Burning Her Hard Work

The meeting room was in chaos as no one had expected this outcome. None of the executives wanted Natalie to leave the company. They were not happy about Briena's appointment at the cost of losing Natalie. Their displeased gazes told Briena that if not for her, Natalie wouldn't have left. There was anger and blame in their eyes. Even Ivan stayed unusually quiet in his place, as if he was regretting his decision.

Seeing this, Briena was shaking with anger inside but tried her best to maintain her composure on the surface.

"I will talk to her," Briena assured the others and hurried out to follow Natalie, who headed towards her office to gather her things. Once Briena entered the office and closed the door behind her, she spoke. "How does it feel to be given up on what you have been working on for so long?"

Natalie continued to gather her belongings, placing them in a box. "Nothing new to me, and it should be nothing exciting for you either. After all, you must be used to snatching my used things and making them your own."

"You're right, but it's more fun this time," Briena said, a wicked smirk painting her lips. "Not just your man, but what you worked on so hard for the past years will be mine now. All this work you have done here will be in my name."

"Sure, you can have what I leave for you," Natalie replied. She then pulled out all the files from her cabinet and stacked them on the floor. "These are all the perfume formulas I've researched over the years. They even include the ones I've rejected."

"Good for you that you're giving them to me quietly," Briena smirked, her gaze triumphant.

Natalie ignored her and pulled out an expensive wine bottle, a gift from a client she had never dared drink due to its high cost. She treasured it as a showpiece in her office. Opening the cap, she poured all the wine onto the files, soaking them thoroughly. The smell of alcohol filled the air.

"Are you nuts?" Briena exclaimed, trying to stop her, but Natalie pushed her aside. She pulled out a lighter, and in one quick motion, set all the files on fire. Flames quickly engulfed the papers, the fire reflected in Natalie's determined eyes.

Seeing the commotion outside Natalie's office, Ivan dashed towards it, ignoring all the employees that were already gathered there, making a commotion.. 

The moment he entered the room, Briena immediately clung to his arm. 

"Ivan! Look! She's setting us on fire!" Briena cried out, her voice terrified. Ivan's mouth fell open as he caught sight of the fire on Natalie's desk, growing steadily stronger with every passing second. Smoke began to fill the air. 

They couldn't see the sadness in Natalie's eyes as she watched years of hard work burn to ashes, knowing she was the one who had done it. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, calming her emotions. It was heartbreaking to lose her life's work like this, but she would rather destroy it than to let it fall into Briena's dirty hands. 

Besides, she was also confident in her own abilities. Unlike Briena, Natalie did not need help when it came to her perfume ideas. If she had achieved greatness once, she could do it again.

"What the hell did you do?" Ivan demanded, glaring at Natalie, who stood closer to the burning files, her expression solemn.

Natalie lifted her gaze from the flames to meet Ivan's angry stare. Her cold gaze was so intimidating that Ivan instinctively took a step back.

"Giving your fiancée an opportunity to work hard instead of relying on someone else's efforts." She turned to Briena, her lips curling into a mocking smile. "All the best, dear sister. I hope you will use this chance to show everyone how capable you truly are."

Briena looked at her angrily, realizing that all of Natalie's work was gone, and now she had nothing left to claim as her own. She knew how valuable Natalie's work was for her own rise, but now everything had turned to ashes, a scenario she had not anticipated. She needed to find a way out of this mess.

Natalie walked past the two to leave the office, but Ivan grabbed her hand.

"Let go," Natalie demanded, her expression cold.

Ivan tightened his grip, his gaze furious. "Do you really have to do this? You don't care about the company and even resort to risking everyone's lives by setting a fire in the office. What if…"

"What if what, Ivan?" Natalie interrupted, her voice icy. "What if your precious fiancée had to start from scratch, just like I did? What if everyone saw what she's truly capable of without my work to prop her up? You're right—I don't care about this company anymore. You made sure of that. This place can burn to ashes with you inside it. Now, let go of my hand."

Natalie withdrew her hand, stepping back to maintain distance from Ivan. Her face was filled with indifference and mockery. "That is my work, and I have the right to do whatever I want with it," she said, glancing up at the ceiling. "The fire safety in your office is not just for show, right?" Just as she finished speaking, the fire alarm rang and the sprinklers activated, drenching everyone in the office.

Natalie scoffed lightly and turned to leave, walking with her back straight and her head held high. Meanwhile, screams and shrieks of surprise filled the air, as everyone tried to protect themselves from getting wet, with limited success. 

Ivan watched her leave, suddenly feeling nervous. Natalie's confident stride was terrifying, and he wondered briefly, if he was making a mistake by letting her go. Natalie had contributed a lot to his company, and there was no guarantee that Brienna could live up to her accomplishments.

But then again, it wasn't his fault. It was Natalie who lied to him, who made him look like a fool during his wedding. Just the very thought made his blood boil. 

Meanwhile, Briena let go of Ivan and knelt on the floor in front of the burnt files, frantically searching for anything salvageable. But there was nothing left. 'Damn it. Damn it!'

Ivan looked at her, "What are you doing?"

Hesitant, she turned to look back at him, her lower lip wobbling with despair as tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. With her hair and clothes soaked from the sprinklers, she looked less like an heiress and more like a sad drowned rat. 

"Ivan, she burned the work that belongs to the company," tears rolled down her eyes. "It... It all happened because of me. I couldn't stop her in time. I... I shouldn't have even come to the company. It only caused you trouble."

She expected Ivan to come to her and console her, but...

"That's her work and was not patented under company name," he informed, not having any will to blame Natalie for it and nor did he plan to console Briena. To him, this wasn't important. "We have you, a famous perfumer Aroma. You can create new ones, don't you? I wouldn't hire you otherwise.

Briena was taken aback by his indifference towards her tears and emotions, which made it clear to her that Ivan felt nothing for her. He was just using her to hurt Natalie. Her fists clenched tightly, turning her delicate knuckles red, the determination to make this man hers entirely flashed in her eyes.