At a company dinner, my fiancé’s junior assistant, Amber Stone, shamelessly placed a piece of eggplant she’d already taken a bite from onto his plate, right in front of everyone.
Without a second thought, Liam Donovan picked it up and ate it.
That very day, when we got home, I told him I wanted to call off our arranged engagement.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, agitated.
“Just because I ate the eggplant she gave me?”
“It was a piece she’d bitten into and didn’t like,” I corrected him.
“Chloe Miller, calling you insane is no exaggeration. You’re being absolutely ridiculous, blowing a tiny thing out of proportion.”
“Fine, if you want to break up, I have no objections. Just don’t come crawling back to me begging to get back together.”
He was so sure I loved him, that I’d never leave.
But he didn’t know that even the deepest love can wear thin and die from repeated wounds.
This time, I was truly leaving.
1.
That same day, I told my parents I wanted to change my fiancé.
They were surprised, but they respected my choice.
After that, Liam and I entered our usual silent treatment phase.
He deleted and blocked me everywhere—my phone number, all my social media, even our game accounts. It was his go-to move every time we fought.
He was confident I couldn’t bear to lose him, that I’d humble myself and try to win him back.
But this time, I stared at that ‘add friend’ button and didn’t press it, not like all the times before.
A week later, a notice popped up in the company group chat:
“It’s Mr. Donovan’s birthday today! He’s treating, and everyone *must* attend. No exceptions.”
I didn’t want to make a scene, so I went.
As I entered the private room, I immediately saw Liam at the head of the table, with Amber seated right next to him.
Amber’s lips were pressed close to Liam’s ear, as if sharing some secret.
It was like they had an invisible bubble around them, a world no one else could enter.
A moment later, they burst into laughter, so close they almost kissed.
I couldn’t bear to watch anymore and found a quiet corner to sit in.
Everyone started giving Liam gifts, but I paid them no mind.
I was quietly sipping my drink when suddenly, a shadow fell over me.
I looked up to see Liam’s overly handsome face, but his expression was the same familiar annoyance.
“Chloe Miller, why didn’t you get me a gift?”
In the past, for a day as important as Liam’s birthday, I would have started planning ages ago.
One year, I spent over six months building a perfectly scaled replica of the flying house from his favorite movie, *Up*.
The moment the balloons lifted it into the sky, he told me we’d grow old together, just like the characters in the film.
I believed him then, never imagining his promise wouldn’t even last three years.
Facing his persistent questions, I simply replied, “I forgot.”
My attitude clearly infuriated Liam. He completely lost his patience.
“Chloe Miller, have you made enough of a scene?”
“Is this tiny thing really worth a week of drama?”
I looked at the smudge of Amber’s lipstick on his lips, and my stomach churned.
“I’m not making a scene. And I’m serious about calling off the engagement.”
Hearing that, Liam’s expression stiffened for a second, but it quickly recovered when Amber gently squeezed his hand.
“Chloe, please don’t misunderstand. I just didn’t want to waste food, that’s why I gave it to Liam. If you hate me so much, then next time we have a dinner, I just won’t sit at the table. I’ll just wait and eat whatever scraps are left over.”
Amber’s words instantly tugged at Liam’s heart.
“Amber, don’t talk like that! You deserve the best things in the world. Chloe Miller is the one who shouldn’t be here. Who does she think she is? Does the world revolve around her tastes?”
“Liam, you really shouldn’t say things like that. Chloe might be a bit dramatic, but she’s still your fiancée. You should try to make her happy. I really don’t want you two fighting because of me.”
“Make *her* happy? Who does she think she is? If my parents hadn’t begged me to go through with this family arrangement, I’d never be with her. She gets upset over every little thing; it’s so annoying.”
Amber walked over to me, patted my back, and said in a heartfelt tone,
“Chloe, honestly, from a woman’s perspective, you really were a bit childish this time. Liam hasn’t been able to sleep these past few nights because of you. While I also feel your personalities don’t quite match, you two are still engaged. You should both take a step back.”
I slapped her hand away and sneered.
“Amber Stone, do you know what I admire most about you?”
“It’s your blatant lies, and how you say such disgusting things while stealing someone else’s boyfriend without a shred of shame.”
Amber’s triumphant expression instantly froze.
Liam completely lost it.
“Chloe Miller, who gave you permission to slander Amber like that?”
“Slander? Then tell me, why does she have one of everything you buy for me? And why does she flaunt it in front of me at the office? Why does she intentionally spread rumors in the company break room every time we argue? And how does she know about that birthmark in such a private place?”
“Enough!”
*Smack*. Liam slapped me across the face in front of everyone.
My ears rang, and the world spun into a chaotic blur.
Yet, my eyes clearly saw the pity, sympathy, mockery, and disgust on the faces of everyone in the room.
2.
When my hearing finally cleared, I heard Liam’s loud declaration:
“From today on, feel free to like my and Amber’s photos! If we hit a thousand likes, I’m dumping Chloe Miller and marrying Amber.”
With that, he pulled Amber and walked out without looking back.
Before they left the room, Amber gave me a smug, defiant look.
After they left, people in the room started leaving one by one.
Someone gloated, “She doesn’t even have the leverage to cause trouble, and now she’s gone too far, hasn’t she? Regrets now, doesn’t she?”
Others kindly advised me, “Forget your pride; just swallow it and apologize. Otherwise, Mr. Donovan really will marry Amber.”
I knew this was Liam’s way of forcing me to apologize.
But this time, I refused to back down. Not even if it killed me.
The once bustling room quickly emptied until only I remained.
I picked up the remaining strong liquor and drained it.
The fiery alcohol burned its way down my throat and into my stomach.
It made my eyes sting. A connection spanning almost our entire lives, really ending, felt surprisingly hollow.
An arranged marriage thousands of miles away in Veridia—he surely wouldn’t bother me there, right?
But why were my cheeks wet again? I couldn’t tell.
I went home and immediately started packing my things, ready to leave.
Liam and I grew up together; we spent more than half of our short lives side by side.
The depth of our relationship meant I had too many things to sort through.
This gold star sticker was the first reward Liam received in kindergarten.
He’d toddled over to me on his short legs and handed it to me.
I vaguely remembered him saying then, “I want to give all the best things to my little Chloe.”
This photo was one he’d secretly taken of my flushed face the first time I got my period.
I’d zoned out during biology class, so I thought I had a terminal illness.
I ran to him, telling him to take good care of himself for the rest of his life, and that he could find a girlfriend, but she couldn’t be prettier than me.
He listened, completely bewildered. After he pressed for details, he realized I’d just started my period.
He rushed to the drugstore to buy me some pads and even searched online with me for how to use them.
He laughed at me for not paying attention in class, and I flushed crimson, biting his arm hard.
Later, he told me that bite hadn’t hurt at all, but it was the first time he’d felt something different for me.
Eventually, we got together, but going to different colleges forced us into a long-distance relationship.
Our memories became a stack of train tickets.
For four whole years, 193,700 kilometers was the distance we traveled to be with each other.
Back then, his eyes were only for me. No matter how long the journey, he never complained.
My fingers brushed a small, hard box containing the matching rings we designed together.
For him, I moved back to this city after college.
The day I returned, he dragged me to get these rings custom-made.
I still remember him slipping the ring onto my finger and saying,
“Chloe, with this ring, you’re stuck with me for life. You’ll never be able to leave me.”
Neither of us ever imagined that, in the end, it wouldn’t be me who let go, but him.
3.
The day Amber came in for her company interview, she performed terribly. Liam was openly dismissive of her.
I didn’t pay much attention to this underqualified and underperforming candidate either.
But for some reason, she was eventually hired anyway, against all odds.
She even slowly transformed from an insignificant nobody into Liam’s personal assistant.
I only truly started to notice something was wrong when *our* matching rings, the ones only Liam and I shared, appeared on Amber’s hand.
At first, when I confronted him, Liam would patiently explain things and try to appease me.
But over time, he just grew impatient.
My repeated reluctance, tolerance, and efforts to please him only made his favoritism toward Amber more blatant.
At company dinners, he’d only order Amber’s favorite dishes.
Amber only worked half a day a week; the rest of her time was spent playing around with Liam.
And all of Amber’s actual assistant work? Liam pushed it onto me.
Liam mentioned her more and more in front of me.
At first, it was unconscious praise and admiration.
Later, he’d compare me to her, complaining I wasn’t as understanding or considerate as she was.
It came to a head during a company afternoon tea. Liam said his coffee tasted good.
Amber said she wanted to try it, and without a word, Liam handed his coffee to her.
Amber took a big sip from the straw Liam had used, without him even bothering to change it.
He even took the coffee back and continued to drink from it, right where her lipstick print was.
In that moment, my heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, a raw, aching pain.
From then on, his so-called ‘best girl friend’ Amber crossed more and more lines.
Afraid Liam would get sunburned, she’d brazenly rub sunscreen all over his body.
I’d make him packed lunches, and she’d make them too.
She’d always eat *my* packed lunches, under the pretense that my cooking was just “too good” to resist, and then make Liam eat hers.
Even my birthday celebration, which Liam had promised, was canceled because Amber claimed she had a cold.
But every time I expressed my unhappiness about these things,
Liam would impatiently say,
“Chloe Miller, your mind is just so dirty, everything looks dirty to you. Amber and I are just friends; don’t taint it with your twisted mind.”
But as time went on, he said it with less and less conviction, his voice wavering.
The most disheartening moment was a major industry event.
The organizers required attendees to bring a partner, but Liam didn’t tell me at all. He just took Amber.
I only found out afterward, when several people repeatedly asked if Liam and I had broken up.
When I confronted him, Liam was even angrier than I was.
“I was just helping Amber expand her network, and training talent for the company. Why are you so petty?”
That time, we gave each other the silent treatment for a long time.
So long that I truly thought we would part ways then.
Until he sent me a text late one night:
“Babe, my stomach hurts so much.”
All my carefully constructed indifference crumbled in an instant.
And so, the terrible cycle started all over again: I’d question him, he’d get angry, I’d apologize, he’d “forgive” me.
I closed the ring box and tossed it into the trash.
Deep in my drawer, there was still a letter of apology Liam had written me when he was eighteen, because he’d forgotten to reply to one of my messages.
He really cared about me back then.
But now, he only cared about Amber.
I took out the apology letter, tore it into pieces, and threw it in the trash.
After decades of memories were completely cleared out, the house felt much emptier.
My heart felt empty along with it.
The company group chat was still flooded with photos of Amber celebrating Liam’s birthday and making him laugh.
Knowing Liam’s blatant favoritism towards Amber, colleagues eagerly chimed in with compliments.
“Oh my god, Mr. Donovan and Amber are so perfect together!”
“You should find a girlfriend like Amber, not a petty, moody one like Chloe Miller.”
“Chloe Miller only gets by because of her family. Unlike our Amber, who got to this position all on her own. There’s no comparison between the two.”
Too disgusted to look anymore, I called my lawyer and instructed him to withdraw all my investments from Donovan Corp.
4.
The next day, I went to the company to clear out my things.
But in my private office, I saw Amber, wearing a skimpy nightgown, with her feet propped up on my desk.
Her things filled my office, and all of mine had been tossed outside the door.
This was *my* private office, custom-built for me by Liam.
Everyone in the company knew it, and no one dared to step foot in this room.
Amber was openly trampling all over me, completely disrespecting my boundaries.
Too fed up to argue with her, I called the police immediately.
In the police station’s interview room, Amber panicked.
“I was just helping Liam get some documents. Did you really have to call the police?”
“That’s my private space. Did I give you permission to enter without asking?”
“Taking something without permission? Isn’t that called theft?”
Amber didn’t retort after my words; she suddenly started crying. That’s when I sensed something was wrong.
Sure enough, when I turned around, who else but Liam, looking utterly furious, was standing right behind me.
“Liam!”
The moment she saw Liam, Amber directly threw herself into his arms.
“I really just wanted to help you get the documents, but Chloe seems to dislike me. She insists I stole something. I have so many gifts from you, my huge mansion can barely fit them all. Why would I want her cheap, tacky things?”
This small office was a “gift” from Liam to me.
It was his reciprocal gift for the small wooden cabin I built for him.
We had so many sweet memories in this room.
I always thought at least this sanctuary wouldn’t be defiled, that it was the last shred of dignity left for our love.
But Liam had to personally tear apart my last bit of illusion.
Liam comforted Amber while explaining to the police officer,
“This is all a misunderstanding. We all know each other. Sorry for the trouble.”
Then he turned to me, his voice dripping with disgust.
“Chloe Miller, what have you become? You act like a lunatic all the time. Do you get some kind of sick satisfaction from using your power to hurt an innocent subordinate like Amber? You’ve truly disappointed me.”
His harsh words rained down on me, and before I could retort, Amber started her act again.
“Liam, don’t blame Chloe. It’s my fault for being so careless.”
“At worst, I’ll spend a few days in jail. It’s fine if people laugh at me. Don’t let this cause trouble between you and Chloe.”
Liam held Amber’s hand, his face filled with concern.
“Amber, you’re just too kind-hearted, that’s why everyone takes advantage of you.”
“Chloe Miller, I’m telling you, this isn’t going to blow over easily. You need to apologize to Amber right now.”
“Liam Donovan, she entered my private space without my permission. You’re telling me to apologize to her? Do you still think *she’s* the victim?”
As soon as I spoke, Amber started whimpering again, sniffling pathetically.
Liam scoffed.
“Your private space? That office belongs to Donovan Corp. Don’t forget, the entire Donovan Corp. is under *my* name. You only ever had temporary permission to use that office. If you maintain this attitude, I won’t hesitate to have you arrested for making a false report.”
With that, he pulled Amber away to settle the matter.
His words pierced my heart like a sharp spike.
My heart, which I thought had long gone numb, began to ache faintly again.
For so many years, I poured all my efforts into supporting Donovan Corp. I thought I was fighting for our shared future.
It turned out, all I got in return was: “You only ever had temporary usage rights.”
Before Liam left the interview room with Amber, he gave me a warning.
“Just a friendly heads-up: the likes have already reached 990. If you keep this attitude, I really am going to marry Amber.”
I looked at Amber’s contemptuous gaze behind him, and suddenly realized how pathetic I was.
Amber’s tricks were always clumsy; a smart man like Liam couldn’t possibly have missed them.
He simply chose to ignore them. The scales of his affection had long since tipped.
All of this was just a pathetic way to get rid of a fool like me, and I was still foolishly trying to make up with him again and again.
After figuring that out, the last bit of love I had for Liam completely died.
In the days leading up to my move to Veridia, annoying colleagues kept messaging me privately, giving me updates on the like count.
“The likes are at 994! If you don’t humble yourself, your man’s going to be snatched away!”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, 997 likes already. Looks like you’re destined to be an old maid.”
“Oh, you’re holding out for a long time this time, huh? Could it be you think you’re not as good as Amber, so you wet your pants and ran away? Hahahaha.”
I blocked and deleted all of them, ignoring them entirely.
When the likes reached 999, and I still hadn’t caved, the tension around Liam was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
No one else in the company dared to press that final ‘like’ button.
Just as Liam was considering how to issue another warning,
Suddenly, someone burst into Liam’s office, shouting,
“Mr. Donovan, the 1000th like has been reached!”
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