I Planned My Exit The Moment His Loyalty Score Began To Fall Chapter 02

I Planned My Exit The Moment His Loyalty Score Began To Fall Chapter 02

The next day, it was as if nothing had changed; I still got up early to prepare breakfast for the three of us.

I laid out Ethan’s clothes for the day at the foot of the bed, then woke up my daughter to help her get dressed and brush her teeth.

At 11:00 a.m., as usual, I packed a lunchbox and drove to Ethan’s office.

Ethan was the company’s vice president, and he always takes me and our daughter to the annual company party, so most of the employees know me.

Seeing me carrying the lunchbox, they all smiled and greeted me.

The elevator went up to the eleventh floor. I said hello to the receptionist and headed toward Ethan’s office.

As soon as I pushed the door open, I saw a young woman who had just graduated sitting in Ethan’s executive chair. She had an innocent, youthful face, and her long hair fell down her back.

Ethan had one hand resting on her back and was pointing at the computer screen with the other.

Hearing the sound, they both looked up at the same time.

My gaze fell on the number displayed above Ethan’s head. It had only been three hours since we parted ways, yet it had already dropped from 87% last night to 79%.

When he saw me, he paused for a moment, then smiled.

“What are you doing here!” he said, his voice full of surprise and delight.

“Who’s this?” I asked, looking at the young woman.

“Oh, this is Summer, Molly’s assistant.” Molly is Ethan’s secretary—a thirty-five-year-old woman who was very capable.

He explained, “Molly went home for her wedding and wouldn’t be back until next week. Summer was filling in for her these few days.”

He added that she had just graduated and had no experience, so he was training her.

“I had to work overtime yesterday because she messed up a set of data!” His tone was dismissive, as if getting the data wrong were no big deal.

The girl looked at me somewhat timidly and called out, “Mrs. Hale.”

Ethan noticed the lunchbox in my hand and said, “Did you bring lunch?”

As he spoke, he called out to Summer, “Come over and eat first! My wife’s cooking is delicious!”

Ethan said this so casually that before I even had a chance to react, Summer had already gotten up and sat down next to him.

In the past, whenever I brought lunch for Ethan, I’d always pack enough for two so we could eat together at the office; even Molly had only eaten the lunch I’d packed once.

I thought he wanted the three of us to eat together, but I didn’t expect him to hand the utensils directly to Summer—his gesture was affectionate, and his tone was casual.

He said, “Go ahead, eat up—we’ve still got more to do after this!”

Summer took the utensils and said, “Thank you.”

He never once asked me if I’d eaten yet.

Sitting across from Ethan, watching the two of them eat in front of me, I couldn’t shake a certain indescribable feeling.

Summer picked up a shrimp, took a bite, and her eyes lit up.

“So delicious!” she said. “Mr. Hale, you’re truly lucky to have such a wonderful wife!”

Ethan clearly had a smug smile on his face, but because of Summer’s compliment, the number on his head dropped another two points.

Looking at the glaring 77%, the indescribable feeling in my chest finally clicked into place.

The two chatted and ate, completely ignoring me as if I were invisible, until they finished their meal and both put down their utensils.

“Claire, clean this area up and then you can go home,” Ethan said. “I still have some work to do.”

I stared at him with a half-smile and said, “Ethan, I haven’t had lunch yet.”