She also had a condo of just over 1,000 square feet near her company, which she'd bought four years ago but never lived in. Grace tidied up a bit when she arrived, before resting.

The harsh ring of her alarm woke her. She suddenly remembered it was 1 AM here, which meant it was around 7 AM in Aldovia, where Alexander and their daughter were. They usually had breakfast at this time. Missing Sophia, she would typically call her then.

After Sophia went to The Kingdom of Aldovia with Alexander, she initially struggled to adjust and missed her mother terribly, wanting to call her constantly. But after Claire entered the picture, Sophia grew increasingly fond of Claire, and her attachment to Grace turned from longing to mere obligation and then impatience.

Thinking about this, Grace felt a bitter smile, deleted the alarm, and turned off her phone before going back to sleep.

Meanwhile, Alexander and Sophia were finishing breakfast.

Alexander noticed Grace hadn't called today but didn't think much about it and headed upstairs after breakfast to change clothes.

Sophia found Grace increasingly annoying, especially compared to Auntie Claire. She enjoyed talking to her mother less and less. Happy that Mom hadn't called yet, she rushed out with her backpack.

Nancy hurried after her, she said: "Miss Sophia, it's still early! We can leave later!"

Sophia ignored her. If she didn't leave now, she might have to talk to her mom when she called, and she definitely didn't want that!

*****

After the marriage, Grace had given up her career to work at Sterling Group for Alexander's sake. Now, with divorce pending, there was no reason to stay.

The next day, she handed her resignation letter to Michael, one of Alexander's executive secretaries.

Seeing her resignation shocked him. He was among the few who knew Grace and Alexander were married. He was also aware that Mr. Sterling was cold toward Grace and rarely went home.

Grace had initially aimed to become Alexander's executive secretary, but Alexander refused, even against Grandma Sterling's orders. Eventually, Grace had to stay in the secretarial department as one of Alexander's many regular secretaries.

At first, Michael had worried about Grace's work attitude, as many women joined Sterling Group just to get close to Mr. Sterling. However, Grace proved extremely capable, eventually becoming the secretarial team leader.

Michael had always known about Grace's love for Alexander, making it hard to believe she would resign willingly. Naturally he suspected something must have happened between them, leading Alexander to force her to resign. However, though Grace was highly competent and it was a shame to lose her, Michael maintained his professionalism. "I'll take your resignation and arrange for someone to take over your duties soon," he said.

Grace nodded and returned to her desk.

After handling some work, Michael reported to Alexander online and as they were wrapping up, he suddenly remembered Grace's resignation: "Oh, Mr. Sterling, about Ms. Morrison—"