Chapter 2

When Lynn came out of the bathroom, the wound on her forehead had been simply treated.

Though her face was still pale, her expression had already become calm.

Compared to this superficial wound on her forehead, the one in her heart was deeper and more painful, but there was no way to stop the bleeding.

She went upstairs to the master bedroom, preparing to pack her things.

On the nightstand sat a wedding photo of her and Gavin.

In the photo, she was smiling so brightly, her eyes shining like they held stars.

Back then, she thought that as long as she married him, even if he didn't love her, if she just devoted herself wholeheartedly, one day she would get the love she wanted.

But looking at it now, she had been too naive back then.

With a self-mocking smile, Lynn withdrew her gaze from the marriage certificate and opened the closet.

She didn't have many clothes. She'd spent most of her time on business trips after marriage, and half the closet space was empty.

Gavin's clothes were on the other side, hanging neatly, ironed without a single wrinkle.

Most of his clothes had been bought by Lynn. Every time she went abroad on business, whenever she saw something suitable for him, no matter how expensive, she would buy it for him.

Before each business trip, she would even match up every outfit he needed to wear, so he wouldn't have to worry about it.

Suppressing the bitterness in her heart, Lynn took a few changes of clothes, grabbed her toiletries and some professional books, and packed them into a small suitcase.

In the drawer was a card—the living expenses Gavin had someone transfer to her account every month.

Over six years, she hadn't touched a cent of it.

She had her own job, her own income. Though it couldn't compare to Gavin's, it was enough for her to live on.

She placed the card on the nightstand where Gavin would see it as soon as he came home.

Her phone email chimed. Attorney Nelson had drafted the divorce agreement and sent over the electronic version.

After confirming there were no issues, Lynn printed two copies and signed her name.

As long as she brought this agreement to the company tomorrow and had the secretary pass it to Gavin, they would have nothing to do with each other from then on.

Clean and efficient, without any dragging—just like his attitude toward her over these six years.

Lynn dragged her suitcase downstairs. This time, she never looked back.

Leaving the villa, she drove straight to an apartment under her name.

The apartment was a two-bedroom, bought a few years ago, not far from the company.

She occasionally stayed there overnight when working too late. A housekeeper cleaned it regularly, so it wasn't dirty.

Lynn tidied up a bit. By the time she finished, it was past 2 AM.

She lay down on the bed. Though her body was exhausted, she couldn't fall asleep.

Her mind was chaotic, filled with Ethan's disgusted look when he pushed her, and Gavin's retreating figure as he carried Sophie away.

She turned over and buried her face in the pillow.

So it's true—when someone reaches the point of complete despair, they really can't cry.

The next morning at seven, Lynn got up.

She'd barely slept all night. Her eyes were bloodshot, but her gaze was increasingly calm.

She got up, washed, changed clothes, and headed straight to the building where Green Group was located.

When she arrived at the company, it was just past 8:30.

She opened her computer and started writing her resignation letter.

The content was brief: "Due to personal reasons, I'm applying to resign. Thank you for the company's years of support."

She signed it and printed it out.

Putting the divorce agreement and resignation letter into a document folder, she went straight to the top floor.

She wanted to hand it to him in person, so they'd have no connection afterward.

But just as she stepped out of the elevator, she was stopped by the secretary, Henry.

"Lynn? What are you doing up here?"

Henry knew Lynn was Gavin's wife, and he also knew Gavin didn't like Lynn appearing on the top floor.

"I'm looking for Mr. Green. I have some documents for him."

"Mr. Green isn't here. Why don't you go back? I can pass along the message when Mr. Green returns?" Henry politely tried to send her away.

Lynn stood there without moving.

In this building, everyone knew Gavin didn't like her.

Mr. Green gets annoyed when he sees Lynn—don't let her come up if you can help it.

That was the unspoken rule.

She hadn't understood before, always running into that wall again and again, getting hurt badly, yet comforting herself that it was okay, he was just busy, he didn't mean it.

But now she realized how much she had degraded herself back then.

She gripped the document folder tighter, about to say something when a familiar voice came from behind.

"Lynn?"

Lynn turned around to see Ivy from HR stepping out of another elevator.

"Ivy." She greeted her.

Ivy looked at her, then at Henry, immediately understanding the situation. She pulled her aside. "You're here to see Mr. Green?"

"Yeah."

"Don't wait." Ivy lowered her voice even more. "Sophie was hospitalized last night. Mr. Green has been at the hospital taking care of her."

When she said this, her tone carried both sympathy and helplessness.

Anyone who'd worked at this company long enough knew Sophie was Gavin's lover.

Years ago, the Green family didn't approve of Gavin marrying Sophie and forced him to marry Lynn instead.

Gavin had held a grudge ever since and hadn't given Lynn a kind look in all these years.

And Sophie had stayed by Gavin's side all along as a "good friend"—without proper status, yet more like the lady of the house than Lynn.

Ivy looked at her expression and asked carefully, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Lynn's voice was very calm. She handed over the document folder. "Then could you please pass this to Mr. Green for me, Ivy?"

Ivy took it and glanced at it. Seeing "Resignation Letter" on top, she paused, looking at her with a complicated expression. "Why are you suddenly resigning?"

"I just want to rest for a while." Lynn's tone was very calm.

Ivy opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately swallowed her words.

She'd worked at this company for over ten years and knew something about Mr. Green and Lynn's situation.

Supposedly, Mr. Green had only married Lynn because of family arrangements.

He didn't like Lynn—everyone in the company could see that.

Such a smart woman, an MIT graduate, gave up a bright future for Gavin to work as a low-level employee at this company.

Some said she was foolish, some said she was obsessed, others thought she deserved it—who told her to marry someone who didn't love her?

But looking at Lynn today, Ivy felt she was different from before.

In the past, no matter how much Gavin neglected her, Lynn always looked devoted, with light in her eyes. Even though that light grew dimmer and dimmer, it never went out completely.

But now, that light had gone out entirely.

"Got it." Ivy nodded. "I'll pass it to Mr. Green."

"Thank you." Lynn thanked her and turned to leave.

After taking two steps, she heard someone whispering behind her.

"She came looking for Mr. Green again?"

"Sure did. Henry stopped her."

"Tsk tsk, after all these years, why won't she give up? Mr. Green only has eyes for Sophie—it's not like she doesn't know."

"Exactly. Coming up here to corner him every few days—if I were Mr. Green, I'd be annoyed too."

The voices weren't loud, but the hallway was quiet, and every word reached Lynn's ears.

In the past, hearing these words would make her sad, make her feel wronged, make her want to explain and prove she wasn't that kind of person.

But now, it didn't matter anymore.

On the other side, Lynn left the office building but didn't know where to go for a moment.

She stood on the street for quite a while before taking out her phone and dialing a number.

The phone rang three times before an elderly but vigorous voice came through.

"Hello."

"Professor, it's me, Lynn." Lynn's throat tightened as she spoke slowly.

"Lynn?" Professor Perez's tone was clearly surprised. "What made you think to call me? How have you been lately?"

Lynn was silent for a moment, then said hoarsely, "Professor Perez, I want to ask you something. That chip technology research project you mentioned before—do you still need people?"