James's POV
After learning Sarah might be alive, I instructed my assistant to search for her while I returned to work as usual.
That morning in my office, after signing some documents, I called out instinctively, "Sarah, take this to..."

I caught myself mid-sentence, remembering Sarah wasn't here anymore.
My assistant opened the door, "Mr. Carter, did you need something?"
"No." I rubbed my temples in frustration.
Without Sarah, everything felt more complicated than before.
Previously, I just had to review and sign the reports she prepared.
Now I had to handle everything personally, drowning in mountains of paperwork.

Had she really managed all of this by herself?
"Wait, what's this?" My eye caught a document in the corner, and I stopped my assistant.
I picked up the thin paper - it was a resignation letter.
With Sarah's signature at the bottom.

When had she resigned? Why didn't I know?
Anger flared inside me as I threw the paper to the floor.
"Who approved her resignation?" I paced the office furiously.
"First she resigns, then she disappears - she's gotten quite bold!"
"Have you found her yet?”
My assistant answered nervously, “N-not yet. The police haven't found any leads either. They're saying Miss Garnett might be..."
"Impossible!" I cut him off anxiously.
It couldn't be. Sarah must be out there somewhere, waiting for me to find her.
At that moment, Emma entered with a lunch box. "James, you haven't eaten yet? I brought you..."
She paused seeing the scene, setting the lunch box on my desk. "What's wrong? Did Calvin upset you again?"
Calvin, the assistant, hung his head even lower.
"It's not him." I forced down my irritation. "Why are you here?"
She smiled brightly, taking out several elaborate dishes. "It's lunchtime. I thought you'd be too busy to eat."
"So I made you something. Try it."
"Alright."
"What's this?" She bent to pick up the discarded paper. "Sarah's resignation? James, is this what made you angry?"
I responded coldly, "She just left, dumping all this work behind. Completely inconsiderate!"
Emma gave an understanding smile. "It's fine. Now that she's gone, we can just hire a new secretary."
"She's just a secretary, plenty of people can replace her."
"No, Miss Garnett was..." The assistant began to object but stopped upon seeing my expression. "Never mind."
Emma’s gaze lingered on me for a moment before she cautiously made a suggestion.
“Why don’t I become your secretary, James?” she asked.
"I've done similar work before. It's not that difficult - if Sarah could do it, I'm sure I can too!"
I frowned instinctively. Sarah's capabilities were well-known - other CEOs who'd met her openly said they'd never seen a better secretary.
Some had even offered her triple her salary to join their companies, right in front of me.
Before I could even get angry, Sarah had refused them herself.
At the time, she had said, “I’m sorry, no matter how much you offer, I won’t leave Carter Corporation.”
“Because there’s someone here who is very important to me.”
Remembering her words, I felt a sharp pain in my chest, like an invisible weight pressing down. A wave of sorrow crept over me.
Sarah, if I was so important to you, why did you leave me?
Seeing my silence, Emma pouted and asked unhappily, "James, you don't think I'm as good as Sarah, do you?"
"Of course not," I forced a smile. "You're obviously better than Sarah."
As soon as I said it, I was taken aback.
Why did those words feel so wrong?
Did I really believe, deep down, that Emma wasn't as good as Sarah?
No, impossible.
I pushed down the strange feeling in my heart and smiled at Emma.