Cyan Club.
Riley Palmer happily held up the cake and walked toward the private room she had booked long ago.
"Chris, aren't you being a bit unfair to Riley?" Jason Reed looked at them with a little concern.
Chris Carter gave a faint smile and slid his hand up and down Anna Young's arm.
"What's there to be afraid of? She and I were originally just a cooperation relationship. Why should I worry?"
The smoke Chris exhaled gently drifted onto Anna's face.
"Cough… cough—"
Anna coughed a few times, her face turning slightly pale. She picked up Chris's wine glass from the table and drank it.
Outside the door, Riley listened to their conversation.
Her eyes, already bloodshot from overworking, slowly turned wet.
Bang—
Riley pushed the door open hard and looked right at Chris.
A flash of panic instantly crossed Chris's expression.
He quickly released his arm from Anna's waist.
"Riley, you're here." Chris's tone was slightly awkward as his hand unconsciously wiped on the corner of his shirt.
Chris quickly walked forward, wanting to take the cake and the gift from Riley's hands.
Riley watched him approach and took a step back.
She gently put the gift and cake down on the table, then turned to leave.
"Riley, don't make trouble."
Chris grabbed hold of Riley just as she took a step to leave.
Riley fiercely flung his hand away.
Slap—
A deep red palm print landed heavily on Chris's face.
Chris stared at Riley in disbelief, and his gaze gradually turned vicious.
"Riley Palmer, you dare hit me?!"
Riley smiled slightly at him. "What, not enough yet?"
She picked up the water glass from the table and splashed it right onto Chris's face.
"Wash it off. I find it dirty."
Another slap fell on the other side of Chris's face.
"There. Balanced now."
Riley clapped her hands and looked at the stunned company staff.
Riley smiled lightly and picked up her fallen purse.
"Enjoy yourselves. I'm leaving."
Riley didn't spare Chris another glance.
She turned and walked out of the private room freely.
Click clack click clack—
Her high heels tapped crisply across the floor.
But no one noticed the tears welling at the corner of her eyes, just about to overflow.
Car.
Once Riley got inside her car, she could no longer hold in her emotions.
She leaned weakly over the steering wheel, her body trembling with sobs.
Ring—
"Riley, how is it? Did you confess to Chris yet?"
May Miller's cheerful voice came from the other end.
May waited for a moment, but she only heard faint sobbing sounds coming through the phone.
"Riley…?" May's tone suddenly turned anxious.
"Riley, are you okay? Riley?"
"May…"
Riley's voice was filled with crying.
"Where are you right now? I'll come find you."
On May's side, it sounded like she was packing things in a hurry—thumping sounds kept coming from her side.
"Go to my place…" Riley swallowed hard, trying to hold back her sadness.
"Okay, okay. I'll wait for you there."
Beep beep—
May looked at the hung-up call with worry, glanced at the light rain outside her window, grabbed her umbrella, and ran out quickly.
Riley Palmer's Apartment.
"Beep beep beep—"
Riley unlocked the door and looked at the coffee table that was still stacked with liquor bottles.
"Wait wait wait—"
May suddenly jumped out from the side, holding the snacks she had just bought for drinking.
"Come come come, whatever grievance you have — there is no sorrow in this world that can't be washed away with a night of alcohol."
May walked behind Riley and pushed her toward the sofa.
Riley looked at the glass that was already filled, and she directly chugged the entire bottle in one go.
"Woah—"
The moment the alcohol hit her stomach, the grievance she had been holding in immediately burst out.
Riley hugged May and poured her sorrow out.
"May… tell me… how could Chris treat me like that…"
"I treat him so well… Anna keeps trying to poach me… and I never left."
"I stayed with him… for so long… how could he do that to me…"
May listened to Riley rambling endlessly, feeling confused.
She didn't know what exactly Chris did at the gathering.
She simply saw Jason's post on Moments, that "congrats" he posted, and thought Riley must have confessed successfully, so she called Riley.
But now, seeing Riley crying in her arms, May instantly erased all previous assumptions.
And so, May stayed with Riley the whole night, listening to all the things that happened in the gathering.
"F*ck! How could Chris even dare do that!"
May lifted her glass, looking at Riley.
"No worries, girl. I'll introduce you to someone better."
"Way hotter than that Chris — like ten thousand times better. Eight pack abs kind of better."
Riley, now fully drunk, raised her glass with her.
"Okay! Deal! A promise is a promise!"
"Clink—"
The Next Morning.
Riley ran her fingers through her messy hair and slowly sat up from the sofa.
Dazed, she looked at the mountain of empty cans in front of her, then glanced at the still-sleeping May beside her.
"May… May…" Riley gently shook her arm.
All she got back was May's faint "mm-mm" mumbling.
Riley sighed helplessly and slowly stood up, feeling the soreness all over her body.
"Tss—"
Seeing the disastrous state of the coffee table, Riley took a garbage bag and slowly started cleaning everything up.
Once she finished most of it, Riley finally stood and picked up her phone.
"Dead battery…"
She put the phone on the wireless charger casually and headed into the bathroom.
"Buzz buzz—"
"Buzz buzz—"
In the living room, Riley's phone vibrated endlessly.
On the screen, the caller ID showed: "Chris Carter" with a little heart emoji after his name.
When Riley came out, the buzzing had stopped.
She slowly walked into the kitchen and brewed herself a cup of green tea.
Then she slowly picked up her phone.
Seeing 99+ messages on her screen, Riley felt a sense of irony.
At one point in time, she was the one doing this.
She never expected that after what happened last night, now he was the one panicking.
Riley ignored all the messages.
She didn't want to see anything related to Chris right now.
Riley slowly edited his contact name.
"Chris Carter"
The little heart symbol she used to have… disappeared.
Riley stared at the new edit, her hand froze for a second.
And finally, she let out a long exhale of relief.
Riley walked to her bedroom, took a blanket out, and gently covered May with it.
Then she stuck a sticky note on May's phone and quietly left the apartment.
Launch Enterprise.
Riley walked swiftly into her office, turned on the computer, and began handling work directly.
"Knock knock—"
Riley slowly lifted her gaze and looked at the figure at the door, her brows unconsciously tightening.
"Come in."
"Riley, come to my office later."
Chris' voice slowly came out.
Riley ignored him and continued working.
"Buzz—"
The printer behind her started working, slowly printing out a sheet of paper.
"No need. I'll go now."
Riley picked up the freshly printed paper, still warm, and stood up to walk out.
Chris stared at Riley, slightly stunned, there was something different about her today.
Something that made his heart suddenly tighten.
Boss's Office.
Chris sat in the executive chair, looking down at Riley with a hint of condescending mockery.
The slap mark on his cheek was still faintly visible.
His mind kept replaying that heavy slap Riley gave him last night and his eyes gradually grew sharper.
"Riley… about what happened yesterday…"
"President Chris, this is the office. Let's talk about work-related things instead."
Riley's cold voice cut him off.
"President Chris, please sign this."
Riley placed the freshly printed document in front of him.
Chris stared at her cold eyes with a stunned expression, then picked up the document.
In the center of the page, the words clearly printed:
"Notice of Resignation."