Ten minutes after I posted “Luc Tu Minh is my boyfriend” in the company group, my phone exploded.

Calls.

Messages.

Friend requests.

Screenshots.

Even colleagues who had mocked me for years suddenly wanted an explanation.

But the only person who didn’t contact me was Luc Tu Minh.

I stared at his silent profile for a few seconds, then turned my phone face down.

It didn’t matter anymore.

My resignation had already been approved.

For the first time in five years, there was nothing tying me to Luc Corporation.

At eight thirty that night, I packed the few personal things from my desk.

A coffee mug.

Two notebooks.

A photograph from the first project I had won for the company.

I stared at that photo for several seconds.

Luc Tu Minh stood in the center, surrounded by executives.

I was at the very edge.

Back then, he had secretly squeezed my hand beneath the conference table and whispered:

“One day, when everything is stable, I’ll tell everyone you’re the person who helped me get here.”

Five years later, everyone knew Tong Mien’s favorite milk tea.

But no one knew I was his girlfriend.

I threw the photograph into the trash.

Just as I reached the elevator, the doors opened.

Luc Tu Minh stood inside.

His face was terrifyingly cold.

Behind him was Tong Mien.

The moment she saw me carrying a box, her expression changed.

Luc Tu Minh stepped out.

“Trinh Anh.”

I walked past him.

He grabbed my wrist.

“What exactly are you doing?”

I looked down at his hand.

“Let go.”

“You announced our relationship in the company group and resigned immediately afterward. Do you realize what kind of chaos you’ve created?”

I laughed.

Chaos.

That was what worried him.

Not that I had collapsed outside the building.

Not that I had discovered he personally destroyed my promotion.

Not that his colleagues had humiliated me for years.

His reputation.

His company.

His control.

Those were what mattered.

“I asked you to pick me up today,” I said quietly.

His jaw tightened.

“And I told you why I couldn’t.”

I looked at Tong Mien.

“Yet she could sit in your passenger seat.”

Tong Mien immediately explained:

“Senior Trinh, General Manager Luc only gave me a ride because everyone was going to celebrate—”

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

Her face reddened.

Luc Tu Minh frowned.

“Don’t take your anger out on her.”

Something inside me became completely calm.

Of course.

Even now, his first instinct was to protect her.

I pulled my wrist free.

“Fine. Then answer something else.”

I opened the voting record Ms. Vuong had sent me.

“Why did you veto my promotion?”

For the first time, his expression changed.

Tong Mien froze.

“So it’s true,” I whispered.

Luc Tu Minh glanced around.

“Let’s talk at home.”

“No.”

“Trinh Anh.”

“Answer me here.”

His voice lowered.

“You weren’t suitable for that position.”

I almost laughed.

“Every other manager voted for me.”

“You’re too aggressive.”

“I’ve been aggressive for five years because you asked me to win projects nobody else could win.”

Silence.

I stepped closer.

“And the person you approved instead had been here for one year.”

Tong Mien’s face turned pale.

Luc Tu Minh finally said:

“She has more potential.”

Those four words killed whatever remained.

I nodded slowly.

“Understood.”

I picked up my box.

Then Luc Tu Minh suddenly said:

“If I promoted you, people would investigate our relationship.”

I stopped.

There it was.

The excuse.

The same excuse he had used for five years.

But this time, I didn’t believe it.

“Then why not transfer me?”

He said nothing.

“Why not recommend me to another subsidiary?”

Still nothing.

“Why reject every opportunity that could move me upward?”

His eyes flickered.

And that tiny reaction told me I had finally asked the right question.

I remembered the headhunters.

The better salaries.

The director positions.

Every time I mentioned leaving, Luc Tu Minh became distant.

Last year, he had even mocked me.

“So what? Should I give you my general manager position too?”

At the time, I thought he was tired.

Now I understood.

Maybe he had never been afraid I would fail.

Maybe he was afraid I would succeed somewhere without him.

I stared at him.

“You didn’t want me promoted because you needed me beneath you.”

His face hardened.

“Don’t make ridiculous assumptions.”

“Then explain.”

“I don’t owe you an explanation in the company hallway.”

“No.”

I smiled.

“You don’t owe me anything anymore.”

I walked into the elevator.

This time, Luc Tu Minh followed me.

“What do you mean?”

I pressed the ground-floor button.

“We’re finished.”

“I never agreed to break up.”

I looked at him.

“A breakup isn’t a business contract, General Manager Luc. I don’t need your approval.”

The elevator doors opened.

Outside, a black sedan was waiting.

A man in a gray suit stepped forward when he saw me.

“Ms. Trinh?”

“Yes.”

He handed me a business card.

“I’m Daniel Han from Horizon Group. Our chairman asked me to personally deliver this.”

Luc Tu Minh’s expression changed the moment he saw the logo.

Horizon was Luc Corporation’s biggest competitor.

Daniel handed me an envelope.

Inside was an employment offer.

Vice Director of Strategic Marketing.

Triple my current salary.

Full authority over an upcoming regional project.

At the bottom was another handwritten line.

“Your work has been overlooked long enough.”

My fingers trembled slightly.

Luc Tu Minh took one look at the offer.

“No.”

I turned toward him.

“What?”

“You can’t join Horizon.”

I almost smiled.

“And why exactly can’t I?”

His face darkened.

“Because half the projects you handled contain Luc Corporation’s confidential information.”

Daniel calmly replied:

“Our legal department has already reviewed her contract. There is no valid non-compete clause preventing her employment.”

Luc Tu Minh looked stunned.

Then he turned back to me.

“Trinh Anh, get in my car. We’re going home.”

I shook my head.

“I don’t live with you anymore.”

For the first time, panic appeared in his eyes.

But before he could speak, Tong Mien came running out of the building.

“General Manager Luc!”

She held a tablet against her chest.

“There is a problem.”

He frowned.

“What?”

“The Dong Thanh renewal contract.”

My heart stopped.

That was the project I had spent three years building.

Tong Mien swallowed.

“The client just sent an official notice.”

She looked at me.

“They refuse to renew unless Ms. Trinh remains the project lead.”

The color drained from Luc Tu Minh’s face.

Daniel slowly smiled beside me.

And then my phone rang.

It was the chairman of Dong Thanh.

I answered.

His first sentence made Luc Tu Minh completely freeze.

“Ms. Trinh, if you’re really leaving Luc Corporation, we would like to discuss moving the entire partnership with you.”