I Texted My Dad One Word The World Burned novel Chapter 22

Chapter 2

Ever since Emily became Daniel’s assistant, accidents had never stopped.

She once threw away an important gift box, mistaking it for trash, and mailed actual garbage to my home instead.

During a publicity campaign, she uploded a raw, unflattering close–up of my face–no edits, no mercy–right on the company homepage.

Each time she made a mistake, Daniel would scold her viciously, using words so cutting they shocked even me.

The irony was that Daniel was well known in Baymont’s business world as the boss with the best temper.

In five years together, I had never seen him lose his cool with anyone else.

But with Emily, he seemed determined to unleash the most venomous insults he could think of.

At an outdoor gala dinner, he mocked her for not checking the weather forecast–then turned around and draped the blanket I had prepared over her shoulders.

During a company retreat, he berated her clumsiness–then stood by the Backyard BBQ Grill, patiently roasting every skewer for her.

Even when he threatened to fire her, the matter always ended quietly, unresolved.

And today, when he opened the ring box to reveal a soda can tab, Daniel actually laughed.

“This ring’s kind of unique. No one else has one like it.”

He seemed to forget the night years ago, when things were at their hardest.

We had worked ourselves to exhaustion, collapsed on the rooftop of our fledgling company.

He had held my hand and promised, “Charlotte, one day I’ll buy you a diamond ring that sparkles brighter than the stars.”

Now, standing in City Hall, seeing the cold stare written all over my face, he still had the audacity to joke.

“Come on, are you really going to break up with me over a missing million–dollar ring?”

A million dollars was, for me, the price of a casual handbag.

And yet, I nodded.

“Yes. No ring, no marriage.”

Only then did panic strike him. He sent people to scour the streets for the ring and even swore he would buy me one worth ten million.

With his current fortune, ten million for a ring would hurt, but not cripple him.

But it was far too late. I was sick of the endless entanglement between him and Emily.

As his Maybach carried Emily away in a cloud of dust, I called my father.

“Dad, I was wrong. I’ll come home in a week.”

Breaking up with Daniel would not be simple.

Five years together had entangled our lives in countless ways.

I drove straight to Riverside Estates–the city’s most luxurious riverfront neighborhood.

I had drained my personal savings to buy the villa by the water, so Daniel and I could have our dream home.

Now it felt like the heaviest burden I wanted to shed.

I had never thought that the first time I would step inside seriously would be… to sell it.

But as soon as my car reached the gates, security blocked me.

“Sorry, miss. The system doesn’t have your face ID. You can’t enter.”

Back when I bought the house, Daniel had vowed, “Since you put up the money, I’ll handle everything else.”

During renovations, he oversaw every detail, insisting he wanted it to be perfect.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify