Joaquin stood in the center of the lobby, his expression dark and unreadable.
"Hahaha, looks like Secretary Flores still doesn’t know what’s going on," someone sneered.
As soon as the words fell, the massive LED screen on the wall lit up.
Photos of Joaquin and me began looping on the screen. Some appeared intimate, but most captured me desperately clinging to him—kneeling to tie his shoelaces, shielding him from alcohol at business dinners, walking out of hotels looking disheveled while still carefully carrying his suit jacket.
I glanced at Joaquin. He said nothing as he stared at the images.
Of course he wouldn’t. To outsiders, I’d always been the clingy secretary trying to sleep her way to the top. A scheming woman chasing after the CEO.
But what they didn’t know—what no one expected—was that the “scheming secretary” was actually his wife. And judging from Joaquin’s silence, he had no intention of setting the record straight.
Still, none of that mattered to me anymore.
I just wanted to finalize my resignation and leave.
But just as I turned to go, a crisp child’s voice sliced through the chaos.
“Daddy!”
Cassidy, dressed in an elegant Dior couture outfit, strolled out from the elevator, a gentle smile on her face. She was holding hands with a pair of identical twins.
The three of them walked lovingly toward Joaquin.
He looked at them, then at me. In the end, he reached out and scooped up the children.
"President Davies, aren't you going to explain?" someone asked, laughing coldly.
"If Secretary Flores is no longer yours, then don’t blame your brothers for not holding back.”
Joaquin took a deep breath, holding the twins in his arms. His voice was calm but final.
“I will always choose my family.”
With that, he walked away.
Cassidy shot a look toward a few greasy middle-aged men nearby. Immediately, they surrounded me.
“Well, if it isn’t Secretary Flores. What happened to you?” sneered one bloated department manager, eyeing my wheelchair with a wicked grin.
“Always acting so pure and untouchable... Turns out you’re just trash behind closed doors,” chimed in a deputy general manager I’d rejected countless times before. His gaze slithered over my ruined legs and bruised face.
Their filthy words splashed over me like sewage.
“Look at her now. Pretending to be some chaste saint before—what a joke. She’s nothing but used goods.”
“Get away from me! Get away!” I screamed hoarsely, using every ounce of strength to fight them off.
One man reached out to touch my face. I jerked away, and my wheelchair tilted dangerously from the violent struggle. I could feel myself slipping. Only one thought raced through my mind—don’t let them touch me.
The moment before I fell, my hand instinctively reached into my pocket and brushed against my phone.
I didn’t even check the screen—I just shakily tapped the contact for Joaquin.
The call connected. His voice, tinged with impatience, came through.
“What is it?”
“Joaquin... help me... please... help me...” My voice trembled, broken by fear and desperation.
"Brother-in-law, is my sister throwing another tantrum again?" Cassidy’s sweet voice chimed in the background.
Then Joaquin spoke again, this time lowering his voice.
“Don’t mind her. Let her make a scene if she wants. I’m spending time with the kids right now.”
He hung up.
And in that moment, my world shattered completely.
My last hope—snuffed out by the very man I had once trusted most.
I looked around at the predatory faces closing in, their eyes gleaming with malice and lust. Their gaze wrapped around me like venomous snakes.
“No! Get away from me! Let me go!” I screamed, thrashing with the last remnants of strength.
My vision blurred, and darkness pulsed at the edges. In my mind, only one thought remained.
Jump. Just jump.
—
Three minutes later, Joaquin’s phone rang again.
“President Davies! Something terrible has happened—Secretary Flores... she jumped from the building!”
