Chapter 514: Unlocking the Shackles 4

Rose Shaw managed a faint smile. "I’m sorry, President Sterling, for causing you so much trouble."

"How could you do something so foolish?"

A sob caught in Rose Shaw’s throat as tears streamed from her eyes.

’This wasn’t foolish. To her, it was a release.’

"Alright, you’ve seen her. You can go now." Keith Coleman continued to try and get him to leave, not wanting Christopher Sterling to stay a second longer.

"Get some rest. You don’t need to come to the office for the next few days," Christopher Sterling said softly.

Rose Shaw took a deep breath. A pang of pain spread from her heart, and in that moment, she could clearly feel that she was, in fact, still alive.

"No, President Sterling. I don’t want to come back to the office ever again."

The moment those words left her lips, she suddenly felt as if a lifetime of shackles had fallen away. Her heart was unburdened, replaced by an unprecedented sense of relief.

She wasn’t that strong after all.

Ever since she learned that Christopher Sterling was getting married, every day had been agony.

To love someone she couldn’t have, to yearn for what she couldn’t attain.

"You mean, you want to leave the company?"

"Yes. And leave you," Rose Shaw’s voice was firmer than he had ever heard it. She looked at Keith Coleman. "Could you please excuse us for a moment? There’s something I want to say to President Sterling."

"Alright." Keith Coleman nodded, leaving Rose Shaw and Christopher Sterling alone.

The two of them were alone in the room.

Rose Shaw looked at Christopher Sterling. She never would have imagined that someone as calm and composed as him would come to blows with Keith Coleman.

"President Sterling, I can’t stay by your side any longer. I want to end these never-ending days. You’ve probably always known that I have been quietly and hopelessly in love with you."

"From the moment I first met you, this affection was like a seed. Now, while the feeling itself may still be a small sprout, its roots have already filled my entire heart. I never deluded myself into thinking we could be together or that I could win your love. It was always destined to be unrequited."

"I overestimated myself. I thought that even if you walked down the aisle with another woman someday, I’d be able to handle these feelings. But I can’t. I’ve backed myself into a corner, and no matter how much I struggle, I can’t escape, left to bear this pain all by myself."

"President Sterling, I owe you my life, and I would give my life to repay that debt. But I truly have to leave. Today, in this very moment, I am still alive. And I want to live with some dignity."

Christopher Sterling didn’t say a word.

He had never truly acknowledged Rose Shaw’s feelings for him.

He had assumed his relationship with Rose Shaw was no different from his relationship with any other employee—they just had different responsibilities.

’But was that really true?’

When his life had hung in the balance and he’d trusted no one, he had trusted Rose Shaw.

He had placed his very life in her hands.

Today, Rose Shaw’s words had been like a brand, seared deep into his mind and shaking him to his very core.

After Christopher Sterling left, Rose Shaw collapsed limply onto the bed, silent tears continuing to fall.

She hadn’t let herself cry like this, so unrestrainedly, in ten years.

The door to the hospital room opened, and Keith Coleman walked in carrying a takeout container.

Rose Shaw frantically raised a hand to wipe the tears from her face.

"I just spoke with the doctor. He said you’re out of the woods and can eat some soft foods. I bought some porridge, so you should eat a little to put something in your stomach."