Chapter 2

I turned to leave, but Linda grabbed my arm, her eyes red. "You are really just walking away? After everything you put into this company—"

Before I could answer, a soft voice came from behind me, hesitant and gentle. "Linda, please do not say that. Alessandra will feel worse."

I turned around. Megan walked toward us in her heels, still holding the proposal I had written. Her expression was warm, like she was trying to protect me from something.

"Alessandra made her own choice. We should respect that. She has been exhausted lately. Daniel was worried about her, which is why he told her to rest."

She lowered her head slightly, her voice softening. "Honestly, I have always admired how much Alessandra gave to this company. But I never wanted her to think I was taking her place. If she wants the project back, I can return it."

She lifted her head and looked at me with an expression so open it could have been sincerity. "Alessandra, you know I never wanted to replace you."

Linda did not say anything. She just looked at Megan, then at me, and stepped back to her desk without another word.

The elevator doors opened. Daniel walked out, keys in hand. His gaze passed over me like I was a piece of furniture. "Megan, let us go. The car is waiting."

He reached the door, where the rain had already started. A security guard ran over with an umbrella. Daniel took it and tilted it toward Megan. "Come on. Do not get wet."

Megan followed in her heels, and the guard opened the passenger door. She did not hesitate. She got into the front seat like it had always been hers.

Before the door closed, she leaned out slightly and smiled at me, her voice carrying just enough to cut through the rain. "Alessandra, thank you for everything you built here."

"Daniel said it is mine to take care of now." She tilted her head, as if remembering something. "Oh, and I took the peace lily. Daniel said it would look better in my office anyway, since you are leaving."

Daniel settled into the driver's seat, one hand on the wheel. He glanced at me once. "You should go inside. The rain is getting worse."

The window rolled up. Rain streaked down the glass, blurring their faces into indistinct shapes. The car drove off through the puddles, and the taillights disappeared into the downpour.

I stood at the door, rain splashing onto the steps, wetting the toes of my shoes.

That peace lily was mine. I had raised it for six years, from a tiny sprout with three leaves into a full flowering plant. He used to say that having it made the office feel like a home. Now he had given it to her.

Linda came up behind me. She stood beside me, watching the empty street where the car had vanished, and said quietly, "Are you really leaving?"

"Yes."

I stood at the entrance and watched the rain swallow everything.

He had forgotten. He forgot that I had seen that project through from the beginning. He forgot that I went three months without pay when the company was struggling. He forgot that I answered every time he called me late at night, unable to sleep.

He thought I was throwing a tantrum. He thought I would wait for his call like I always had.

He did not know that I had not stayed for him. I had stayed to prove that I could. That I could survive without the De Luca name.

That the words "I do not care where you came from" had once been true, even if the man who said them had already forgotten.