I was suddenly laid off.

The company dismissed me.

At that time, I had just finished signing a contract worth 30 million dollars, but I was the one being laid off.

However, the company's general manager, Jeremy Lawson, who was also my boyfriend, said in front of the entire company that I lacked the ability and only relied on old clients to reap the benefits without putting in any effort.

But little did he know this company was just a small branch of my family's business.

And that woman he was sucking up to, claiming to be the heiress of the Spencer Group, was nothing more than a fake.

***

"I regret to inform you that, due to the company's personnel structure adjustment, we will be terminating your employment with us."

I received a sudden notification from the HR department, and I was completely bewildered.

In our sales department, my abilities were clearly evident. It could be said that I brought in more than half of the company's contracts.

But even so, I ended up being the one laid off.

I came to this company three years ago, starting from a junior position. In order to secure contracts, I worked countless late nights, going above and beyond by accompanying clients to various events and shouldering their concerns. I made an effort to understand their needs deeply, and beyond the regular tasks, I would go the extra mile for anything they needed.

Every assignment given by clients was completed, with prompt updates provided.

Thanks to my strong client relationships, I directly contributed to doubling the size of the company. And yet, they still decided to dismiss me.

I called the company's general manager, Jeremy Lawson, who was also my boyfriend, wanting to find out what was going on. However, he didn't answer my phone call and ignored my messages on WhatsApp.

I had been with the company for three years, and I had been in a relationship with Jeremy for two and a half years.

We were in the same department, but Jeremy was a smooth talker and good at socializing. In addition to wining and dining clients, he enjoyed activities such as golfing, afternoon tea, and singing with them.

I, on the other hand, preferred immersing myself entirely in my work, using my skills to retain clients. Initially, we were not on the same path.

Once, during a company outing, we went to a farmhouse where a mudslide unexpectedly occurred. Despite the danger, Jeremy chose to turn back and save me.

Since that incident, our relationship gradually became more ambiguous, and eventually, we ended up together officially.

In the subsequent promotions, we became competitors. He told me that he wanted to strive for a promotion to save enough money to marry me, promising to treat me well for a lifetime.

For the sake of our future, I withdrew from the competition.

He successfully got promoted and continued to rise through the ranks, eventually reaching the position of general manager.

During the period of economic downturn, many companies had been affected, including ours, and we needed to reduce some costs.

I wasn't surprised that there would be layoffs in our company. There were indeed some employees who simply collected paychecks without putting in the effort. However, I never even dreamt that I would be the first one to be laid off.

When I returned to the company, someone else was already sitting at my desk, and my personal belongings were packed into a shabby cardboard box and thrown into a corner.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to go to Jeremy's office to find him.

At that moment, another colleague from my department, Lola Spencer, who had always been at odds with me, approached.

In an unusual turn of events, she greeted me with a smile and said, "Good afternoon, Ms. Spencer."

I looked at her suspiciously, wondering what she was up to.

"Oh? Why are you packing your things?" She walked over to me with an astonished expression on her face.

Several people in the office started looking in our direction.

Suddenly, Lola seemed to think of something and exclaimed loudly, "Ms. Spencer, you weren't laid off, were you?"

Her words caused the whole office to pause their work and look at me.

I knew she had some ulterior motive behind all this.

"Does it have anything to do with you whether I get laid off or not?"

Lola gloated and said, "There has been a recent restructuring in the company, and to my surprise, the first one to be laid off is our esteemed Yvonne Spencer. You consistently achieve the highest performance, so why would they choose to lay you off?

Could it be that the company discovered some issues with your performance?"

"Everyone can see my performance clearly, but as for how you got your performance, I think you know deep down," I retorted. I had personally witnessed her leaving a hotel hand-in-hand with a client.

Just then, Jeremy approached, and I was intending to find him.

However, to my astonishment, his first words were not in my favor.

"Yvonne Spencer, you were fired you because the company felt that you were still lacking in acquiring new clients. With the current need to reduce costs and increase efficiency, do you have any objections to being laid off?"

Jeremy, who used to be gentle and considerate towards me, seemed to have changed into a completely different person. There was only impatience left in his eyes when he looked at me.

Due to the company's policy against office romances, our relationship was never public, and we always avoided being seen together by our colleagues. But I never expected that he would show such a lack of empathy.

"So, are you saying that I have been riding on the coattails of others and reaping the benefits?" I asked sarcastically.

"Well, Mr. Lawson didn't say it like that," Lola chimed in, coming to Jeremy's defense. She pouted her big red lips toward Jeremy, thinking she was very adorable.

At that moment, it all became clear to me.

Even though I was slow to realize it, I understood what had happened. It was truly sickening.

Recently, the previous supervisor of our sales department had left, and there was a need to promote a new one. If Lola had not been parachuted in as team leader, the position would undoubtedly have been mine.

However, ever since Lola came, the dynamics in the company changed. Everyone tried to please her because rumors were circulating that she was the heiress of the Spencer Group. I thought Jeremy would be an exception, but it turned out he was just like everyone else.

It seemed that he also wanted to be an ideal husband and rise quickly.

I smirked sarcastically.

"What are you laughing at?" Jeremy looked at me with a puzzled expression, furrowing his brows.

"Jeremy, since this is the game you're playing, and you want to get rid of me, then there's nothing more to say. But I advise you that being an ideal husband is not as easy as you think." With that, I signed the resignation compensation agreement and left with a bunch of miscellaneous items in my arms.

On the way home in a taxi, I quickly blocked and deleted all of Jeremy's contact information. Then, I called my best friend. "Jean, come out for a drink. I'm so fed up!"

I made plans to meet my best friend, Jean Lambert, at a bar. As soon as we saw each other, I unleashed a barrage of complaints.

"I've told you a long time ago that Jeremy wasn't all that great, but you didn't believe me. He's just average-looking. I wonder how you fell for him," Jean scolded, tapping my forehead in frustration.

I smiled bitterly. After all, I had been with Jeremy for more than two years, so even though I handled things decisively today, it still didn't feel good inside.

"But this Jeremy, from what you're saying, he's trying to please that so-called the Spencer Group heiress, Lola, to become her ideal husband. But you are the real heiress of the Spencer Group. If he knew that he abandoned the true heiress, he would regret it so much! Bahahaha!"

Some time ago, there were rumors that the Spencer Group heiress was in our company, and Lola just happened to come in. In addition to our shared surname, everyone naturally assumed that she was the true heiress.

After graduating, my dad wanted me to enter into an arranged marriage. In a fit of youthful rebellion, I had a big fight with him and ended up joining a subsidiary company all by myself. I vowed to achieve success on my own. Now that three years had passed in the blink of an eye.

If my dad knew that not only did I fail to achieve any remarkable success but also got laid off, I would be so embarrassed to go back home. He would definitely make fun of me.

When I returned to my rented apartment at night, I was dumbfounded.

My belongings were all in disarray as if a burglar had paid a visit.

I hurried to check my things, and besides the clothes, jewelry, and bags that Jeremy had given me, my bank card was also missing.

I immediately removed Jeremy from my blocked contacts list and immediately dialed his number.

Surprisingly, someone answered right away, but it was a woman's voice on the other end.

"Isn't this Yvonne? Why are you calling so late at night? Couldn't find a new job?" Lola's pretending voice sent a chill down my spine.

After leaving the company today, I sent Jeremy a breakup text message. And now, were they sleeping together?

"Lola, you're quick to take over, but I won't waste time with you. Let me talk to Jeremy!" I demanded.

Lola sneered and said, "Jeremy is taking a shower now. If you have something to say, you can tell me. Considering we worked together for some time, if you beg me nicely, maybe I'll generously speak to HR department and see if they can keep employing you. By chance, our company happens to need a janitor."

"If you like being a janitor so much, you can go ahead and be one yourself. Tell Jeremy that he came to my place out of nowhere, rummaging through my things. If he can't give me a reasonable explanation, I'll report it to the police for trespassing," I said calmly.

Reluctantly, Lola let Jeremy answer the call.

The following words he said completely shattered my perception of him. It turned out that he wanted to reclaim money from me. In addition to taking back the clothes, jewelry, and bags he had given me, I had to compensate him for the depreciation costs, as well as the expenses we had incurred together, such as dining out, shopping, and traveling.

So, he took my bank card in order to extort an additional 50 thousand dollars from me.

Upon hearing this, my blood pressure started to rise. What was the man I fell for before?

"If you're going to calculate it this way, then you owe me another 80 thousand dollars for the belts, cuffs, and some other gifts that I bought for you previously. I won't even bring up the bills I paid on our dates. Let's just consider it feeding a dog!"

When I was with Jeremy before, although I never gave him luxury gifts in order to conceal my identity, the gifts I gave him were not cheap, and I gave him plenty. On the other hand, the most expensive thing he gave me was no more than 5,000 dollars. At that time, I understood that he came from a rural background and had two elderly parents to support. But now, after breaking up, I didn't expect that he would settle these matters with me.

Jeremy started to regret it again, but I wouldn't give him the chance. I threatened him that if he didn't return my bank card and the 80 thousand dollars compensation, I would report him to the police.

In the end, he got scared and transferred the money to me, promising to return my bank card the next day.

Seeing him being humiliated, I finally felt relieved and promptly changed the password to my apartment door. I didn't want to become a victim of robbery again.

Those days, I noticed strange glances from people when I went out. Just when I was about to ask what was going on, my former assistant, Madison, at the company called me.

"Yvonne, please read the Twitter post I sent you. Someone said that you had an improper relationship with a client."

I hurriedly opened Twitter and saw a lengthy post accusing me of using unethical means to seduce clients for work, being a third party in relationships, and even including a picture of me having drinks with a client. It was a completely normal business occasion, but because of the angle of the photo, it appeared as if there was something scandalous happening between me and the client.

I was furious beyond measure.

I hadn't offended anyone recently except for Jeremy and Lola.

But they denied having any involvement in this.

I originally didn't want to dwell on their actions. Since Lola pretended to be the heiress of the Spencer Group, and Jeremy was with her just to become her husband and the son-in-law of the Spencer Group, it would only be a matter of time before the truth was revealed.

However, now that they had brought it upon themselves, I didn't want to let them off easily.

Because of the rumors they spread, I often encounter leering men on the streets, being followed on my way home, and even strangers knocking on my door late at night.

Those past few days had left me physically and mentally exhausted, which was why I sought refuge at Jean's place.

"If you ask me, you should reveal your identity as the real Spencer Group heiress. Let's see who dares to spread false rumors then!"