Unfortunately, Mila Palmer turned out to be just as incompetent as my husband, bungling a contract at the last possible moment and driving the partner to cancel the deal on the spot.
And yet, he still had the gall to dump all the blame squarely on me.
I tore the pay slip clean in half.
"I’m not the project manager—why should I be the one footing the bill for this mess?"
But instead of backing down, Daniel’s fury only flared hotter than mine.
"Then get out of this company!"
His roar cracked through the office, loud enough for nearly every head to turn and stare.
My ears rang. My thoughts went utterly blank. And then—everything went black.
When I came to, I was not in a hospital bed. I was sprawled on the pavement outside the company building.
Cars sped past in a blur. One driver slammed on the brakes, barely avoiding me, then leaned out the window, spitting rage.
"You idiot! If you want to die, go somewhere else! Don’t try to pull some pathetic scam here!"
I could barely hear him, but instinct made my lips form an apology. That was when a man stepped out of the Bentley parked just a few feet away.
It was my childhood friend and my senior, Eiden Rhodes. He drove off the rude driver, his brows drawn tight as he asked me.
"Lana, did you turn me down, only to choose a jerk like Daniel and end up living like this?"
I must have looked utterly lost, because his frown only deepened.
Without another word, he swept me up, carried me to his car, buckled the seatbelt and drove straight to the hospital.
The diagnosis came quickly—a middle-ear infection, triggered by too many late nights and too much stress.
Thankfully, the hearing loss was only temporary. A course of antibiotics would take care of it.
Eiden stayed by my side during the IV drip, as if debating whether to speak, when my phone suddenly rang.
Daniel’s voice snapped through the line, sharp and impatient.
"Have you had enough of this act, Lana? If you’re done, get back to the office—now! Miss work again and I’ll fire you for real!"
The words were just muffled noise to me, so I turned to Eiden for help.
"What did he just say?"
He did not answer right away. Instead, he ended the call, quickly tapped on his phone and then showed me the screen.
[Quit your job. I’ll take care of you.]
My heart lurched painfully. I lowered my gaze, pretending to scroll through my phone, but my eyes landed on the company group chat.
Daniel was tagging me over and over again.
[Lana, how dare you hang up on me?]
[I’m giving you one last chance. Get back here and finish that proposal in ten minutes, or you’re fired!]
I snapped a photo of myself with the IV still in my arm and sent it to him privately. Almost immediately, a 60-second voice message popped up.
Since I could not hear what he said, I converted it to text.
As I read it, the words on the screen made my blood run cold.
At that moment, Eiden noticed the way my face drained of color. Without asking, he took the phone from my hands.
I tried to stop him, but my finger slipped and the voice message started to play aloud. An overly sweet female voice filled the ward.
"Lana, stop pretending already. Daniel told me you faked fainting just to avoid paying the fine. If you could survive being dumped on the street, then clearly he was right."
"You’d better hurry back to the office, or next month you’ll rack up another few hundred thousand in debt. How many years will it take you to pay that off?"
I did not even need perfect hearing to recognize that voice. It was Mila Palmer.
I had lived with a severe ear infection for years. Anger and sleepless nights always risked making me faint and robbing me of my hearing.
Daniel had known this from the very beginning.
Once upon a time, he had knelt in front of me with 999 roses, his eyes full of sincerity, making a promise.
"Lana, if you’re with me, I’ll never make you angry or wear you out. I'll make sure your ear infection will never trouble you again."
In the company’s early days, when we were desperate to land our very first major contract, I worked through the night without a single moment’s rest, pouring every drop of strength into the proposal until my body finally gave out and I was rushed to the hospital.
When Daniel arrived and saw me, his face went sheet-white with fury and he nearly ripped the proposal to shreds.
He swore then and there that he would rather see the company fail than watch me destroy my health for it.
But less than ten years later, that solemn vow meant nothing—because he had left me unconscious on the side of the road like I was disposable.
If Eiden had not happened to pass by, I might not even be alive to tell this story.
I was just about to speak when my phone lit up with a new email notification.
A dismissal notice—from Daniel himself.
A laugh slipped from my lips.
Meeting Eiden’s steady, concerned gaze, I said clearly, "Find me the best divorce lawyer you know. I’m ending this with Daniel."
The divorce agreement came together quickly.
That evening, I returned home with the agreement in hand.
But the password lock I could open in my sleep suddenly refused to yield, no matter how many times I tried.
Both the fingerprint and password systems rejected me and when I finally resorted to the physical key, a shrill alarm shrieked through the hallway.
Security guards came charging over. Before I could get a single sentence out, they shoved me to the ground, pinning me there.
I kept repeating that I was the owner, but the neighborhood had recently been hit by a robbery. The security team was new and none of them knew me.
Left with no choice, I called Daniel.
Once. Twice. No answer.
Instead, my phone lit up with a private video from Mila.
In it, she lounged in a barely-there swimsuit, strolling past a steaming private hot spring—until a large hand caught her ankle and yanked her playfully into the water.
I recognized the man instantly. My husband, Daniel.
I knew it because of the antique wedding ring I had scoured Europe to find—now snug around Mila’s toe.
"Lana, Daniel says this ring really suits my manicure today."
My cheeks felt as if they had been slapped, the sting spreading all the way to my ears, which, freshly healed, began to buzz with pain.
The security guard’s lips moved, but his voice was muffled, distant.
I reached for my phone, intending to hand it over so he could type his words—but instead, he shoved me down again, hard.
Eiden appeared out of nowhere and, with one clean, controlled punch, knocked the guard back.
Thanks to that, we both ended up at the police station.
There, I finally learned why my password lock no longer worked.
Daniel had brought another woman home, trashed the place and could not be bothered to clean up. Changing the lock was simply easier.
I did not waste a single second as I canceled every single one of his supplementary cards.
Seconds later, Daniel, who had been missing for an entire night, called me immediately.
A short, cold laugh escaped my lips before I hung up.
Then I blocked him. Without hesitation.
Eiden read my expression and asked quietly, "Want to go somewhere and talk?"
I shook my head. Too much had happened and my only wish now was for silence.
In the end, Eiden booked me a room at a hot spring hotel.
The moment I stepped into the lobby, I spotted a man and a woman arguing with the front desk manager.
"We’re not trying to skip the bill. Our card just declined all of a sudden!"
"Exactly! Our boss runs a huge company. You think we can’t cover a few bucks?"
Daniel. And Mila.
I turned to leave, but Daniel’s gaze locked onto me instantly.
He jabbed a finger toward me.
"That’s my wife over there! She can pay for this!"
He strode toward me, hand outstretched to take my money.
Finally, Eiden’s patience snapped. He stepped between us, blocking Daniel’s path.
"Daniel, are you even human? You party with other women and now you expect your wife to cover the bill?"
"And who the hell are you?"
Daniel’s voice was already laced with displeasure.
But the moment his gaze fell on Eiden, that faint irritation flared into a full, unrestrained blaze.
"So that’s why you blocked my card, ignored my calls and never replied. You’ve been with him, huh?"
"Don’t kid yourself, Lana. Back then, Eiden noticed you only because you were the campus star."
"But those days are long gone. You’re past your prime, yet you still think the world revolves around you?"
"Now pay the bill, go home and finish the client proposals. I might overlook this little attitude of yours. If not—"
Before he could finish, I slapped my pre-prepared resignation letter and divorce agreement straight into his face.
"Save your breath. I’ve already submitted my resignation letter."
"Just sign and from this moment on, we’re nothing to each other."
Daniel froze for a beat, clearly not expecting that.
When he recovered, a scoff slid past his lips. "Don’t be ridiculous, Lana. We’ve built this company side by side for ten years to reach the success we have today."
"Now, with the company about to go public, you’re telling me you’d just walk away?"
The truth was, I never wanted this.
We never had children. For ten years, aside from tending to Daniel’s every whim, I had poured my time and my energy into this company.
I had nurtured it from a fragile little startup into the thriving giant it was now, just steps away from going public.
It was not just a business to me—it was a living, breathing reflection of my life’s work.
But no matter how desperately I wanted to hold on, with a relationship this rotten, I had no choice but to cut it loose.
After all, a company could always be rebuilt.
But a ruined life… there was no rebuilding that.
I had no interest in wasting breath, so I cut straight to the point.
"Your approval means nothing to me."
"But for every day you stall, I’ll sell another ten percent of the company’s shares."
"If you think you can handle that, I’m in no rush."
Before Daniel could fire back, Mila lowered her lashes, crafting the perfect picture of false grievance.
"Lana, I know you don’t like me… But the company is Daniel’s life’s work. Can’t you let it go?”
“If you want, I’ll resign instead…”
Her little performance was laughably obvious, yet Daniel swallowed it whole and stepped forward to shield her from me.
“Listen, this isn’t about Mila.”
“Lana, if you want me to sign off on your resignation, you’ll leave every single share of the company to me.”
I let a soft smile curve my lips and gave a single nod.
Then I raised five fingers.
“Seven million dollars.”
“Are you insane? I don’t have that kind of money!”
Daniel snapped instantly, but I simply lifted another finger.
“Eight million.”
“Why don’t you just rob a bank? The company doesn’t even have that much cash!”
Mila could not resist jumping in.
However, I did not even blink as I raised the price again.
“Ten million.”
“Fine! Deal!”
He all but ripped the pen across the share transfer contract, teeth clenched so tightly.
Mila rushed to fetch Daniel’s private seal and stamped my resignation papers without hesitation.
When her eyes landed on the divorce agreement tucked neatly among the documents, there was the slightest flicker of hesitation. Still, she pressed the seal down anyway, pretending nothing was wrong.
Her hands trembled from poorly contained excitement as she handed the two documents back to me.
Gone was the wronged expression. Her voice now dripped with malicious sweetness.
“Lana, the company’s about to go public. Walk away now and you won’t see a single cent.”
I replied with a smile etched on my lips.
“Perfect. Now you can be the CEO’s wife.”
Daniel cut in, his expression darkened.
"Don’t slander us! Mila and I are nothing like that. Not everyone is as filthy as you, Lana!"
"It’s just as well you resigned. Go home and cook—at your age, you have no place in the business world."
I said nothing, simply watching as he scrambled to gather the funds and transfer them to my account.
The moment the 10 million landed, I rose without a word and walked away.
Outside, a fine drizzle blurred the city lights. Eiden’s gaze softened, worry flickering in his eyes.
"Just say the word and I can make the Sanford Group collapse overnight."
A flicker of warmth stirred in my chest, but I met his eyes with calm certainty.
"Don’t worry. I never walk away a loser."
Turning on my heel, I pulled out my phone and, with swift fingers, added every single one of Daniel’s clients into a new group chat.
[Effective immediately, I have resigned from the Sanford Group. Any client who signs a long-term exclusive contract with me will receive a 40% discount.]
That very night, fueled by client deposits and the 10 million dollars in my account, I registered a brand-new company at lightning speed.
Drawing on years of hard-won experience, I secured several major projects within a matter of days.
One month later, at the company's stock market debut, Daniel arrived with Mila hanging on his arm.
They radiated confidence, dressed to perfection. Mila sparkled in head-to-toe designer labels.
The moment she spotted me in my simple clothes, a mocking smile curved her lips.
"What’s this? Heard our company is going public, so you came to beg Daniel for your job back?"
"Too bad you were so shortsighted. Don’t even dream of milking another cent from my Daniel."
I met her smugness with nothing more than a faint smile.
Then the host’s voice boomed from the stage.
"I am pleased to announce that Harmonic Group has been officially approved for listing on the stock exchange!"
