Chapter 1

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 Gwendolyn said I didn't deserve my position and publicly announced that her assistant Rowan would take over the big project I had just secured.

That's when I realized Gwendolyn 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 Rowan.

"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 Gwendolyn's assistant Rowan pestering her:

"Gwendolyn, 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.

Gwendolyn 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. Gwendolyn 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 Gwendolyn sent today, I thought she had finally realized I was the best choice and wanted to marry me.

I never expected Rowan to turn the tables on me, smearing my reputation by calling me a thief and humiliating me.

I was even more shocked that Gwendolyn would abandon her principles for Rowan, 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.

Gwendolyn 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 Rowan 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 Gwendolyn 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 Rowan, asking when he was getting married and having kids.

Rowan responded shyly:

"Having children is hard on women. I can't make that decision for her."

He was already acting like Gwendolyn's official boyfriend. And because of Gwendolyn's silence on the matter, the employees believed it wholeheartedly.

Hearing this, Gwendolyn's hand froze as she was pouring water. Realizing she owed me an explanation, she softened her usually stern tone:

"Rowan'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 Rowan's casual claim without question.

If she had given it even a moment's thought, she would have realized that if Rowan 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, Gwendolyn 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.