Chapter 3

Benjamin Hayes was one of Alexander Whitmore's personal secretaries. The moment he saw Isabella Sinclair's resignation letter, his eyebrows shot up in shock.

He belonged to the small circle at Whitmore Enterprises who knew about the complicated relationship between Isabella and Alexander.

Anyone who knew Alexander understood he didn't love Isabella. Their marriage had been cold from the start—he rarely came home, and when he did, it was with indifference.

Desperate to win his affection, Isabella had joined Whitmore Enterprises years ago.

Her initial goal had been to become his personal secretary, but Alexander had outright refused. Even when Arnold intervened, Alexander wouldn’t budge. In the end, she settled for a position in the secretarial department, becoming just another face among his many assistants.

At first, Benjamin had worried Isabella’s presence would cause chaos. But to his surprise, she never caused any trouble. Though she used her position to get closer to Alexander, she was always careful—never crossing boundaries, never overstepping.

Instead, she worked harder than anyone. She excelled in her role, hoping to earn Alexander’s respect. Through her pregnancy, childbirth, and every challenge, she followed company policies strictly, never asking for special treatment.

Over the years, she rose to lead the secretarial team. Benjamin had watched her devotion from the sidelines. He never imagined she’d resign one day. The idea of her willingly walking away seemed impossible.

Something must have happened between her and Alexander—something serious enough for her to leave now. Benjamin suspected Alexander had ordered her resignation.

Though he pitied her, his tone remained professional. "I’ve received your resignation. I’ll arrange for a replacement immediately."

"Alright." Isabella nodded and returned to her desk.

Later, during an online meeting with Alexander, Benjamin reported on company updates. As the call neared its end, he hesitated before mentioning the resignation.

"Mr. Whitmore, there’s one more thing—"

He had promised Isabella a quick transition, but he wanted to gauge Alexander’s reaction first. If Alexander wanted her gone immediately, he’d make it happen.

Then he remembered Alexander’s rule from the beginning—Isabella’s employment was to be handled like any other employee’s. No exceptions, no reports to him.

And true to his word, Alexander had never once asked about her.

Even when they crossed paths at work, he treated her like a stranger.

Years ago, when the team hesitated over promoting her, they had cautiously brought it up to Alexander.

He had scowled and snapped, "Handle it by the book. Don’t mention her to me again."

Now, seeing Benjamin hesitate, Alexander frowned. "What is it?"

Benjamin snapped back to the present. "Nothing, sir."

If Alexander already knew about the resignation and hadn’t mentioned it, then it clearly didn’t matter to him. Benjamin would proceed as usual.

The call ended.

"What’s on your mind?" A colleague nudged Isabella at lunch.

She blinked, then smiled faintly. "Nothing."

"Aren’t you calling Sophia today?"

"Not today."

Normally, she called Sophia twice daily—once in the morning, once at noon.

Her coworkers knew about the habit. What they didn’t know was that Sophia was Alexander’s daughter.

After work, Isabella stopped by the supermarket. She picked up groceries and a few potted plants before heading home.

That evening, she researched the upcoming tech exhibition online.

Then she made a call. "Reserve me a ticket for next month’s exhibition."

"Seriously?" The voice on the other end was icy. "The last two times I got you tickets, you didn’t show. Do you know how many people would kill for these?"

The annual tech exhibition was the industry’s biggest event. Tickets were near impossible to get.

Their company had limited slots, and every IT professional there fought for the chance to attend.

"If I don’t go this time," Isabella promised, "I’ll never ask again."

Silence. Then the line went dead.

She smiled. He’d agreed. What she hadn’t said was that she was planning her return.

Though she was a partner at her tech firm, she’d stepped back years ago for her marriage. Her absence had cost them opportunities, and her colleagues had been furious. They’d barely spoken since.

Now, she wanted back in—but she knew she’d been gone too long. She needed to catch up before making her move.

For the next few days, she focused on work by day and her own projects by night. She didn’t reach out to Sophia or Alexander. They didn’t contact her either.

She wasn’t surprised. For months, their communication had been one-sided. They only responded—never initiated.

Meanwhile, in Salzburg, Sophia had developed a new habit—calling Victoria Kensington first thing every morning.

That day, she called as usual. But within minutes, she burst into tears.

Victoria had delivered bad news. "I’m returning to the country soon."

Devastated, Sophia immediately called Alexander. "Dad, did you know about this?"

In his office, Alexander flipped through documents. "Yes."

"Since when?"

"A while."

"You’re horrible!" Sophia sobbed into her stuffed unicorn. "I don’t want her to leave! If she goes, I don’t want to stay here either! I want to go back too!"

Alexander’s voice was calm. "It’s already arranged."

Sophia sniffled. "What do you mean?"

"We’re leaving next week."