I was on the verge of begging.

“Stephanie, I know you have your plans. Maybe you can’t wait… but could you at least give me a few more days?”

“No.” Stephanie cut me off sharply, her tone firm and cold.

She noticed how flushed and miserable I looked. Only then did her expression soften slightly as she stepped forward, trying to coax me.

“Liam, don’t be unreasonable. You’ve been working so hard that you barely even look at me anymore. We’re getting married next month. You should take a few days to rest…”

“Dean is my friend’s younger brother. She asked me to help him and I can’t just turn her down, can I?”

It felt like a giant hand was squeezing my heart.

I was in so much pain. I could hardly breathe.

Was it really about doing a favor for a friend?

Or was it because he pleased you so well in the hotel last night?

I let out a bitter laugh and shook my head, stepping away from her touch.

“If there’s no room for discussion, President Myers, then I suppose it’s fine if I resign.”

Her expression changed instantly. “Are you kidding?”

“No. I’m serious.”

I pulled a resignation letter from my bag and tossed it onto her desk.

“Approve this. Also, remember the 20% equity I hold in the company—it should be included in my final payout.”

Without waiting for her response, I turned and walked out of her office, ignoring her voice calling after me.

I took out my phone and texted my brother Timothee, asking him to pick me up.

While I waited, Dean strolled by with a cup of water and seized the opportunity to provoke me again.

“Liam Jones, what are you so proud of? Everyone knows you only held that director’s seat because you were Stephanie’s fiancé.”

“Let’s be real, old-fashioned, uptight guys like you aren’t attractive to women anymore. Stephanie prefers someone like me.”

He lifted his chin smugly, looking pleased with himself.

I nearly gagged.

“Well then, good luck using your body to climb to the top. Just make sure you don’t lose your soul on the way up.”

I looked down and focused on my phone, editing and submitting my resume.

But then came a wave of chatter from the coworkers around me.

“Come on, everyone knows Liam Jones is Myers’s fiancé. She used to treat him like a god, what’s he pretending for now?”

“Exactly! Vice President of a branch office is already a great position. If it were me, I’d be thrilled.”

“He’s just too much. No wonder they’re not married yet and look at Director Henry, he’s got that sultry face. Even I’d drool over him. No wonder she chose him!”

“Bet you anything, Liam is just throwing a tantrum. He’ll still end up going to the branch. Even if he knows Myers is having an affair, can he really give up that wealthy, cushy life?”

I smiled bitterly.

Before I could say anything, someone suddenly barked back on my behalf.

“What the hell do you people know?”

Timothee had arrived five minutes early—and had clearly overheard the entire conversation.

He didn’t hold back.

“If connections were all that mattered, then why the hell did my brother work his ass off for years and still only make it to Director? He’d be Chairman by now!”

“That damn Stephanie thinks giving her boyfriend a title is favoritism? What a joke.”

“She’s nothing but a shameless, conniving woman playing boss. If you all love it here so much, stay. We’re out of this dump!”

Timothee was like a firecracker, firing back at each one of them without hesitation.

When he finished, he grabbed my hand and led me out with a flourish.

My heart warmed.

Watching him stand up for me like that, I couldn’t stop my eyes from turning red.

Timothee had been trying to recruit me into his company for a long time.

He promised to make me a senior executive the moment I joined, but I always smiled and politely turned him down.

Because right after I graduated from college, Stephanie had wrapped her arms around me and begged.

“Liam, come work at Myers’s, okay?”

“You’re so talented. If you’re by my side, my dad will feel confident handing the business over to me. And we’ll get to see each other every day again.”

“Besides, once we’re married, you’ll be part of the Myers family. In the end, the company will be yours too.”

I was swayed by the beautiful future she painted.

Even though Timothee tried to poach me three or four times, I refused.

I truly believed Stephanie and I would get married without a hitch.

That we’d live the life we had planned so carefully.

That she would enjoy a smooth, happy life, by my side.

But I hadn’t realized she had already started to rot on the inside.

Behind my back, she had climbed into another man’s bed and forced me to surrender the years of my hard work.

Timothee dragged me to a bar to get drunk.

“Cheers, brother. Quit that job and come work with me,” he said, raising his glass.

“Follow Stephanie and you’ll get scraps. Follow me and we’ll feast like kings.”

I drank until I was hugging the toilet, vomiting miserably.

As I fumbled around for a tissue, a handkerchief was quietly handed to me.

“You drank so much. Aren’t you afraid it’ll make your stomach worse?”

Startled, I looked up.

It was Katie Zetta—my senior from university.

Even Stephanie never knew I had stomach problems.

But somehow, she did.

I gave her a weak nod of acknowledgment, but Katie walked over to our booth and sat down confidently, as if she belonged there.

I was stunned.

Timothee slung his arm around my shoulders and grinned.

“She’s great, right? I found you a blind date.”

“She’s had a thing for you for years and she’s way better looking than Stephanie. Why not ditch that scum and give her a shot?”

I laughed bitterly.

Then suddenly, my phone rang.

It was Stephanie.

She still refused to approve my resignation.

“Liam, I’m really busy right now. If I let you go, how am I supposed to explain it to my parents? Just drop it.”

“If you’re tired, take a few days off…”

I calmly cut her off.

“Stephanie, let’s break up.”

There was a beat of silence.

Then, just as she was about to speak, I heard a soft, whiny voice in the background:

“Steph… it hurts. Come help me rub it…”

“I’m coming…”

Stephanie hurriedly hung up the call, not forgetting to toss out one last lie.

“It’s a staff issue. I’ll explain later.”

What she didn’t know was that I had just seen Dean’s updated social feed.

He had posted a photo of himself lying in a hospital bed, claiming he had been “overexerted”, shamelessly flaunting just how much Stephanie pampered him.

I asked a few former coworkers if they could see the post.

They sent me screenshots, blank.

That’s when I realized, he had set it to be visible only to me.

He wanted to show off, directly to me.

I sneered and deleted it.

I didn’t need explanations anymore.

I agreed to Timothee’s suggestion and decided to give the blind date with Katie a chance.

And things started moving in the right direction.

Back in college, I had thought Katie was distant and aloof.

But once I got to know her, I realized she was just shy, quick to blush, but incredibly thoughtful.

She understood me in ways Stephanie never had.

Half a month later, we were officially dating.

Then one day, Stephanie called me using a different number. Her voice sounded anxious.

“Liam, don’t you still want to leave the company?”

“If you just help me with one last thing, I’ll let you go.”