The PR Queen's Resignation, Contract Ended

Silas Sterling was famous for his flings, but he never gave anyone his heart.

For years, I was his head of crisis PR. I spent my life cleaning up his messes.

That was until his first love came back to the country.

The man who was always cold and arrogant actually teared up in front of the cameras for the first time.

He grabbed her hand and declared to the world, "Macy Taylor is the only woman I've ever truly wanted."

Standing in front of the screen, I felt a chill run through my entire body.

I immediately handed in my resignation and agreed to the blind date my family back home had set up.

But Silas chased me down and grabbed my arm.

"Mrs. Sterling, our contract isn't up yet," he growled. "Leaving now is a breach of agreement."

The day Silas went to pick up his first love from the airport, I was at the office.

I was busy scrubbing photos of him with some young model from the internet.

In the pictures, a young, pretty girl was clinging to his waist.

Silas had a cigarette in his mouth, looking indifferent as usual.

But he didn't pull away when her red lips moved toward his face.

I pushed down the dull ache in my chest.

Silas had hated me for years.

Sometimes he'd call me in the middle of the night just to handle some scandalous headline.

"Giana Shaw, isn't this your job? Why do you look so pathetic?" he'd say.

I took a deep breath and handed the final plan to my assistant.

In the breakroom, a group of employees were whispering.

"Do you think Mr. Sterling is serious this time?"

"Looks like it. He's had so many flings, but he's never gone public. I heard this one is his high school sweetheart."

"Then hasn't Manager Shaw just been a placeholder all these years?"

I looked down at my finger, which had been cut by a cracked mug.

This mug was a birthday gift Silas had given me years ago.

It had cracked without warning, just like our relationship.

Someone gasped when they saw my hand bleeding.

I ignored them and looked at the tablet screen instead.

Silas was holding a woman.

Instinctively, my brain started calculating the PR response.

I grabbed my phone to tell my team to bury the search results.

But then, the cold, powerful man choked up on live television.

He held her hand tightly. "Macy Taylor is the only woman I've ever truly wanted."

I felt like I was standing in a freezer.

If she was the only woman he ever wanted, then what the hell was I?

Macy Taylor. I hadn't heard that name in a long time.

I dazed out for a second.

Everything about Silas's weird behavior lately finally made sense.

My assistant stepped forward and asked softly, "Giana, should we still contact the media?"

I shook my head. "No need."

Not anymore. Not ever again.

Macy was Silas's first love from when they were teenagers.

She was his 'White Moonlight,' the girl his family forced him to leave.

She was the regret he carried while he wasted his life on random flings.

I remembered how Silas fought his family for that relationship.

The proud young master had actually bowed his head and begged me just to see her one last time.

I sat in my office until it was dark.

A mutual friend called and invited me to Macy's welcome-home party.

Maybe a small part of me was still hoping for something.

I touched up my makeup and drove to the club.

When I pushed the door open, Silas was already there, drinking for Macy to protect her from the crowd.

The way he looked at her was so tender it could drown a person.

When he saw me, the smile on his face froze.

A friend waved me over to sit.

"Giana, you remember Macy, right? You grew up with Silas. You should make them drink! If it weren't for the news, we wouldn't even know they were back together. Also, you're a great PR manager. You kept this a total secret!"

Back together. What a beautiful phrase.

If only I wasn't already Mrs. Sterling.

I didn't say anything for a long time.

Then, someone who lacked a filter spoke up.

"I really thought Giana and Silas would end up together after all these years."

The room went dead silent.

Macy's eyes immediately turned red, and she looked away like she'd been insulted.

I looked at Silas.

He didn't defend me. He just gave me a warning look.

He pulled Macy closer and whispered sweet things to comfort her.

My heart finally died. Any tiny spark of hope I had left fell into a dark abyss.

I forced down the bitterness in my throat and raised my glass.

"I've always seen Silas as an older brother. Now that my sister-in-law is back, let's toast to the happy couple."

I drank the wine along with my tears.

The party started up again.

Macy blushed and hid her face in Silas's chest.

I looked away, avoiding Silas's judging gaze.

My chest felt tight, and I could barely breathe.

When I was a kid, my dad died in a car accident. Soon after, my mom remarried.

She left me behind at the Sterling estate.

The Sterlings felt sorry for me because my dad had been their driver, so they kept me.

But it was never my home.

I lived there like I was walking on thin ice, terrified of making a mistake and being kicked out.

Silas was two years older than me, but he acted like a man even then.

He chased away the kids who bullied me and declared that I was his follower.

I wanted to survive so badly.

I was so grateful to that handsome boy.

From then on, I followed him everywhere.

At first, he cared about me.

But slowly, he got bored and annoyed.

Once, Silas intentionally left me behind to walk home alone.

I got cornered by a group of thugs in an alley.

When he finally found me, I had been pushed to the ground.

He fought them off and then laughed at me.

"If you can't fight, why didn't you run? Are you stupid?"

I lowered my head and sobbed.

"They took my bag. The pen you gave me was in there. And... my homework is in there. I haven't finished it."

Silas actually laughed at that.

After that, he let me follow him again.

The years went by, one after another.

I followed him for so long I forgot when I actually fell in love with him.

Then he came home from college with a new girlfriend.

That was the first time I met Macy Taylor.

In that moment, my insecurity exploded. She was everything I wasn't.

He asked me to keep their relationship a secret from his parents.

But when his dad found out, the first person Silas blamed was me.

He chose to forget that he was dating her so publicly at school that anyone could have told his father.

Later, they were forced to break up. On the day Macy went abroad, Silas begged me to take him to see her.

I remembered his father's threat to kick me out. I had to say no.

He blamed me for her leaving.

So, when he proposed a contract marriage three years ago, I didn't say no.

I did what he wanted. I was his secret wife for three years.

There were only six months left on the contract.

But I was done.

When I came out of the bathroom, I heard voices around the corner.

Macy was crying.

"Silas, I don't want to hear it! Just go! Leave me alone!"

I saw Silas pulling her into his arms.

"But I love you. All these years, it's only ever been you, Macy. My marriage to her is just a contract. It ends in six months. As soon as it's over, I'm marrying you!"

"But I don't want to be the other woman!"

Silas's voice got even softer, almost teasing.

"Silly girl. I'd never let that happen. No one even knows we're married. You're the only one I've ever wanted to be my real wife."

I stood there listening to them confess their love. My pale, pathetic face reflected in the mirror.

After all these years, I was nothing but a joke.

After the party, I couldn't drive because I'd been drinking.

Everyone was calling their private drivers.

Silas helped Macy into his car.

He rolled down the window and looked at me. For a second, his eyes looked soft.

I almost saw the old Silas for a moment.

But then his cold words snapped me back to reality.

"Macy drank too much and feels sick. I have to get her home. Take a cab yourself. Be careful."

Before I could answer, the car sped away like an arrow.

I stood there inhaling the exhaust fumes. I leaned over by the curb and felt like throwing up my own soul.

A man walked up to me, looking me up and down with a disgusting grin.

"Hey beautiful. Feeling sick? Want me to take you home?"

I managed to choke out one word.

"Scram!"

The man got angry. He lunged at me and tried to grab my hand.

I dodged him and ran into the shadows.

I could hear him cursing behind me.

It felt like I was back in that dark alley from years ago.

My body was shaking violently from the alcohol and the fear.

I hid in a corner and pulled my phone out to call the contact labeled "Husband."

"Silas, someone is following me. Please come get me. Just this once, I'm begging you."

His voice sounded tense immediately.

"Giana? Where are you? Talk to me!"

I was about to answer when a woman's moaning voice came through the line.

"Silas... it hurts. Help me..."

The hand holding my phone turned ice cold.

When Silas spoke again, his voice was rough.

"I'm busy. Call someone else."

He hung up. I laughed at myself.

The man found me. I looked at his filthy face and felt a surge of pure rage.

I ripped off my high heels and smashed them into his face repeatedly.

Then I grabbed a loose brick from the ground and beat him until he stopped moving.

Only when he was barely breathing did I stop.

I walked out of that alley with messy hair, laughing and crying at the same time.

Silas didn't come home that night.

I checked my phone and messaged my aunt. I told her I'd come back to the countryside for that blind date.

The next day, I went to the office to resign. The HR lady looked at me awkwardly.

"Giana, your resignation needs Mr. Sterling's personal signature. I can't process it."

I sighed and didn't make it hard for her.

I walked straight into the CEO's office.

Silas looked like he was in a great mood.

He didn't even insult me when I walked in.

That changed the moment I put the resignation letter on his desk.

His face darkened. He leaned over and grabbed my chin, his thumb rubbing my skin.

His voice was low and mocking.

"Who are you putting on this show for? Giana, you worked so hard to push Macy away just to stay by my side. Now you're quitting? Don't tell me you can't handle a little competition."

I knew him too well. He was pissed.

I looked at the hickey on his neck and decided to twist the knife.

"Is Mr. Sterling sad to see me go? Why? Did you actually fall for me while we were playing house?"

Silas narrowed his eyes and shoved my face away.

He grabbed a pen and aggressively signed his name on the paper.

He threw it at my chest.

"Giana Shaw, you wish. Take your paper and get the hell out of my sight. Don't let me ever see you again!"

"Fine."

I wiped a tear from my eye, nodded, and left.

I heard the sound of something heavy smashing against the wall behind me.

I didn't look back once.

I went straight to the train station.

As soon as I sat down on the train headed for my hometown, I took out my SIM card and snapped it in half.

I threw the old phone into the trash.

Trash belongs in the garbage can.