When the woman I had supported for seven years publicly accused me of stealing, handed my hard-won project to her new assistant, and allowed the entire office to mock me, I realized I had never been her partneronly her stepping stone.
She repaid me by elevating Evan and erasing everything I built.
So I didnt argue, beg, or defend myself. I resigned on the spot, accepted a ten-times-higher offer from the client I had won.
This time, I chose myself.
I had just closed a major deal for the company when I received a ring from my girlfriend. Excited, I shared the news on Instagram, thinking she was finally ready to make our relationship official.
But suddenly, my girlfriend’s newly hired male assistant slapped me and flipped over my desk:
“You’re a director, for crying out loud! How dare you steal the gift my wife gave me? Have you no shame?”
Instead of defending me, my girlfriend Victoria said I didn’t deserve my position and publicly announced that her assistant Evan would take over the big project I had just secured.
That’s when I realized Victoria wasn’t planning to go public with our relationship – she was going public with him.
The whole office was filming the drama on their phones, enjoying the spectacle.
But I didn’t get angry. Instead, I smiled and handed my employee badge to Evan.
“So you’re the CEO’s better half. Here, take the director position as my apology. Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness.”
Seeing my unexpected reaction, a colleague pulled me aside and whispered:
“Don’t do anything rash. You can always land another project.”
But what he didn’t know was that I wasn’t being impulsive at all.
Yesterday, as I passed by the office, I overheard Victoria’s assistant Evan pestering her:
“Victoria, I want to make something of myself. Give me this new project you just landed. I promise I’ll do a great job and impress you.”
At the time, I didn’t think much of it.
Victoria and I had been secret lovers for seven years. I had turned down offers from big companies to help her start this business.
I had secured 90% of the company’s projects. Victoria knew better than anyone how hard the journey had been. She was also a woman of principle who would never mess with important matters like projects.
Moreover, she had once had a project stolen by an opportunist and hated that type of person the most.
So when I saw the ring Victoria sent today, I thought she had finally realized I was the best choice and wanted to marry me.
I never expected Evan to turn the tables on me, smearing my reputation by calling me a thief and humiliating me.
I was even more shocked that Victoria would abandon her principles for Evan, who had only been with the company for a few short months.
If that’s how it was going to be, I had no reason to stay at this crappy company.
Victoria still didn’t realize I had seen through their childish scheme. She thought I was just jealous.
She suddenly frowned at me:
“What’s with the sarcasm?”
Ever since Evan showed up, she always looked at me with prejudice.
This time I didn’t waste my breath arguing. I just calmly said:
“You’re overthinking it. I really am giving it to him.”
I was giving him both my girlfriend and my job.
I was about to leave when Victoria grabbed my arm and dragged me to her office, her face cold.
The company wasn’t big, and the office had poor soundproofing.
As soon as she closed the office door, the employees outside who had been watching the drama eagerly started sucking up to Evan, asking when he was getting married and having kids.
Evan responded shyly:
“Having children is hard on women. I can’t make that decision for her.”
He was already acting like Victoria’s official boyfriend. And because of Victoria’s silence on the matter, the employees believed it wholeheartedly.
Hearing this, Victoria’s hand froze as she was pouring water. Realizing she owed me an explanation, she softened her usually stern tone:
“Evan’s just a kid who doesn’t know any better. He was just joking around, don’t take it to heart.”
“He has relatives at the client company. This project was landed thanks to him.”
I gave her a speechless look.
How ridiculous!
The client, Thunder Tech, had a professional in-house tech team and didn’t need to outsource. They had rejected collaboration from the start.
I was the one who refused to give up, begging and gifting until I finally got a meeting with the person in charge.
He generously gave me 30 seconds, and I seized the opportunity to pitch our product.
Seeing my capabilities, he tried to poach me with a high salary. When that failed, he agreed to collaborate.
I had been pulling all-nighters and running around for this project, but she didn’t see any of that. Yet she believed Evan’s casual claim without question.
If she had given it even a moment’s thought, she would have realized that if Evan really had those connections, he wouldn’t be working as an assistant at our small, struggling company.
Or perhaps she understood everything and was just playing dumb.
Seeing that I remained silent, Victoria lowered her eyes for a moment, then took the initiative to make me a cup of coffee. She leaned close to my ear and whispered:
“I’m just pretending with him. You’re the only one I’ll marry.”
In the past, whenever we argued, I would forgive her without principle as soon as she softened her voice and made promises.
So this time, she thought it would work the same way. She waved her hand dismissively:
“Go back to work. I’ll handle the project situation.”
But what she didn’t know was that I no longer wanted her.
I pushed back my chair and stood up:
“No need to go to all that trouble. I’ll just leave.”
With that, I pulled out a resignation form, filled it out without hesitation, and walked out of the office.
Seeing that I was about to leave, Evan hurried to block my way, putting on an act of being wronged:
“Felix, I know you’re an expert in the industry. You’re right, I’m not qualified for the technical director position. Here, take it back.”
He grabbed the employee badge and tried to shove it at me.
I simply pushed him lightly, but he took the opportunity to fall dramatically, knocking over a chair and pulling down a computer in the process, alarming the surrounding colleagues.
Evan got up and waved off the concerned inquiries from coworkers, saying it was no big deal.
Victoria, startled by the commotion, came running in her 4-inch heels.
After making sure Evan was unharmed, she glared at me with furrowed brows:
“Felix, don’t think you can do whatever you want just because you’re a long-time employee.”
Hearing this, the surrounding colleagues jumped in to lecture me:
“Yeah, Felix. The old giving way to the new is for the company’s development. Don’t bully the newcomer just because you have seniority.”
The harshest words came from Jack, the protg I had personally mentored:
“So what if you landed a few projects? You’re acting like you own the place.”
“Got addicted to playing favorites, huh? Can’t even respect a genius like Evan?”
We had worked together for years, and I was the top salesperson. In the past, everyone respectfully called me “Felix” when they saw me.
Now they were all gloating, staring at me with schadenfreude, eager for me to get lost.
Whatever. Let them say what they want. I was done here.
I left the company without another word.
Victoria chased after me. Seeing no one else around, she rubbed her forehead and said:
“You’re just overworked lately. I’ll approve some time off for you to rest.”
“Today is our 7th anniversary. Wait for me at home, I have a surprise for you.”
As she finished speaking, the elevator arrived. I stepped in without saying a word.
Back home, I cooked myself dinner without waiting for her. She still hadn’t returned by nightfall.
I put on my shoes and tidied up a bit before heading out to meet with the client representative, but I ran into a coworker on the way.
This guy was slow on the uptake, so he hadn’t distanced himself from me like the others. He still greeted me enthusiastically.
“Felix! Are you going to the promotion party Victoria’s throwing for Director Evan? Let’s go together and split the cab fare!”
He happily said he finally didn’t have to take the subway, but I shook my head: “That’s not where I’m going.”
He gave me an awkward look:
“Victoria didn’t invite you?”
I nodded indifferently and walked away.
I faintly heard him muttering “Victoria sure plays favorites,” but I didn’t look back.
She never played favorites. She just favored Evan.
For Evan’s sake, she could do anything. Breaking promises to me wasn’t unusual.
Previously, when I was hospitalized with pneumonia, she said she’d come see me after a meeting. I waited until dawn before she finally showed up, claiming she was working overtime when in reality she was watching a movie with Evan.
A while back, we had an appointment to take couple photos. I waited in a suit until the store closed. She arrived unhurriedly, saying work had held her up, but she had actually taken Evan shopping for some well-fitting clothes.
There were countless similar incidents. Every time I questioned her, she would coldly scold me with a “work comes first” attitude. This dynamic was exhausting.
At the caf, the client representative looked at the progress report I submitted and exclaimed in admiration:
“Felix, are you sure you don’t want to switch companies? We can offer ten times your current salary.”
This time, I didn’t refuse. The client representative was delighted and said we could negotiate any requests I had.
After discussing the benefits package with him, I returned home to find Victoria sitting on the couch waiting for me, with takeout boxes packed.
She had stood me up again. In the past, she would offer a litany of explanations, but this time she said nothing. After a moment of silence, she pushed the food containers towards me:
“You must be tired today too. No need to cook, just heat this up and eat.”
I glanced down.
Various dishes were piled together unattractively in the plastic containers. There were stir-fried and boiled dishes, and even a piece of steamed cake soaking in the soup.
It was clearly leftovers, carelessly packed up.
She didn’t even bother to pack things separately, just mixed everything in one big container. It looked unappetizing just looking at it.
I waved my hand: “No need, I’ve already eaten.”
Victoria gave me a long look, and the usually cold woman took the initiative to wrap her arms around my waist:
“I’m sorry. He just got promoted, so as the boss, I had to show some support.”
“I know you were wronged today. Let’s get our marriage license this weekend.”
Hah! Easy for her to say.
But when I was promoted to director, I happily took the initiative to throw myself a promotion party.
I waited expectantly in the private room. The waiter reheated the food five times. I waited until the restaurant closed, but not a single colleague dared to show up.
I sent message after message, but they all sank like stones.
A kind-hearted colleague secretly asked if I had offended the CEO.
I was baffled at the time. It wasn’t until later that I found out.
When I wasn’t in the office, she had coldly scolded each colleague who said they were going to attend the party:
“Is your workload too light? Bored out of your minds?”
“All you think about is eating, drinking, and having fun. Is this what the company is paying you useless people for? You might as well quit now!”
Thinking of this, I pried her restless hands from my waist and said coldly:
“There’s no need for that, Victoria. Let’s break up.”
The atmosphere in the room instantly froze.
Victoria took a deep breath, unable to hold back her emotions any longer:
“I’ve made all these sacrifices for the company’s development. Other men would be grateful, why can’t you see that?”
I ignored her twisted logic.
She continued muttering about the importance of the company’s development as usual, saying that when the company went public in the future, she would give me a place.
I had heard this so many times my ears were growing calluses. I raised my hand to interrupt her:
“No need. I’ll pack my things and move out now.”
It was the first time Victoria’s words had been interrupted since she became the imposing boss.
Her face flushed red with anger. She glared at me for a long while before coldly snorting:
“No need. I’ll leave!”
She slammed the door as she left.
I didn’t chase after her, silently packing my things instead.
The client company had arranged a free luxury single room in their staff dormitory for me, which I could move into anytime.
I had just finished packing when I called a moving company.
As they were nearly done moving things, I happened to run into Evan sending Victoria home.
They were holding hands, chatting and laughing together.
Victoria had also shed her cold CEO demeanor, lowering her head with a sweet smile as she stood beside Evan, the picture of a demure and virtuous woman.
Evan noticed me first and deliberately held her hand tighter.
Victoria sensed something was off and followed his gaze to see me. She hurriedly let go of his hand.
She walked up to me, habitually about to explain, but when she saw me loading boxes into a van, she was stunned for a moment before changing tack to ask:
“Where are you going so late at night?”
Are you blind?
Can’t you see the big “Moving Company” sign?
I was about to continue loading boxes.
But Victoria blocked my way, suddenly shoving the clothes she was carrying into my arms.
Seeing I didn’t react, she took out the clothes and held them up against me:
“I know you’ve been too busy to buy clothes lately, so I picked these up for you when I passed by the mall.”
Bought for me?
My build requires XL sizes, but this brand-name shirt was a size M.
The receipt that fell out of the bag showed it was paid for with Victoria’s credit card, and the price was over 0-0000.
This wasn’t something she casually bought for me. She must have taken Evan to the store to try on clothes.
She sure was generous.
Just two days ago, I bought a $20 shirt and asked her if it looked good.
She coldly scolded me for wasting money, lecturing me for over an hour about how hard it was to earn money, saying that dressing well wasn’t as important as having real skills.
What now?
Has earning money suddenly become easy?
I put my hands in my pockets and coldly looked at them:
“No need. As they say, ‘clothes make the man, saddles make the horse, and bells make the dog run faster.’ These expensive clothes are better left for Director Evan.”
Evan froze for a moment as he took the clothes, then reacted and angrily threw them down:
“How dare you insult me?”
He glared at me with reddened eyes, rushing forward to attack.
I stood my ground and slapped him, sending him tumbling to the ground:
“Not just insult you. I dare to hit you too.”
Evan’s thin limbs were like sticks. The only reason he had managed to hit me earlier was because I was caught off guard.
Now, I had returned that slap.
Victoria cried out, hugging Evan protectively:
“Felix! We can talk this out. Why did you have to hit him?”
“If you want to leave, then leave! Don’t come back!”
She didn’t need to tell me. I had no intention of coming back.
I turned and got into the moving van, speeding off towards my new life.
After resigning, I went straight to work for the client company, Thunder Tech, where I was entrusted with important responsibilities.
When I returned to Victoria’s company as a client representative, I was welcomed in by the receptionist.
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