The Day I Quit Him (Autumn and Mars) novel Chapter 145

**Chasing Light, Finding Peace by Rohan Verma**
**Chapter 145**

A wave of uncertainty washed over Autumn Lopez, a fleeting moment that made her heart quicken in its rhythm. The vibrant flowers that had just arrived were a dazzling array of colors, their brightness a sharp contrast to the subdued atmosphere of her day. As she stood at the sink, the cool water flowed over her fingers, giving her a moment of clarity as she contemplated the simple act of arranging the blooms. It was a task that had always brought her solace, allowing her to reconnect with the familiar cadence of her work. Just then, Mrs. Turner entered, her face a mixture of urgency and concern, shattering the tranquility of the moment.

“Your phone has been ringing off the hook, dear,” she announced, her voice laced with an unmistakable hint of worry.

“Could you please bring it to me?” Autumn asked, her thoughts drifting to the quiet sanctuary of her room where her phone lay charging. She hadn’t expected anyone to reach out on a weekday, but it seemed that one call had managed to pierce through the fabric of her busy life.

“Here you are, ma’am,” Mrs. Turner said, deftly transferring the flowers into Autumn’s hands as she handed over the phone.

Autumn’s heart sank as she glanced at the caller ID. The name displayed was from an assistant in the Executive Office at Cloudbreak Corporation. A rush of emotions surged within her, memories flooding back unbidden. She had never imagined she would relinquish such a treasured position, one that had been a significant part of her identity.

Since her difficult decision to step down, she had received numerous inquiries about her future, each one a reminder of the life she had left behind. Among those reaching out, a young secretary from the Executive Office had been particularly persistent, maintaining an unwavering line of communication. Autumn had promised to assist her in finding a new job when the time was right, but now, the implications of her resignation loomed large.

Now, the entire Cloudbreak team knew that her resignation was nearing its finalization, while only Mars Wright, the company president, remained blissfully unaware, still under the impression that she was merely on a temporary leave to prepare for motherhood.

When she answered the call, she was met with a voice tinged with panic. “Secretary Autumn! You have to help me!”

A knot of anxiety twisted in her stomach. “What’s going on?” she inquired, curiosity piqued and dread beginning to seep into her consciousness.

The assistant rushed through her explanation, revealing that both Hannah King and Lydia Lopez had started working at Cloudbreak that very day. The tension between the two was palpable, and it seemed their animosity had erupted almost immediately.

Hannah, emboldened by her newfound status as Mars’s favorite, had wasted no time in bombarding Lydia with an overwhelming amount of work. Lydia, still recovering from an injury, had protested her inability to handle the heavy lifting, but Hannah’s response had been nothing short of explosive.

“If you have such a princess complex, maybe you shouldn’t even be here! Just go back home where you belong!” Hannah had shouted, her voice echoing through the office, a cruel taunt that struck Lydia like a slap.

The argument escalated rapidly, culminating in a moment of heated emotion when Lydia slapped Hannah, a move that had not gone unnoticed by Mars. Autumn could only imagine the chaos that ensued as Mars stormed in, his anger directed at Lydia, threatening her with termination.

“Now Lydia is sobbing outside the Executive Office, Hannah is crying in the president’s office, and the entire floor is on the verge of a meltdown. Secretary Autumn, please, you must do something!”

The assistant’s desperation resonated deeply within her. Autumn had not anticipated that the combination of these two women would create such a volatile situation. She leaned back into the plush cushions of her chair, a soft sigh escaping her lips. “I would love to help, but since I’ve already resigned and the process is nearly finalized, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to intervene.”

“You should speak to Mars,” the assistant suggested, their voice trembling with urgency.

“Mars is the president of the company. Isn’t this something he should be managing?” Autumn countered, her tone calm yet firm, trying to maintain her resolve.

The assistant’s voice quivered, on the brink of tears. “But Mr. Wright, he…”

Autumn could sense the unspoken truth behind their words. This entire debacle stemmed from Mars’s complicated love life. His inability to manage the delicate balance between the two women was glaringly evident. How could he possibly handle the fallout from this?

His favoritism would only exacerbate the situation, pushing one of them further into emotional turmoil.

“My hands are tied,” Autumn said, a faint smile playing on her lips as she absentmindedly stroked her growing belly. “Why don’t you just ignore them?”

“Just pretend they don’t exist and focus on your own work,” she added, her tone light but serious, trying to lighten the mood.

The assistant let out a frustrated sigh. “We want to, but we have a sponsor visiting today.”

“You used to manage all these arrangements, Secretary Autumn. After your resignation, the responsibility fell to the new chief secretary, but it seems neither of them informed Mr. Wright.”

“We tried to remind them, but the new secretary, Ms. King, insisted that sponsors should just sponsor and that there was no need for any extra fuss. She said their visit was merely a formality and that nothing would go wrong, so we should handle it ourselves,” the assistant explained, their voice thick with anger. “We’re just employees. How are we supposed to host a sponsor on behalf of Mr. Wright? Besides, this was a sponsor you brought in as a personal favor, Secretary Autumn. When they discovered you weren’t at the company anymore, they delayed their sponsorship multiple times.”

“If Mr. Wright had only hosted them properly and shown some sincerity, securing this sponsorship would have been straightforward.”

“But now he’s completely ignoring it, and we’re in no position to push him.”

“Secretary Autumn, please, I’m begging you. You watched Cloudbreak grow from its inception. Are you really going to stand by and let the company falter?”

Autumn felt the weight of the assistant’s plea settle heavily on her shoulders. She had personally negotiated many of Cloudbreak’s significant deals. Her departure wouldn’t just throw the company into disarray; it would lead many clients to reconsider their partnerships.

This would inevitably result in a decline in Cloudbreak’s performance. If Mars had taken these details into account and prepared for her exit, the situation might not have spiraled into such chaos.

While Cloudbreak might not reach new heights, it certainly wouldn’t collapse overnight. But Mars was both oblivious and self-destructive.

First, he had allowed Lydia to oversleep and miss the Mistveil Group project. Now, he was neglecting a major sponsor for Hannah’s sake.

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