After She Tried to Kill Dad, I Dumped Him

Chapter 3

I never expected Derek to let me go so easily.

Instead of trying to stop me, Derek calmly reached into his suit jacket, pulled out a prepared breakup agreement, and tossed it onto the table in front of me.

"So you want to break up?" he said lightly. "Funny. I was about to say the same thing." He looked almost relieved. "Claire, after meeting Suki, I finally realized what love is. What I felt for you before wasn't love. It was habit."

He paused briefly. "Suki is the person I truly love."

For five years, we built everything together from nothing, rising from broke college students to restaurant owners side by side. And in the end, all I got was the realization that I had never been his true love. I almost laughed.

The agreement was brutally unfair. My shares were being bought out at an absurdly low price. Derek was practically forcing me out with nothing.

I didn't argue. I picked up the pen and signed my name without the slightest hesitation.

Thomas immediately panicked. "Claire, you can't sign that!" he whispered urgently. "This restaurant is your entire life's work!"

I simply shook my head, a cold smile tugging at the corners of my lips. After all, it was still far too early to know who would have the last laugh.

Afterward, Derek used the restaurant's reserve funds to cover the damages from the tank incident.

For the next few days, Suki strutted around the restaurant like she'd won some kind of victory. The veteran staff all knew what had really happened and avoided her whenever possible.

I assumed she would settle down for a while. I was wrong. The very next morning, the procurement manager burst into my office looking ready to collapse.

"Claire, what is going on in the kitchen?" he demanded. "Who approved this purchase order? One hundred kilograms of Alba white truffles? Two live bluefin tuna? This is insane!" He slapped the order form onto my desk. "The suppliers called three separate times to confirm it, and now the entire industry is talking about us online. The restaurant's reputation is getting destroyed!"

I glanced down at the paperwork. My personal seal was stamped clearly at the bottom. I opened the food forum on my phone.

The top trending topic read: #LuxuryRestaurantHeadChefFlauntsMillion-DollarIngredients#.

The comments underneath were merciless.

A: [Is this how rich restaurants launder money now?]

B: [Several million dollars on ingredients? What are they making, an imperial banquet?]

C: [I heard the head chef's fiancé is some rich heir.]

I didn't need to think twice about who was behind it. I locked my phone and went straight to Derek's office.

"Derek, she stole my personal seal," I said coldly. "That alone is a serious violation. Now the restaurant's reputation is taking damage because of it."

Suki stood beside him with tearful eyes. "I only wanted to help Claire with some paperwork..." she said weakly. "Those ingredients looked expensive, so I thought they would help improve the restaurant's image. I really didn't mean for things to turn out like this..."

Derek rubbed his forehead tiredly, but he still took her side without hesitation. "Claire, Suki was trying to learn. She meant well." He exhaled impatiently. "The ingredients haven't even been delivered yet. Just return them and move on."

I didn't waste time arguing. I pulled out my phone. "If I don't get a public apology and clarification immediately, I'm calling the police."

The moment Derek saw me dialing, his expression changed. "Enough," he snapped. "I'll release a statement for you."

Then his tone turned cold again. "But honestly, Claire, you don't know how to work as part of a team anymore. I don't think you're suited for the head chef position."

Without a word, I placed the resignation letter I had prepared onto his desk. Derek glanced at it but made no move to sign. "We haven't found a replacement head chef yet," he said flatly. "You can't leave for now."

Then he added, as if it were only natural, "Before you resign, you'll train Suki personally. Otherwise, I won't approve your resignation."

I smiled. "Sure," I said pleasantly. "I'll make sure to teach her properly."