After My Husband Proposed to His Mistress Publicly

Mathias, standing nearby, suddenly realized what day it was, and his face turned pale. "Leanna, I'm so sorry—I got caught up at work today and completely forgot it was your birthday. The gift is back at the office. I'll bring it home tomorrow."

I got out of bed and started changing my clothes, speaking in a detached tone. "That's alright, I'm heading out for a late-night snack with colleagues."

As I walked past Mathias, he reached out to stop me, looking uncertain. After a moment, he finally said, "Come back early, okay?"

I nodded, saying, "Sure," and left.

When my colleagues saw me, they teased, "It's a surprise to see you out at night after all these years working together!"

"You always claimed to be single; we almost thought you were living a secret life."

I laughed and responded, "It's my fault, really. Let me treat everyone to a drink."

With that, I raised my glass and took a long sip.

In the past, my world revolved around work and Mathias. Whenever colleagues invited me out for dinner or late-night snacks, I'd always say I had commitments at home. Gradually, my social circle shrank. One of my colleagues remembered it was my birthday and decided to invite me along.

When I agreed to join them, they thought I might have had too much to drink.

During the gathering with my colleagues, Mathias kept texting, asking when I'd be back. I felt like I was looking at my old self.

By the time I said goodbye to my colleagues and headed home, it was past 2 a.m.

I opened the living room door and was surprised to see Mathias sitting on the sofa. Normally, he'd be asleep in bed by now. When I'd come back late from a reunion once, Mathias complained I was disrupting his sleep and told me to return earlier.

"Leanna, you're back? Let me make you some hangover soup."

Seeing me enter, Mathias stood up and headed towards the kitchen.

"No need, I'm just going to bed."

Mathias looked at me, puzzled.

In the past, I would've run over, hugged him, curled up beside him, perhaps even teasingly complained a bit. But now, I just glanced at him, mentioned briefly that I'd sleep in the guest room since I'd been drinking, and closed the bedroom door.

The next day at work, I talked to my manager about my career plans and handed in my resignation letter. She agreed swiftly and said, "Nori, I've always believed you're destined for greater things. I just couldn't fathom why you'd stay at our magazine all this time."

"You're talented and hardworking; moving on to bigger opportunities should be a breeze for you."

I simply smiled without giving a direct answer. Back in college, I'd already won several photography awards, and before graduation, many major companies had extended offers. But I turned them all down because I was concerned about Mathias.

Last week, Connor, whom I hadn’t heard from in a while, suddenly reached out to see if I was interested in joining their team. At that moment, I still declined.

Connor tried convincing me for a long time, but I didn't relent. Finally, he said, "If you change your mind, let me know anytime."

After leaving the manager's office, I began handing over my work to my colleagues. When they found out I was resigning, they insisted on throwing a farewell party tonight. I agreed.

After work, I went out for dinner with the team.

Just as we sat down at the restaurant, a colleague gasped, "An entertainment journalist spotted Mathias and Rachel looking at rings at a jewelry store, and Rachel's manager said they'd share any good news soon."