The Day I Quit Him (Autumn and Mars) novel Chapter 82

**Chasing Light, Finding Peace** – by Rohan Verma

Mars Wright had been radiating with an unshakeable confidence, his spirits high and his ambitions soaring.

Yet, the very next day, he collided headfirst with a formidable obstacle named Autumn Lopez.

“I’m not handing over the Lopez Group,” she declared, her voice firm and unwavering.

Autumn had arrived at the office that day with a singular purpose: to interview candidates for the chief secretary position she was about to vacate. With her mandatory cooling-off period following her divorce rapidly approaching its end, it was imperative for her to pass on her responsibilities to a capable successor.

What she hadn’t anticipated was Mars’s sudden appearance, storming into her office and demanding the return of the Lopez Group as if it were a trivial object to be handed over.

She felt a surge of anger bubbling within her, so intense that it almost made her laugh. “After all these years I’ve spent single-handedly holding this company together, you choose today—the very day I finalize a deal with Mistveil Group—to come and ask for it back? Do you really think I’m that naïve?”

“Besides,” she continued, her tone sharp, “I am the legitimate majority shareholder. I’ve always had managing control. What grounds do you have to demand that I ‘give it back’?”

As he observed her unwavering stance, Mars softened his approach, attempting to appeal to her emotions. “I’m just thinking about you and the baby. Look at you—you’re getting bigger every day. It’s already exhausting juggling work and home. If you’re also managing the Lopez Group, even if you can handle it physically, have you considered how it might affect the baby?”

Mars was clearly trying to manipulate her feelings by invoking the child she carried.

“This is the baby we’ve longed for, for so many years. Are you truly willing to risk something happening to him?” His voice took on a pleading tone, as if he were trying to reach into the depths of her heart.

“Have you forgotten how eagerly we anticipated this baby’s arrival?”

Autumn nearly scoffed at his words.

See? It’s not as if Mars doesn’t know how desperately I want this child.

But this callous, two-faced bastard… he is fully aware of my longing for this new life, and yet he still had the audacity to betray me by tampering with my IVF embryos behind my back!

“Autumn?” he ventured, sensing the shift in her demeanor.

Though she fought to maintain her composure, a flicker of her true feelings broke through the facade she had constructed.

Mars’s heart skipped a beat, a wave of dread washing over him as he sensed the turmoil beneath her calm exterior.

“Of course I haven’t forgotten,” she replied, her voice steady but her mind racing. She couldn’t afford to let Mars catch on to her vulnerabilities at this crucial moment.

With the date to finalize the divorce drawing ever closer, she needed to tread carefully.

“But it’s precisely because I love this child that I’m working tirelessly to build something for him,” she asserted, her determination rising.

“You remember how close the Lopez Group was to bankruptcy, step by step, don’t you?” she pressed, hoping to drive her point home.

“Are you genuinely convinced that handing it over would be in the best interest of the company?”

Mars shifted uncomfortably, his confidence wavering.

Oliver Lopez was undeniably incompetent, and they both knew it.

But it was better in anyone’s hands than Autumn’s, he thought, though he hesitated to voice that opinion.

“Dad’s grown quite a bit over the years. Besides, there were numerous reasons the Lopez Group ended up in that state. You can’t just lay all the blame at his feet,” he argued, attempting to defend his father.

“And consider this: at his age, most people haven’t even retired yet. How can he find happiness with nothing to occupy his time?”

“You don’t want a repeat of that family dinner from yesterday, do you? The old folks get lonely. If he’s bored at home, he’ll just concoct all sorts of ridiculous schemes to torment us,” he continued, trying to convince her.

“Let him join the Lopez Group. Once he’s busy, he’ll stop meddling in our lives.”

As he spoke, Mars edged closer, attempting to employ his usual puppy-dog charm to soften her resolve.

But Autumn merely picked up her thermos, taking a sip of water, effectively dodging his attempt at intimacy.

Mars stood there, an awkward silence stretching between them as his tone hardened. “Anyway, this is the only solution I can see to balance things between you and your family.”

“If you can’t handle this, it could drag me down too. Autumn, I’m already worn out every day. I genuinely can’t deal with your family drama any longer.”

Autumn lowered her gaze, hiding the mockery that danced in her eyes.

Exhausted, huh? Exhausted from chasing Lydia?

For all those years, it was Autumn—only Autumn—who bore the weight of the entire Lopez family on her shoulders.

She had invested her heart and soul into it, yet her family continued to conspire against her whenever it suited their needs. And Lydia had shamelessly seduced her own sister’s husband, entangling herself with Mars.

The thought of all that betrayal made Autumn feel nauseous. She stood up and distanced herself from the space still thick with Mars’s lingering presence. It took a solid ten minutes before she felt she could breathe freely again.

“Secretary Autumn.”

A voice broke through her thoughts as someone from HR approached to inform her that the candidates for her position had arrived.

Autumn nodded, following them to the HR department with a sense of purpose.

“Hello, Secretary Autumn,” the candidates greeted her, all of them strikingly beautiful women.

Several of them were dressed so provocatively that it was clear they weren’t there for a serious job.

Autumn frowned, her confusion evident. “Who selected these candidates?”

If the chief secretary of the company looked like this, no one would be able to discern whether Cloudbreak was a legitimate business or a nightclub.

“Mr. Wright… made a few suggestions,” came the reply.

Autumn laughed, a furious sound that masked her growing anger.

So, cheating with Lydia isn’t enough for him? Now he wants to play the part of those other CEOs and keep a mistress at the office?

Did he get a thrill out of his escapades with Lydia at work, and now he craved more?

Irritated, Autumn delegated the matter to HR, her mind racing. Then, she snapped a few photos of the candidates and posted them on Facebook.

You like thrills? Let’s give Mars and Lydia a little thrill of their own.

Knowing Lydia, she would absolutely lose her mind when she discovered Mars wanted a secretary like this right under his nose.