The next morning, I couldn't believe it—Meredith was actually busy in the kitchen making breakfast.

I looked at the steaming clam chowder and some veggies on the dining table. I almost reached out for some, but my hand stopped halfway to the bowl.

I remember the doctor's advice; I gotta watch what I eat, and seafood's a trigger food, so it's off-limits right now.

But I couldn't just sit there and reject Meredith's efforts after she's been busting her ass in the kitchen, right? So I picked up a spoon, figuring I'd just take a little taste.

But before I could serve myself a small bowl, she came rushing over from the kitchen, snatching the spoon right out of my hand. And then she gestured to that bag sitting by the door.

"You love she-crab soup, right? I ordered takeout just for you."

Ah—the clam chowder wasn't meant for me at all but for her new damn hire.

Without saying a word, I started unwrapping the takeout, trying damn hard to ignore the big fat [9.99$] on the receipt. But then I saw the cilantro garnish on the soup, and I couldn't just ignore that, too.

"Honey, we've been together for 10 freakin' years, and you still don't know I hate cilantro?"

Meredith froze for a second, then scoffed, "Well then, don't eat it if you don't want it." She turned away and went back to packing up the clam chowder into a container.

She grabbed her keys, ready to bolt. She was about to head out when I stopped her, shoving this opened blue box into her hand.

"I don't use other men's condoms, Meredith. Tell Devon to take care of his own damn stuff," I said, straight up.

Her face turned this bright, guilty red. She just stared down at the box, swallowing hard, looking completely caught out.

"Honey, don't get the wrong idea. Boys these days just like to mess around, you know?"

God, I didn't even care about her excuses anymore.

She must've noticed the look on my face because suddenly, she was trying to change the subject.

"Oh, by the way, I talked to the doctor. Your injury's not that serious. Just take two days to rest here, okay? Don't worry, I already took care of your leave."

She was practically running out the door as she said that, and her eyes kept darting to the container like she was scared even a drop of that damn chowder might spill.

I glanced at the clock on the wall—she was heading out a whole hour earlier than usual.

Didn't take a genius to figure out—Devon probably got wasted last night, and my girlfriend's in a rush to drive him to work.

Even if it meant crossing half the city, she didn't seem to mind one bit.

I just let out a bitter laugh, grabbed my phone, and limped my way to take a cab to the company.

I'd be leaving soon anyway, and there was still some work to wrap up. Besides my resignation letter, there's this programming system I'd been working on for ages that is sitting on my company computer.

That system was a goldmine, probably worth the next decade of profits for her company. Consider it my farewell gift to wrap up these 10 years with some dignity.

When I got to the office, the whole area was buzzing with gossip, and nobody even tried to lower their voices when I walked in.

"Looks like someone new is about to fill that spot for President Webber's boyfriend! I mean, come on—who wouldn't pick the young and talented guy over the old one?"

"You didn't see it, did you? Well, I was in the parking lot earlier—Devon was sitting in President Webber's passenger seat, and she was feeding him soup! When he got some bit on his lip, she wiped it off, and guess what? She even licked her fingers after! You should've seen the way they were looking at each other!"

"Oh my god, they're basically acting like a couple!"

My chest tightened, and the pen I was holding slipped out of my hand, falling to the floor. When I picked it up, the ink was broken.

That was a graduation gift from Meredith. I'd used it for 10 long years and cherished it like it was a treasure.

I paused for a moment, but screw it; it belonged in the trash.

She was always so obsessed with keeping our personal and professional life separate. Never once showed me any affection in public.

Even when we'd work late, if I tried to hold her hand on the way out, she'd always brush me off with a cold look. Wouldn't even let me sit in her car, either.

But with Devon? It sounded like she didn't care if our colleagues saw them together.

I guess that's the difference between someone you love and someone you just… tolerate.

I took a deep breath, turned on my computer, and typed out my resignation letter. I finished up the last bit of that system and pushed it through.

And before I even realized it, it was noon already, and there they were—Meredith and Devon, walking out of the CEO's office together. They were both laughing and chatting.

Meredith spotted me, and for a second, she looked a little surprised. Then, she walked over my way.

Meredith handed me a cup of coffee like she was giving me a grand offering, even softening her voice a bit.

"Randall, why didn't you stay home to rest? But then, since you're here, try this coffee. Devon made it, and it's just as good as what you'd get from a professional barista..."

Devon's face went bright red, and he hurried to say, "Oh, I heard you're the real coffee expert here, Randall. I'm just playing around—well, only because President Webber's nice enough to drink it…"

Meredith looked at him with this ridiculously proud smile.

I stared at the cup in my hand, kinda spaced out.

Back in college, I was obsessed with coffee. I crammed my dorm with all kinds of coffee equipment. Whenever I got my hands on some new beans, I'd get all excited to brew a cup for Meredith.

But she was always a milkshake person and never had anything good to say about coffee.

She'd push it far away with this exaggerated grimace and complain, "Who on earth even likes drinking this bitter crap? It's hella gross! Keep it away from me!"

Sometimes, she'd even pour it straight down the sink right in front of me.

After a while, I pretty much stopped drinking coffee altogether.

Meredith must've noticed I was just standing there quietly. She wrinkled her nose, saying, "Hey, why aren't you trying it?"

I set the cup down on the table, and with a shrug, I casually replied, "Well, I'm getting older. Coffee keeps me up at night."

Suddenly, she scoffed and snatched the cup. "Oh, come on, Randall! You're acting like this because the delivery guy forgot to leave out the cilantro this morning? Are you seriously this upset over something so small?"

"Well then, if you've got a problem, take it out on me. Not on this coffee! Devon put effort into this, you know. He's being nice here!"

"Goodness, you're being ridiculous again!"

Right then, she downed the whole thing in one go, not leaving a single drop.

It's kind of funny, really. She couldn't care less about the coffee I used to make, but when Devon made it, she acted like it was precious.

She stormed out, slamming the door, and her guy quickly followed her, leaving me standing there like an idiot.

In the 10 years we'd been together, I'd lost count of how many times she'd walked out on me.

Every single fight, she's got this habit of storming off, expecting me to chase after her, apologize, and make things right.

But this time, the hell with that!

Before clocking out, I grabbed my printed resignation letter, ready to head to the HR's office.

Just as I was about to go, I saw Meredith glowing with excitement. She was linking arms with Devon and announcing his promotion to vice president.

Everyone flocked to them, congratulating them, all smiles and applause.

Meredith's decision caught me off guard. I mean, Devon hadn't been with the company that long. He'd had a few wins here and there, sure, but nowhere near enough for a VP spot.

"Oh, look at them. Aren't Vice President Hunt and President Webber a perfect match? They're both young and tech genius. Ah, what a dream!"

"And hey, the guy's got mad skills! Didn't he develop a brand-new resource system for the company practically overnight? I heard it'll boost profits tenfold! He definitely earned this promotion."

A new system?

Tenfold profits?

The more I listened, the more something felt off, so I went straight to the company website to check out this so-called system Devon developed.

Right then, my heart dropped.

It was definitely mine! Line by line, my code. That bastard didn't even bother to change a single character!

Years of my hard work, and he just stole it?!

I immediately grabbed the original files and marched straight to the CEO's office.

Before I could get in, I overheard Devon and Meredith talking. The words that came out of my girlfriend's and her other man's mouths instantly made my blood run cold.

"Honestly, Meredith, I really didn't expect Randall to be so good at this stuff. Even if you gave me a decade, I couldn't have come up with that system. Are you sure it's okay to just hand it over to me? Aren't you afraid he'll get pissed?"

"Meredith, believe me, just seeing you every day is enough. Being VP doesn't really matter…"

The bastard rested his head on my fucking girlfriend's shoulder. I knew he was just cautiously testing the waters.

Meanwhile, Meredith just let out a dismissive snort.

"Don't worry about it. I know Randall. Titles don't mean anything to him. As long as it benefits the company, he won't care whose name is on the system."

"Besides, I don't think he's as brilliant as you're making him out to be. For all I know, he might've copied the code from somewhere else. In fact, if you hadn't given it the thumbs-up, I wouldn't have even looked at it. See? In the end, the credit's still yours."

They both laughed, their eyes locked, and I watched as their faces edged closer together.

I thought I was ready for this. Really, I did. But when I saw them, I just lost it. I was shaking all over with rage.

I slammed the door open, startling Meredith.

She jumped up, scrambling to fix her clothes.

Just as she was about to yell at whoever interrupted, she saw it was me. For once, she actually tried to explain.

"R-Randall, please, i-it's not what you think! Devon had something in his eye, some dust or whatever. I was just trying to help blow it out…"

Oh, come on. Dust? On the 22nd floor of a high-rise company? She must really think I'm a complete idiot.

"I just texted you. I invited you to his celebration party. You didn't even reply…"

"Oh, and I even booked your favorite restaurant for it!"

"Look, I know I've been swamped with work lately. I've been distant, but I swear, that's never gonna happen again."

She was fidgeting with the edge of her shirt, her voice all wobbly. But I've had enough; I threw the original source files and my resignation letter at her.

"Sign that resignation letter, or I'm going to the cops, report that son of a bitch, and file a case for copyright infringement!"

I didn't sugarcoat anything. Her face went pale as she stammered, "Randall, it's not Devon's fault... It's… it's all on me…"

I didn't want to hear another word. I just ended it with two words. "We're done." As soon as I said that, I turned around and left that disgusting office.

I wrote that whole damn system for her, but now it felt like I'd just handed it to a freaking stray dog!

Meredith tried to chase after me, but she stopped in her tracks as soon as she got to the door.

I heard Devon's weak, pathetic voice behind me. "Meredith, my chest suddenly hurts so bad… Can you stay with me? Please?"