**Prelude**

I had just closed a huge deal for the company when my phone buzzed. It was a call from my girlfriend. Excited, I posted the good news on Instagram, thinking she was finally ready to make things official.

But then, out of nowhere, her new assistant, Rowan, slapped me across the face and flipped my desk over.

"Are you serious?" he yelled. "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, Gwendolyn, my girlfriend, just shrugged and said I didn't deserve my position. Then she announced that Rowan would be taking over the project I'd just landed.

That's when it finally clicked: Gwendolyn wasn't planning to go public with us, she was going public with him.

The whole office was filming, some people even snickering at the drama.

I could've lost it, but instead, I just smiled and handed my employee badge to Rowan.

"So, you're the CEO's 'better half,' huh?" I said, my voice calm. "Here, take the director spot. Consider it my apology. Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness."

**Prelude ends**

A colleague pulled me aside, voice low, "Don't do anything stupid. You can always land another project."

But what he didn't know? I wasn't being stupid, I was done.

Just yesterday, I overheard Gwendolyn's new assistant, Rowan, practically begging her in the hall.

"Gwendolyn, I want to make something of myself. Give me the project you just landed. I'll impress you, I swear."

At the time, I didn't think much of it.

Gwendolyn and I had been secret lovers for seven years. I'd sacrificed my career, turned down offers from big companies, and helped her build this business from the ground up.

I'd secured 90% of the company's projects. Gwendolyn knew better than anyone how hard I'd worked. She was a woman of principle, she would never screw with something as important as a project.

Hell, she once lost a project to an opportunist and hated that kind of person.

So when I saw the ring Gwendolyn sent me today, I thought she'd finally figured out I was the one, and she was ready to make it official.

I never saw Rowan's betrayal coming, accusing me of stealing the project, publicly humiliating me like that.

And what shocked me even more was Gwendolyn's complete lack of loyalty. She abandoned everything she stood for, for him, a guy who'd been with the company all of five minutes.

If that's how she was going to play it, then I had zero reasons to stay at this dead-end company.

Gwendolyn still didn't realize I saw through their little act. She thought I was just jealous.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "What's with the sarcasm?"

Since Rowan showed up, she'd started looking at me like I was the problem.

But I wasn't about to argue. I just said, "You're overthinking it. I really am giving it to him."

I was giving him both my girlfriend and my job.

I stood up to leave, but Gwendolyn grabbed my arm and yanked me into her office, her face as cold as ice.

The office was small, and the walls were paper thin.

As soon as she shut the door, the employees outside, who'd been watching the whole thing like it was a soap opera, immediately started fawning over Rowan, asking when he and Gwendolyn were going to get married, have kids, the whole nine yards.

Rowan, acting the part like a pro, shyly said, "Having kids is tough on women. I can't decide that for her."

It was obvious, he was already acting like Gwendolyn's official boyfriend. And since Gwendolyn stayed quiet, everyone bought it.

I watched as Gwendolyn froze, realizing she owed me an explanation. Her usual tough exterior softened just a little.

"Rowan's just a kid. He was joking, don't take it seriously," she said, trying to smooth things over.

Then she added, "He has relatives at Thunder Tech. That's how we landed the project."

I stared at her, speechless.

This was beyond ridiculous.

Thunder Tech had a world-class in-house tech team, they didn't need to outsource. They'd turned us down flat.

It was me who didn't give up. I kept pushing until I finally got a meeting with the decision-maker. He gave me thirty seconds, and I nailed it. He tried to offer me a huge salary to poach me, but when that didn't work, he agreed to collaborate.

I'd worked my ass off for this project, sacrificing sleep, running all over town, and she didn't see any of it. But she believed Rowan's half-assed story without batting an eye.

If she'd just thought for a second, she'd realize that if Rowan really had those connections, he wouldn't be working as an assistant at a tiny, struggling company.

Or maybe she understood everything and was just pretending to be clueless.

When I didn't say anything, Gwendolyn dropped her gaze, then softening her voice, she made me a cup of coffee.

She leaned in, close enough that I could feel her breath on my ear. "I'm just pretending with him. You're the only one I'll marry."

In the past, whenever we fought, I'd cave the moment she softened her tone, promising me anything.

But this time? It wasn't working.

I pushed back from the desk, stood up, and said, "You don't need to bother. I'm out."

Without missing a beat, I grabbed the resignation form, filled it out, and walked out the door.