Sophie had never been qualified to join the company in the first place.

She had simply been lucky enough to run into Marcus when he was heading out.

They had not seen each other in years, yet after one meal, Marcus arranged everything for her.

Just like that, she became a member of the senior design team.

At first, I thought she was honest and hardworking, only a little weak in technical skill.

Then I asked her to help organize a draft and discovered she did not even understand basic color correction.

From that day on, I realized Sophie's problem was not that her design ability was weak.

She had no design ability at all.

I told Marcus many times that she could not pass the monthly review and that keeping her there would only hurt her.

Every time, Marcus agreed. Every time, he did nothing.

Then I caught him secretly giving my drafts to Sophie.

Only then did I understand. It was not that he refused to listen. He simply had no intention of removing Sophie.

Even after I caught him, he did not stop. Instead, he asked if I had any better preliminary designs.

After all the years we had been together, the first time he begged me for anything was for Sophie, a useless opportunist who could not design.

When I refused, he pleaded.

"Sophie can't leave the company yet. Her younger brother is seriously ill and in the hospital. He needs a huge amount of money every month for treatment.

"I'm her mentor. I can't abandon her.

"You understand, right?"

I softened when I heard that and handed over a design I had just finished.

Only later did I learn there was no sick brother. It was just another lie Marcus had used to manipulate me.

The elevator reached the first floor.

I walked outside and hailed a cab to the hospital.

At my request, the driver opened my contacts and dialed a number that had been buried for years.

As the phone rang, my heart tightened.

The next second, a familiar teasing male voice came through.

"Well, if it isn't our little star. What made you remember your old mentor today?"

Hearing that familiar tone, the tension in my chest finally loosened.

"Dean, does the offer you made me back then still stand?"

He fell silent for several seconds.

Just when I thought that was the end of it and was about to hang up, his excited voice burst through the receiver.

"Julia, do you have any idea how many years I've been waiting for you to ask that?

"I'll book the ticket right now. Pack your things. When you land, Carla will pick you up."

Hearing long-lost concern, my nose stung and my vision blurred.

But I could not leave yet. My resignation process was not complete, and there were things I still had to settle with Marcus.

I interrupted Dean's rapid-fire instructions.

"I'll come in a few days. I still have handover work to finish."

After agreeing on a deadline, I hung up.

Dean was now a well-known figure in the design world. He had opened a thriving design firm with several other former classmates and mentors.

Back then, they all told me not to leave, that I should stay with them and grow steadily.

Design required focus and energy. I had known that.

But I touched the plain ring Marcus had given me, and my decision hardened.

I could not let Marcus struggle alone in a strange city while I enjoyed stability.

Against everyone's objections, I had followed Marcus to this unfamiliar city.

I thought that if we could survive the distance and the hardship, life would finally settle into something smooth and lasting.

Then Sophie appeared.

At first, I did not take her concern for Marcus seriously. I saw it as the bond between a mentor and his junior colleague.

Then one night, because Sophie casually said she wanted dessert, Marcus drove across half the city to buy every flavor he could find.

That was when I realized something was wrong.

I had a high fever that night and could barely be left alone.

Yet he went out without hesitation.

At the entryway, he finally turned back to look at me.

I thought he had remembered I was sick and needed him.

Instead, he only said coldly, "Fever medicine is in the TV cabinet drawer. Remember to take it."

Then he left without looking back.

Only when I heard the car start outside did I slowly come back to myself.

Thinking of that, bitterness rose in my chest.

The cab happened to stop at the hospital entrance.

I had just reached the ward door when I ran straight into Marcus.

He was carrying a fruit basket filled with oranges, the one fruit I was allergic to.

He sat down, peeled one, and held it out to me.

When I did not take it, he frowned.

Then he looked down and saw both my hands wrapped in bandages. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

"Is it that serious? You can't even move them?"

He set the orange on the table.

When I remained silent, he continued as if it did not matter.

"I know I wronged you this time, but I can promise you I truly did it for your own good.

"You've occupied the department's only competition slot for years. People already had complaints. Two days before the contest, I heard that some employees wanted to jointly report you for design fraud, so I stopped them.

"Of course, I believe your character. With your talent, you'd never do something like that. But if it reached the board, even a false accusation would cause trouble. It would damage department unity, and it would be bad for you.

"You know how people in the company are. They love rumors. Once this got out, it would be even harder for you to stay here."

He paused deliberately, looked at me, and continued.

"That's why I had no choice. Julia, you understand me, right?"

I could not help laughing softly.

He had said so much, but in the end, it was still for Sophie's sake.

If that rumor spread, the board would investigate. What he feared was that Sophie's faked assessment work would be exposed.

If he had really been protecting me, he should not have stopped the report.

He should not have made a decision on his own, sabotaged my car, and broken both my hands.

What a wonderful boyfriend I had, willing to destroy me so his protege would not be forced out.

When I said nothing, he continued.

"I asked the doctor. Your hands should recover in a little over a month.

"You can take this chance to rest. You've worked so hard for the company all these years..."

Before he could finish, I cut him off.

"Marcus, we're breaking up."

He froze. The words he had been about to say vanished.

When he reacted, he asked in shock, "Why?

"I don't accept this!"

Then he remembered the rumors from the office that he and Sophie were together and assumed that was what bothered me.

He immediately explained, "Don't listen to the department gossip. Sophie and I are only close because I mentored her.

"If anything were going to happen between us, would we have waited until now?"

I had heard that excuse so many times I was tired of it.

Every time, he used it to silence me.

And every time before this, I believed him. I thought their relationship was just unusually close.

But every incident after that made doubt impossible to ignore.

What happened today only gave me a chance to say what I should have said long ago.

Seeing the reluctance in his eyes, I exposed him coldly.

"Isn't it exactly what you want if I break up with you first?

"Then you can openly treat Sophie well without coming up with excuses every time.

"And you won't have to argue with me or give me the silent treatment over her anymore."

As soon as I finished, Marcus's face darkened. He stood and slapped me again.

"How many times do I have to say it? Sophie and I have nothing going on!

"Why do you never believe me? How many times do I have to repeat myself?

"After all these years together, do you have no trust in me at all?"

I looked at him coldly and said nothing.

He gritted his teeth.

"Fine. If you don't trust me, then we'll break up.

"Julia, don't regret it."

With that, he knocked over the fruit basket and slammed the door on his way out.

I looked at the oranges scattered across the floor and smiled bitterly.

He could not even remember that I was allergic to oranges. What trust was he talking about?

There was no place for me in his heart. Why should I keep torturing myself with affection he no longer deserved?

The pain in my arms reminded me that I could not let him and Sophie get away with breaking both my hands.

They had to pay.

I asked the nurse to help me dial a number.

Not long after, the board chair's assistant, Mr. Collins, pushed open the door.

After giving him a few instructions, I asked him to retrieve what I had left in my drawer.

Inside were the evidence of Sophie's design fraud and Marcus's cover-up.

Once those documents were made public, both of their careers would be over.

The executive seat Marcus had dreamed of would disappear, and he would be left with a bill large enough to crush him.

On the day the announcement was posted, I had just received approval for my resignation. Only the handover remained.

As soon as I entered the company, I heard several opportunists already congratulating Sophie.

"Congratulations, Sophie. I saw the competition entries. None of them were as good as yours. You're definitely winning this time."

"Exactly. You've really made the younger designers proud. Otherwise, who knows when any of us would ever have a chance?"

Sophie basked in the praise, flushed with triumph.

Then she glanced at me, pretending to be modest.

"My results aren't mine alone. If the director hadn't given up her slot, even someone with my ability would have been buried in the department."

The moment she saw me, she steered the conversation toward me.

With one sentence, she reignited the department's resentment, reminding everyone that I had taken every major competition and kept them from showing themselves to the board.