Olena kept Zane on a tight leash growing up—no smoking, no drinking, no fooling around. His two childhood buddies knew the house rules too, so they never pushed drinks on him or offered him cigarettes. Zane looked weary as he slumped onto the couch. He picked up a glass from the table and downed the contents in one go. Hugo and Ines exchanged a look. "Take it easy," Hugo said quickly, grabbing the glass as Zane reached for a refill. Ines moved over from the opposite sofa. "What's going on? Did your grandpa give you a hard time again?" Zane's grandfather had never accepted Zane or his mother. For years, he'd made life tough for the two of them. Zane shook his head. "No." "Then what?" Ines scratched his head. "Did you and Zora have a fight?" "Also no." "Then what the hell is it?" Zane leaned back against the sofa, his whole body slumping in defeat. After a long pause, his voice came out hoarse. "Darcy wants to break up. She resigned from the company today." A dead silence fell over the private room. "Holy shit! No way!" Ines was stunned, nearly spitting out his drink. He'd seen with his own eyes just how much Darcy loved his friend. Hugo paused, the glass halfway to his lips. He was less dramatic than Ines. He simply asked, "Why? Why did she break up?" Zane said, "She found out about Zora joining the company. And she knows Zora and I grew up together..." "Well, no wonder!" Ines said, adopting the tone of an expert. "She's jealous!" Zane rubbed his temples. "I know. But she's taking it too far. I never expected she'd dare to resign without even telling me." "Hey, it's normal. The more a woman loves you, the more she'll make a scene. If she doesn't make a fuss, it means she doesn't love you anymore." "So how do I make it up to her?" Ines shrugged. "Don't make it up to her. Some women don't need to be placated. Just ignore her for a while, and she'll come crawling back on her own!" "Will she? She seemed really mad." "Trust me. I don't know about other women, but Darcy? For sure!" Hugo took a sip of his drink and glanced at Zane. He'd been about to ask if Zane still had feelings for Zora—if he did, let Darcy go. But hearing Ines' words, he swallowed his question. Ines was right. Darcy loved Zane so much. She'd definitely come back.If Darcy herself didn't mind, why should he worry? Ines nudged Hugo's arm. "Right?" Hugo said, "I don't know." Ines gave him a strange look. What's up with this guy? ... The next day, Darcy woke up, went for a run in the park downstairs, then came back up for breakfast. At the table, Ione asked, "What were you doing out so late last night? It took you forever to come back." By the time Darcy went upstairs last night, her mom had already turned in. Darcy calmly sipped her coffee. "Nothing much. After I bought the things, I ran a few laps. Getting some exercise." Her daughter had been in great health lately—early to bed, early to rise, exercising and studying like she was back in school.Ione, thinking she was still on vacation, didn't suspect a thing. After coffee, Darcy drove to work. When she arrived at the office, Rowan was waiting by her door. "Ms. Gale," he said with a friendly smile. Darcy was surprised. "Mr. Kerr? What can I do for you?" Last time he came down, it was to give her car keys. What was it this time? Rowan quickly handed her a stack of documents, including a contract. "Mr. Blackwood said you'd completed your resignation formalities yesterday. He specifically asked me to bring you the Stratagem Tech contract." Darcy had indeed informed Jethro immediately after finishing her resignation yesterday. Her intention was simply to let him know her employment with SummitCore was officially over, to put his mind at ease. She hadn't expected him to be so thoughtful, preparing the contract in advance. She took the documents. "Alright, thank you, Mr. Kerr. I'll sign these and get them back to you." Rowan smiled and said it was no trouble, then left. As Darcy unlocked her office door, she glanced inside. Several colleagues quickly looked down, pretending to be extremely busy. They were eavesdropping. Darcy frowned but didn't dwell on it. Her relationship with most of her subordinates was still lukewarm at best. It was normal that they were curious about her. Once her door closed completely, the sound of frantic keyboard typing erupted in the main office area. The chatter in their private group chat exploded. "Holy crap! Mr. Blackwood's personal assistant came to deliver documents! If you say she's not sleeping with him, who'd buy that?" "Seriously. I used to think spreading rumors about a woman was gross. Now I just feel like an idiot! What's there to pity about a woman who climbs the ladder using her connections?" "Didn't she boast a while back about coding and iterating products with the new guy? Wonder if it's true. If it is, at least she's got some skills."