Chapter One: The Resignation
1013 Words
Sophia Carter's POV
There was a saying I used to believe. If you worked hard enough, one day someone would finally notice. Three years later, I knew better.
The elevator doors slid open on the forty-second floor of Blackwood Holdings at exactly seven-thirty in the morning. The executive floor was still quiet, its polished marble floors gleaming beneath the soft lights, the scent of fresh coffee already drifting from the lounge. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city stretched endlessly beneath the pale morning sky.
To everyone else, this place represented success. To me, it had become a prison I had decorated with my own sacrifices. I unlocked the CEO's office before anyone else arrived. Everything had to be perfect. His desk was cleared. His schedule was printed.
The contracts he'd requested the previous night were arranged in chronological order. His morning espresso sat precisely where he preferred it.
By eight o'clock, every detail of Ethan Blackwood's day had already been planned down to the minute. Like every other day. I glanced at the framed photograph sitting on one of the shelves.
Mr. Richard Blackwood stood beside his son during the company's tenth anniversary celebration. The older man smiled proudly. Ethan didn't.
He never smiled in photographs. Or in real life.
The sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the corridor. Right on time. The office doors opened. Without lifting my head, I greeted him.
"Good morning, Mr. Blackwood."
A low hum was the only reply. Ethan walked past me without slowing, already scrolling through emails on his phone. Dark tailored suit. Silver watch. Perfectly styled black hair. Cold expression.
Even after working with him for three years, there was something intimidating about the way he entered a room. He didn't demand attention. He simply expected it.
"Your nine o'clock meeting with the Singapore investors has been moved to ten," I reported, handing him his tablet. "The legal department has finalized the merger documents, and your father requested dinner with you this evening."
He accepted the tablet without looking at me.
"Cancel dinner." I hesitated.
"Chairman Blackwood said it was important."
"I said cancel it."
His voice remained calm. Emotionless. Final.
"...Yes, sir."
He continued walking into his office. Not once did he ask how my weekend had been. Not once did he notice the dark circles beneath my eyes after another night spent preparing reports he'd requested at midnight. Not once had he ever asked if I was tired.
That wasn't who Ethan Blackwood was. He expected excellence. Not explanations.
The morning disappeared beneath endless meetings, phone calls, contracts, and crises that somehow always found their way onto my desk before reaching his. By noon, I hadn't even touched the lunch I'd ordered. At one-thirty, the receptionist hurried toward my desk.
"Miss Carter."
I looked up.
"The guests from Harper Technologies arrived thirty minutes early."
"I'll handle it."
I immediately stood, collected the presentation files, and walked toward the conference room. Everything proceeded exactly as planned. Until Isabella Monroe arrived.
She entered like she owned the building. Elegant white suit. Diamond earrings.
Designer heels that clicked confidently across the marble floor. The Head of Public Relations. Beautiful. Sophisticated. And according to every business magazine in the country...
The woman most likely to become Mrs. Ethan Blackwood. She smiled the moment she saw me. It never reached her eyes.
"Sophia."
"Miss Monroe."
"I need Ethan for a few minutes."
"He's preparing for the presentation."
"It won't take long."
She didn't wait for permission. She simply opened his office door and walked inside.
The door remained slightly open. I had no intention of listening. But some words have a way of finding the people they're meant to hurt.
"...Father keeps asking when we're going public."
Ethan answered quietly. "We'll discuss it later." "I think the rumors are helping the company."
A brief silence followed. Then Isabella laughed softly, "I suppose your secretary already thinks we're getting married."
My hands froze over the documents.Ethan didn't laugh. He didn't deny it either.
I"It isn't important what employees think."
Employees.
The word settled heavily inside my chest.
Not Sophia.
Not the woman who had stood beside him through three exhausting years. Just… An employee. I forced myself to breathe. Professional. Always professional.
Moments later, Isabella stepped back into the hallway. She offered me a satisfied smile before leaving. As though she'd won a competition I never agreed to enter.
I lowered my eyes and returned to organizing the conference room. Work first. Feelings later.
That became my survival strategy. The presentation ended successfully. The investors signed the agreement.
Everyone congratulated Ethan for securing another multimillion-dollar partnership. No one noticed the woman who had spent three sleepless nights preparing every document they praised.
That evening, the executive floor slowly emptied. Employees gathered their belongings and went home to their families. HiI remained.
There were still reports to finish before tomorrow morning.At nearly nine o'clock, Ethan finally emerged from his office.
"Miss Carter."
I stood immediately. "Yes, sir?"
"I need the Henderson acquisition summary before eight tomorrow."
"I'll have it ready."
He nodded once. Then I stopped walking.
j"The board meeting has been moved to six." "I'll update your schedule."
Another nod. He turned toward the elevator. Before the doors closed, he spoke without looking back.
"And don't be late tomorrow." The elevator disappeared.
Silence settled over the floor. I stared at the closed doors for a long moment before lowering myself into my chair. My computer screen reflected a woman I barely recognized.
I am twenty-five years old. No social life. No vacations. No weekends. Three years of giving everything to a man who didn't even know when my birthday was.
I slowly opened my desk drawer. Inside lay a plain white envelope. It had been there for two weeks. Unsigned. Unfinished. Waiting for courage. My fingers trembled as I finally picked it up. This time… I signed my name. Sophia Carter.
Then I slipped the resignation letter back into the envelope. Tomorrow morning...
I was finally going to leave the man I had spent three years loving in silence.
- Writer
