Chapter 1

‘Why do you even have to think about Alexa? Don’t you know I’m only using her?’

‘She’s good at dealing with clients. I’ve gained so many benefits from her hard work. And she owns shares in your family’s company—I can take them over after we get married. Once I get all the benefits I want, I’ll leave her and marry you.’

Bastard!

Alexa clenched her fists tightly at her sides, her face hardening as her jaw tensed while she recalled the words she had overheard some time ago.

The voices were sharp and piercing, making it difficult for Alexa to drive them away. They continued to echo, stabbing at her ears.

The sound of Alexa Ivander’s footsteps—a twenty-seven-year-old woman—rang sharply as her heels struck the marble floor of the Alistair family company lobby.

For the past three years, this company had been her workplace, after she was rejected from entering her father’s company and belittled by her own father.

Alexa clenched her fists even tighter, her teeth grinding together. Her chest throbbed painfully as the sounds of the two shameless people burned into her ears.

Her eyes had been stained by the indecent scene between her fiancé-to-be—Ronan—and Felicya—Alexa’s stepsister—in the apartment that should have been the most comfortable place for Alexa to return to someday, once she married Ronan.

However, all those dreams vanished when Alexa came to the apartment to share the good news about her success in securing a major client who agreed to cooperate because of Alexa’s competence and warm demeanor.

Should Alexa consider this a disaster or a stroke of luck—for discovering the affair between her fiancé and her stepsister before her relationship with Ronan went any further?

She wanted nothing more than to punch Ronan in the face and yank Felicya’s long hair to punish them both. But Alexa realized that acting on impulse was not the right move at this moment.

She had to remain calm, because she knew that if she attacked them, she would still be the one blamed.

A bitter smile appeared on Alexa’s face. She was a biological child treated like a stepchild. Her father now loved and protected Felicya more than her, simply because of Felicya’s sweet tongue.

Damn it. Why did Alexa have to be in this position?

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as her hand gently pushed open the door to the HR department, startling the staff inside with her sudden presence.

“Ms. Alexa, what brings you here?”

Everyone knew who Alexa was—the assistant to Ronan who had significantly elevated the Alistair company’s reputation over the past two years.

Forcing a smile to suppress the emotions threatening to explode in her head, Alexa said, “I want to resign.”

Seeing the shocked look on the HR manager’s face, Alexa continued, “Ronan already knows, and he agrees. I just need the termination letter from you.”

“B-but why? Is there a reason?”

Hearing the question, Alexa’s smile thinned. “There’s no particular reason. I want to return to my father’s company.”

Her smile was filled with hatred and resentment. She struggled to remain calm amid the turmoil raging in her mind.

After obtaining the termination letter, Alexa walked out of the Alistair building. She got into the car parked in front but did not leave immediately. Instead, she dialed a number from the business card clenched between her fingers.

“Hello, Mr. Devan. This is Alexa Ivander. Do you have any free time today? I would like to meet you.”

“Alexa Ivander, what makes you think you want—and can—meet me?”

Alexa gripped the business card tightly. Her chest felt unbearably heavy, her breath hitching as she remembered the reason she had to meet Devan Alistair—Ronan’s uncle, who had only returned from abroad a few months ago and owned a company just like the Alistair family’s.

Trying to stay composed and push away all the pain she felt, Alexa said, “I have something that would be very beneficial to you. Would you be interested in hearing it?”