Chapter 1353: Resignation

[Pierson Corporation]

"This is it."

Benjamin took a deep breath, eyes closed, standing in front of the CEO’s office. When he opened them, determination flickered in his gaze. After a small nod to himself, he knocked on the door and entered after a few seconds.

Zoren was seated behind his desk, glancing up over his reading glasses before shifting his attention back to the document in his hands. He didn’t say anything, clearly finishing up before calling it a day.

"Ahem!" Benjamin cleared his throat loudly, huffing sharply to shake off the nervousness constricting his chest. He had already decided.

Carefully, he placed a small white envelope on the desk.

Zoren’s eyes moved to the envelope.

"What’s this?" he asked, lifting his gaze to meet Benjamin’s.

"Sir, it’s my resignation letter!" Benjamin declared, voice firm with resolve. He had made his decision, and he would face this bravely. "I’m resigning, sir."

"You are?" Zoren leaned back slowly, reaching for the envelope. He wordlessly flipped it over, revealing the words [Resignation Letter] scrawled on the back. With a slight nod, he slid out the letter and skimmed through it.

"You’re resigning, huh?" Zoren mumbled, looking up at Benjamin, who nodded firmly. "Benjamin, are you sure about this?"

Benjamin’s breath hitched as Zoren rose from his seat. Instinctively, he took a step back before forcing himself to stand his ground. He had expected Zoren to be angry, so this shouldn’t intimidate him.

"Yes, sir! I’m a hundred percent sure! I can’t take this anymore!" Benjamin’s voice rose, the only way he could push through his nerves. Taking another breath, he huffed. "I need to focus on my health, sir. Working here has been one of the best experiences of my life, but even with a heavy heart, I have to close this Chapter."

Zoren blinked, slow and unreadable—then, with a crisp tear, he ripped the resignation letter in half.

Benjamin gasped in horror.

"No," Zoren said simply, his voice colder than ice. "You’re staying."

"But sir! Don’t I have the right to choose?!" Benjamin exclaimed in distress. "I need to focus on my health! Working at Pierson Corporation has taken a toll on me!"

"And you think working for Penny won’t?"

The moment those words left Zoren’s lips, Benjamin choked. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he stared at his boss in horror.

"You knew?"

"Benjamin," Zoren continued, his tone turning even icier, "if you were resigning purely for health reasons, I’d understand. After all, I kept working while I was dying and it’s not the best moments of my life."

Benjamin flinched.

"But Penny?" Zoren’s mouth curled ever so slightly—a nearly imperceptible smirk, yet it sent dread crashing over Benjamin like a tidal wave. "I would have to be dead before I let you work beside her for eight hours a day, five days a week—maybe more. If I can’t, you can’t."

His eyes glowed with an unmistakable murderous intent as he tore the resignation letter again, shredding it beyond salvation.

Benjamin dramatically turned away, hand over his mouth, his soul crumbling into pieces.

’Boss, just let me go! Let me be with Miss Penny! That’s my calling!’ Benjamin mentally sobbed, feeling utterly trapped. At this rate, Zoren might just toss him out the window if he argued. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Zoren was stomping all over Benjamin’s and Penny’s story—whatever the theme of that story might be.

’I WANT A DIFFERENT BOSS!’

---

[Pierson Corporation – COO’s Office]

"Allen."

Atlas’s voice was cold as steel. Seated behind his desk, he stared at Allen with an expression so unreadable it sent shivers down the latter’s spine.

"First question before I rip your resignation letter — why are you looking at job ads?"

Allen flinched, his entire body stiffening as he realized this might have been a terrible idea. "Uh..."

"Answer."

"I wasn’t—" Allen’s breath hitched. The weight of Atlas’s aura pressed down on him like a vice, suffocating him to death.

"First, I was your second option. And even after everything... you’re still choosing someone else over me? After all those raises I gave you?"

Allen’s heart nearly stopped.

"This is a mistake! A mistake!" he blurted out, his panic rising. "I wasn’t looking for a job ad—it just so happened to be in a group I joined a long time ago! Someone posted it, that’s all!" He turned to Atlas with an awkward laugh. "Sir, I don’t know what got into me! Haha! Silly me, right? Haha—AHH!"

Allen snatched the resignation letter from Atlas’s hand and immediately shredded it himself.

"This is unnecessary! I’ll rip it for you! Your hands have more important things to do!"

Atlas watched as Allen frantically tore the paper into tiny pieces. Only when Allen was done did he nod in satisfaction.

"Throw it away."

"Y—yes, sir!" Allen grinned nervously, shoving the shredded remains behind him. "Please, let’s forget about this, sir. It never happened."

Atlas said nothing, already shifting his focus back to the document in front of him.

Allen heaved a sigh of relief and quietly turned to leave. His hand was just about to grasp the doorknob when—

"Allen," Atlas said casually, still not looking up.

Allen froze.

"Do you know my motto in life?"

Allen turned back, his stomach twisting in dread. "...Forgive... but never forget?"

"Don’t forget that."

"..."

Allen winced. He turned away, internally sobbing as he left the office.

He was doomed.

---

[Some Time Later...]

Outside Pierson Corporation, two figures stood motionless, their gazes empty.

Life had left their eyes.

They simply stood there, staring blankly into the abyss.

"I’m... doomed," Allen muttered.

At the exact same moment, Benjamin sighed, "I’m trapped here forever."

Hearing each other, they slowly turned, their expressions shifting from blank despair to shock as they finally noticed one another.

A beat of silence fell on them and then, simultaneously, they jolted and pointed accusingly at each other.

Allen: "You tried to resign?!"

Benjamin: "You want to apply as Miss Penny’s assistant too?!" Benjamin gasped. "Allen, how could you?! Aren’t we friends?!"

Allen: "I should be the one asking! We’re friends, aren’t we?! How could you betray me like this?!"

Benjamin: "What do you mean?! This is my calling!"

Allen: "It’s mine!"

Panting in frustration, they glared at each other—until, suddenly, they both stopped.

A realization settled over them, and slowly, their faces soured.

"...We’re doomed," Allen mumbled.

Benjamin wiped his eyes. "Yes. Yes, we are. Today is my last taste of freedom."

In the end, the two men, who had long awaited the day Penny would post a job listing for an assistant, finally understood—

There was no escaping their bosses’ clutches.