After I Left, His Empire Collapsed Chapter 03

After I Left, His Empire Collapsed Chapter 03

I headed for the courthouse doors.

That’s when Julian called again. He’d already blocked me everywhere. Now he was reaching out.

I meant to decline. Muscle memory answered instead.

His smug voice hit my ear before I could speak.

“Vanessa. Have you come to your senses?”

He didn’t wait.

“I’m giving you a chance to fix this. The registration took all day. Sadie was out in the cold. She needs rest. So you’re taking her spot at the investor dinner tonight.”

“Handle it well, and I’ll let all that snarky nonsense slide.”

He spoke like he was delegating a task to an intern.

I let out a laugh. Hollow and sharp.

Julian seemed to have forgotten. I’d waited outside that courthouse all day too. Cold wind. No jacket. He’d never asked.

There was a time when I sneezed once in an air-conditioned room and Julian would drape his jacket over my shoulders. Make me lemon ginger tea at home. Hand-feed me vitamin C like I was dying.

Now he ordered me around. A tool. Convenient. Disposable.

And he’d forgotten something else. I’m severely allergic to alcohol. One drop. That’s it.

In the early years of the company, we were desperate for investors. Desperate for clients. Julian always shielded me from drinking events. He’d go in my place. Take every toast. Come home wrecked, hugging the toilet.

He’d still remind me to sleep. Tell me not to ruin my health.

Now? That man was gone.

This time, I didn’t grovel to save whatever scraps of our relationship still existed.

“Julian, I’m allergic to alcohol. I can’t go.”

“Besides, that’s Sadie’s responsibility. Not my job.”

He paused. He wasn’t expecting a no.

Then he exploded.

“I’m speaking to you calmly, and this is what you give me?”

“I pay your salary. You’re on call twenty-four seven. That’s your obligation.”

I smiled.

“Then I quit.”

I hung up before he could respond.

Then I dialed a number I hadn’t touched in a long time.

“Mr. DeVries. That offer. I’m accepting.”

The company was a top-tier design firm. Headquarters in Amsterdam. Global reputation.

We’d met a year ago. A collaboration project.

During the signing, I noticed something. Their upcoming product, designed for minimalist aesthetic perfection, had a fatal structural flaw. It would break during shipping. Mass returns. Bad press. A disaster.

I flagged it. Mr. DeVries flew in a team to verify. They overhauled the production line before global launch. Saved tens of millions in losses.

After that, he became one of my few friends overseas.

He did his homework. Found out I was being sidelined at Julian’s company. More than once, he flew from Europe to recruit me. Design director position. A million dollars in stock options.

But Julian had childhood baggage. His father ran off with a French woman. Emptied the family accounts. Julian hated everything European. Wanted to stay in America. So I kept saying no. Passed up real opportunities. Stayed in Austin with him.

I thought loyalty bought loyalty.

I lost everything.

Now, I was choosing myself.