I stood in his living room with the resignation letter still in my hand, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.
It felt like the floor had disappeared beneath me. He was gone. Just like that.
“Noah?” I called again, louder now, my voice trembling. “This isn’t funny.”
I searched the apartment—kitchen, hallway, even outside by his car.
Nothing. And then the door opened. He walked in like the world hadn’t just split in two.
Hair tousled, a coffee in one hand, phone in the other. He paused when he saw me standing there, his eyes flicking to the paper in my hands.
He sighed.
“You weren’t supposed to see that yet.”
“Are you kidding me right now?” I walked up to him, holding the letter out like it burned. “You’re resigning? Just like that? After last night?”
He looked down. “Maya—”
“No.” I shook my head. “You don’t get to do this again. You don’t get to kiss me, sleep with me, make me feel something, and then just disappear.”
His jaw clenched. “This is for the best.”
“The best for who?” My voice cracked. “Because it sure as hell doesn’t feel like it’s for me.”
He looked at me then, really looked. And I saw something in his eyes I hadn’t seen before. Not anger. Not pride. Pain.
“You deserve someone better,” he said softly.
I blinked. “Are you serious?”
He took a shaky breath. “Someone who doesn’t mess everything up. Someone who doesn’t carry this much… damage. Someone who isn’t my brother’s rival.”
“This isn’t about your brother,” I snapped. “This is about you. About your cowardice. About you running when things get complicated.”
“No. It’s about you.” His voice rose slightly. “And how I ruin everything I touch. And I won’t ruin you too.”
I opened my mouth to argue, to scream, but before I could speak—
The front door burst open.
Alex.
He stood there in the doorway, suit jacket wrinkled, eyes blazing.
“You’ve got to be f*cking kidding me.”
I froze.
Noah turned slowly. “Alex—”
“You slept with her?” Alex hissed, stepping inside. “Is that why you were sneaking around? Why you looked like you were about to fall apart every time her name came up?”
Maya? Slept with? Like I was just some object passed around. I stiffened. Noah didn’t answer.
Alex laughed bitterly. “Of course. You always take what’s mine, don’t you?”
“I was never yours,” I snapped, unable to stay silent.
Alex ignored me. “First it was my projects. My recognition. Then my promotion. Now her?”
“I didn’t take her from you,” Noah said, voice low but firm. “She was never yours to begin with.”
“Oh, but you wanted her after I did,” Alex said. “Just like everything else.”
My chest burned. “I’m not a trophy you two get to fight over.”
Neither of them responded to that. Because they weren’t listening to me anymore. They were too busy unraveling.
“You think you’re so noble, resigning like that?” Alex scoffed. “You think stepping down makes you the bigger man? You think it fixes anything?”
Noah’s expression hardened. “I think it stops this mess from getting worse.”
“Oh, you mean the mess you made?” Alex said, stepping even closer now. “You think Mom and Dad would’ve been proud of this? Of you?”
That landed like a gut punch. Noah flinched—just barely—but I saw it. Something flickered in his eyes. Something broken.
“Get out,” he said quietly.
“Gladly,” Alex muttered, brushing past me with a glare like I was collateral damage.
I stood there, rooted, numb. Noah wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“I didn’t mean for this to get out of hand,” he whispered. “I never wanted you caught in the crossfire.”
“But you dragged me into it,” I said, voice trembling. “And now you’re just walking away.”
“I don’t know how to stay,” he admitted, so quiet I almost didn’t hear it.
Then he turned away.
The boardroom was packed.
Tim sat beside me, whispering something about how corporate events always felt like soap operas in real-time, but I barely heard him.
Noah was three seats down, stone-faced. Alex was at the front, smiling like he’d already won.
And maybe he had. The chairman stood, cleared his throat, and tapped the mic.
“Thank you, everyone, for being here. As you all know, with the success of the recent merger and our ongoing leadership restructuring, we are pleased to announce the company’s new Vice President…”
The entire room leaned in.
“…Alexander Sterling.”