How Could I Bear You Sad

“Leaving like this—quitting without notice—if Matteo finds out, won’t he use the Argento Family against you?” Lucy’s words weighed heavily in the car.

I froze, the realization hitting me hard. My family hadn’t pestered me about the last project financing—was it possible that Matteo intervened? Or perhaps it was Mendez’s father? I couldn’t bring myself to care; my relationship with my family was already devoid of any real sentiment.

Matteo had been right—the Argento Family’s belated recognition of me wasn’t out of paternal affection. They only sought to use my connection with the Mendez Family, exploiting me as a bridge to their own influence.

Sitting in the passenger seat, I responded quietly, “Let him do what he wants. I don’t care.”

Lucy nodded. “Alright. As planned, we’ll take some time off. When the divorce agreement becomes official, we’ll come back, catch him off guard and start fresh.”

It wasn’t until later that I found out the truth: Matteo had unknowingly signed the divorce papers, slipped in with a stack of contracts by his father. He had insisted on secrecy until the divorce was finalized, offering me a substantial sum of money as an incentive and promising the Argento Family an investment in the Centrale area project as a bargaining chip.

I refused. “I’m not divorcing Matteo for money,” I told Matteo’s father. “I’ve given two years to this company and one to this marriage. I’ll only take what belongs to me. As for the project, whether you invest or not is your decision.”

After tying up loose ends, I headed to Mendez’s Group one last time. Matteo was on a business trip to Venice and for once, he hadn’t brought Sandra along. By chance, I saw my resignation letter lying conspicuously on his desk.

“Ms. Argento, you’re resigning?” Sandra’s voice broke the silence. It was lunchtime and most employees had gone downstairs to eat, leaving just the two of us in the office.

I continued packing without even glancing her way. “He’ll find out when he comes back.”

“Of course. Unless someone talks too much, he won’t know until then.”

Sandra smirked but kept her mouth shut. She wasn’t foolish enough to reveal her hand.

I paused. “If I’m not mistaken, it was you in the bathroom that day, wasn’t it? You’ve known I was planning to divorce him and leave. It must make you very happy, doesn’t it? Matteo is almost within your grasp. Congratulations in advance.”

Sandra’s expression didn’t falter. She wasn’t about to let a single word slip that might give her away.

When I left the towering, thirty-three-story office building, I glanced back at the southeast corner window on the top floor. My emotions were tangled and raw. I hailed a taxi to the airport, where Lucy was already waiting.

Check-in. Security. Boarding.

At 25,000 feet in the first-class cabin, the clouds below rolled like a dreamscape, vast and intoxicating. I turned to my phone, scrolled to Matteo’s WhatsApp profile and deleted it. I blocked his number too, severing every last connection.