Chapter 3

Inside the secretary's office, a brief silence fell.

Darwin was stunned and realized that Fiona was indeed serious about leaving him.

"You haven't visited your grandmother in a long time. I'll give you a month's leave. Think it over before you decide," he said, suppressing his anger and softening his tone.

Fiona calmed down instantly.

Then, she became even more resolute and determined. "No need to think it over. I've already decided."

"Fiona!" Darwin could no longer contain his anger.

Fiona was truly ungrateful! He had lowered himself and given her enough leeway!

He added, "You're just a stand-in for Lilian. I've used you for five years and gotten used to it. Do you really think I can't live without you?"

He was just used to it. He was too lazy to adapt to another stand-in.

"Mr. Solomon, I am well aware of my position and dare not have any extravagant hopes," Fiona replied coldly.

"Very well!" Darwin nodded, returning to his usual icy demeanor, and released Fiona's wrist.

"Fiona, you're not the most like Lilian; you're just more obedient than anyone else," he said coldly, looking at Fiona. "Since you've made up your mind, so be it."

"Thank you, Mr. Solomon," Fiona replied calmly, suppressing the inexplicable pain in her heart. "I will hand over all my work properly and won't cause you any trouble."

"The secretary's work doesn't need to be handed over to anyone else. There will be a new secretary. Teach her well before you leave."

"Yes."

Darwin left indifferently without looking back.

For him, the brief attempt to retain her was only because she played the role of Lilian so well and was so obedient.

Now that she was defying him, he had lost his patience and would not bother her anymore.

Fiona glanced at her reddened wrist and then at his departing figure.

She was finally free, breaking away from the man who had humiliated and trampled on her.

The news of Fiona's resignation quickly spread, though no one knew who leaked it.

Everyone knew that the difficult Darwin could only be handled by Fiona.

The next morning, the new secretary, who was replacing Fiona, Bella Robbins, arrived.

Henry directly placed her in Fiona's office.

Everyone was shocked, and even more so by the fact that the new secretary bore a five or six-point resemblance to Fiona.

Originally, the company was abuzz with gossip about Darwin and Fiona's relationship. Now that she had resigned and someone so similar to her had arrived, the rumors only intensified, with all sorts of theories circulating.

Darwin went to a meeting with the overseas project team as soon as he arrived at work.

By the time the meeting ended, it was already noon.

As soon as he returned to the CEO's office, Bella came in looking aggrieved. "Darwin, I took Ms. Woods' place. Is she unhappy, and that's why she won't come to teach me?"

Darwin frowned and looked at Henry. "Where is Fiona?"

Henry was taken aback and glanced at Bella.

"Mr. Solomon, Ms. Woods has some family matters to attend to and has taken leave to go back home," he quickly said, "It's my fault. I was busy preparing for the meeting this morning and forgot to inform you."

"Family matters? She left so urgently that she didn't even have time to inform Darwin. It must be serious, right?" Bella said with a concerned look.

Darwin instinctively walked towards his desk and opened a file, putting some distance between them. "She's not here. Come back when she returns."

Bella, who was naturally good at reading people, noticed that Darwin was in a bad mood.

She pouted a bit but didn't linger and left the CEO's office.

As she glanced at the secretary's office, her expression darkened, and she gritted her teeth.

She thought, 'Fiona, just you wait! How dare you deliberately make things difficult for me! What urgent matter? It's obvious you're just trying to give me a hard time! Fiona, you started this, and today's incident is far from over!'

"Mr. Solomon, at 3 p.m., you have a golf appointment with Mr. Wallace from Oberlin Construction," Henry reported Darwin's schedule as usual.

Out of the corner of his eye, Darwin took a sip of freshly brewed coffee, and his face visibly became gloomy with anger.

He ordered, "Call Fiona and tell her to come back immediately to hand over her work!"

Everyone else in the CEO's office was useless; they couldn't even make a decent cup of coffee!

"Yes, Mr. Solomon!" Henry immediately took out his phone.

Darwin raised an eyebrow and glanced at him, feeling even more irritated.

Fiona had probably gone back because her grandmother's health had deteriorated. It seemed she hadn't visited in over six months.

"Forget it," Darwin said impatiently, pushing the coffee aside and picking up a document, his face gloomy and brooding.

Henry held his phone, not daring to make a sound.

In Serene City, a light drizzle was falling.

Fiona bought a bouquet of roses, a bunch of purple daisies, and two bottles of good wine. She called a cab and headed to West Mountain Cemetery.

The caretaker saw Fiona from a distance and ran over with an umbrella. "Fiona, it's not the usual time. What brings you here?"

"Just came to visit," Fiona replied politely.

After a brief exchange, she left one bottle of wine with the caretaker and walked alone into the depths of the cemetery with her umbrella.

The caretaker, holding the wine, looked at her slender figure with pity.

"Is she your relative?" asked a cleaning lady nearby.

The caretaker shook his head and sighed. "She's had a tough life. When she was four or five, she brought her mother here. When she was about ten, she brought her grandfather. And just half a year ago, she brought her grandmother. On the day of the burial, she knelt there all day without having food."

Fiona, familiar with the way, found the tombstone.

Her grandparents were buried together, and her mother was next to them.

She placed the roses for her grandparents.

Her grandfather used to buy a rose for her grandmother every day when he was alive.

The purple daisies were her mother's favorite flowers.

Finally, Fiona poured a glass of wine for her grandfather.

She said, "Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, I came back this time because I have something to tell you. I'm pregnant. Technically, I shouldn't keep this child. But you're all gone, and I have no family left in this world. This child is my only blood relative."

Fiona took a deep breath as if making a monumental decision. "The doctor said it would be difficult for me to conceive, so I've decided to keep the baby!"

After a pause, she smiled and said, "You must bless them to be born healthy and grow up strong!"