

While they were busy celebrating their petty coup in the conference room, HR had already rubber-stamped my resignation paperwork.

Julian's face went deathly pale. The sycophants standing around him shifted uncomfortably, frozen in place.

He forced a nervous, desperate chuckle, his voice dripping with sudden servility. "Nora, come on, you're acting on pure emotion here. Let's sit down in my office and talk this through properly."

Marcus raised an eyebrow and stood up with effortless grace. "Well, since you have internal matters to resolve, Mr. Vance, I'll take my leave."

As Marcus walked past me, his deep voice carried clearly across the silent office floor.

"I look forward to our next collaboration, Nora."

I gave him a grateful nod, knowing full well he had staged this entire visit just to give me the upper hand.

Paying no attention to the stunned crowd, I walked straight to my desk to pack my personal belongings.

Julian shadowed my every step, his voice oscillating between panic and rage.

"Nora! Has the company ever treated you poorly?! How can you just walk out like this?!"

There was no genuine remorse in his tone—only the desperate frustration of losing control over an asset he took for granted.

Seeing that I wasn't reacting, he scrambled to play the nostalgia card.

"Nora, you're a founding pillar of this place! Remember back in the garage days? You developed the scents, I pounded the pavement closing sales—the two of us built this empire from nothing!"

"Then the corporate acquisition happened, and we expanded into an industry leader. We lived through all of it side by side!"

"In my heart, you've never just been an employee. You're my partner."

Chloe stepped forward with tentative, teary eyes. "Nora... please stay. I was wrong earlier, I'm so sorry!"

I glanced up, my voice flat. "Don't call me your mentor. You don't deserve the title."

The suck-ups in the background scowled, their resentment resurfacing.

"Nora, don't push your luck! Mr. Vance is begging you on his knees, what more do you want?!"

"With an attitude like that, no other luxury house will ever hire you!"

"Exactly! Who cares how talented you are? Business is a team sport!"

They chimed in one after another, trying desperately to mask their growing panic by shouting louder.

Seeing that the room was backing him, Julian tried to regain his managerial composure.

"Nora, let's stop this childish drama. Starting today, your senior master perfumer title is restored. Everything goes back to the way it was."

"We're still partners, right?"

I stopped packing, turned to face him, and let out a cold, cutting laugh.

"Partners? You actually consider me a partner? If you did, would you have engineered a bureaucratic trap just to test my limits?"

"Would you have colluded with an intern to undermine my work?"

"I was never your partner. I was your cash cow. When you needed my talent to survive, you treated me like gold. The moment you became an executive and needed to establish dominance, you painted a target on my back."

"Do me a favor and stop insulting the word 'partner.'"

I picked up my single box of belongings and walked straight past a stunned Julian toward the exit.

The crisp spring sunlight hit my face outside, warm and liberating. I immediately booked a first-class ticket to the Maldives to clear my head.

The ocean breeze and turquoise waves washed away years of accumulated exhaustion.

After sleeping for nearly three straight days in my private overwater bungalow, I finally woke up to order dinner.

The moment I picked up my phone, it went haywire—buzzing uncontrollably with over a hundred unread messages and ninety-nine missed calls.

Every single one was from Julian Vance.