Edwin instinctively wanted to refuse, and his eyes couldn't help but drift to Melanie. "This office isn't supposed to be—"
"President Setchfield, I'm stepping down." Melanie forced a smile, turned around, and walked out.
That office had been meant for her. He'd promised her that when she joined the company, she'd work there close to him, so it would be convenient to look after her.
But none of it mattered anymore.
She didn't want it. She didn't want anything anymore.
Half an hour before lunch, the announcement was released.
Just as expected, the Gummy Gem project was handed over to Maurice and the third game development team.
Melanie couldn't forget how, not long ago, the staff in that team were the ones complaining about the project the most. Yet, as soon as the news broke, they all suddenly changed their attitude, throwing compliments at Maurice.
Of course, Maurice was the future wife of the company's CEO. Who wouldn't want to flatter her?
But Melanie? She wasn't anyone special. She could be ignored or insulted.
When she looked at the assignment list, barely paying attention, she had to scroll through it until she finally saw her name at the very bottom.
She'd been assigned to the third team, responsible for the simplest task—building the frontend framework.
That was fine. Once she finished her part, she could focus on her freelance projects. The sooner she wrapped those up, the sooner she could pay back Edwin.
After work, Crista came by to ask if she wanted to grab dinner, but Melanie declined.
Instead, she pulled a sandwich out of her bag, ate quickly, and got back to coding.
When she heard footsteps approaching behind her, she hurriedly switched her screen before turning around. Edwin stood there in his usual black suit, his face calm but distant.
"Why aren't you eating?" he asked.
Melanie got up and stood in front of her computer, answering lightly, "I already ate."
He frowned. "You're new here. Aside from Gummy Gem, did Director Shaw assign you anything else?"
She hesitated, then saw him pull out his phone, clearly about to call the director. Panicking, she quickly said, "No, Director Shaw has been really kind to me. I was just practicing earlier."
Her explanation didn't convince him. She watched nervously as he found Director Shaw's number and was about to dial.
Before he could, someone knocked on the door.
"Babe, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!"
Maurice walked in with a bright smile and casually linked her arm to his. "Come on, I'm starving!"
Edwin glanced briefly at Melanie before putting his phone away. "Alright."
Maurice's eyes landed on Melanie as if noticing her for the first time. The former's smile widened as she invited the latter. "Melanie, why don't you join us for dinner?"
As she spoke, her fingers played with the ring on Edwin's hand, almost like she was showing off.
Melanie wasn't naive. She could see right through Edwin's fiancée.
"No, thank you. I've already eaten."
Edwin didn't say anything. He just left with Maurice.
Ten minutes later, a message popped on Melanie's phone.
It was from Maurice.
The message was deleted almost immediately, but not before Melanie saw it.
It said: [Edwin and I are getting married soon. I hope you'll learn to keep your distance, you know.]
Melanie stared at the "Maurice unsent a message" notification on her screen and let out a bitter laugh. She didn't reply. She just went back to her work.
Over the next few days, Melanie made sure to leave early and return late, carefully avoiding Edwin and Maurice.
Her goal was simple: finish her freelance projects as soon as possible, collect her client's payments, and pay back Edwin. Then she could leave for good.
After several busy days, she finally completed all her freelance projects. When she added up the payments she was about to receive, she realized it was finally enough.
