I couldn't take it anymore.

"Why isn't Tristan being punished for his mistake?"

Wendy poured me a glass of water and smiled.

"Honey, Tristan came back from overseas with a PhD. Talent like that is rare. We're lucky he even agreed to work here, so of course I have to keep him happy. I can't just punish him whenever I feel like it."

"A top graduate who's dead last every month and still hasn't passed probation after six months?"

That shut her up.

Then Tristan pushed the door open.

Acting all ashamed, he made a bet. If he ranked last again next month, he'd eat a plate of pasta mixed with live worms.

To protect his ego, Wendy turned his personal punishment into a company-wide rule.

Maybe the threat worked, because Tristan did land three clients this time.

But when it came time to sign, every deal crashed.

No question—he was dead last again.

Last night, I went to bed early because I felt sick. I wanted to recover and watch Tristan face the music.

Instead, Wendy secretly changed the penalty rules overnight and set my alarm later, making me late so I'd take Tristan's punishment.

Unbelievable.

I stayed silent.

The whole room went tense. Even Wendy looked ready to speak.

Tristan lowered his head, pretending to be sorry. "I was wrong. Mr. Depp is Wendy's husband, so this company is basically his turf. I'm just a lowly intern. I had no right to enforce company rules.

"I'll quit right now before he holds a grudge and comes after me."

He said that, but didn't even touch his badge.

Everyone saw the act.

Wendy bought it anyway and grabbed his arm. "Don't talk like that. This company is fair. Who would dare abuse their power or make things hard for you?"

I let out a cold laugh.

My phone buzzed.

Messages from Wendy's trusted staff popped up in a group chat:

[Here we go again. Ms. Kline is so sharp. How did she fall for an idiot like him?]

[Exactly. To save him from punishment, Ms. Kline handed over connections she'd spent years building. Deals that only needed signatures, and he still blew them. Unreal.]

Seconds later, the two staff who sent the messages turned pale and hurried to delete them.

Clearly, they'd sent them to the wrong group.

I glanced around.

Everyone had their heads down, clearly watching the drama unfold.

I frowned.

I used to think Wendy only bent the rules over small things, no matter how unreasonable she got.

I never thought she'd burn her own connections and hand Tristan extra support just to save him from a bet he made himself.

And she called this "for the good of the company"?

What a joke.

Wendy still had no clue about the group chat.

After babying Tristan for ages, he stood there with fake tears in his eyes.

Then she glared at me. "Enough. If you don't want to be punished, don't be late.

"Back when you made mistakes, you could drink toilet water without even blinking. What, now that you're management, you forgot where you came from?

"Besides, worms are packed with protein. Some people can't even buy them. Why are you being so dramatic?"

Just like always, she tore me down in front of everyone.

Like I would still be dumb enough to believe the lies she dressed up as love.

She had no idea I'd already had enough of her double standards.

I'd just uncovered a massive mistake Tristan had made. I was even planning to give her some dignity and handle it in private.

But if she was dead set on making me the scapegoat, then I had no reason to keep up appearances.

I tossed the documents I'd printed earlier onto the table.

Proof that Tristan had sold Opaline Corp's confidential information.

"I can follow the rules and eat the pasta with worms. But according to company policy, shouldn't Tristan be fired and held liable for selling company secrets?"

The room erupted.

Everyone stared at the documents in disbelief.

No one expected Tristan to stab the company in the back after Wendy had practically bent over backward for him.

With everyone watching, Tristan's eyes turned red.

"Wendy, I'm sorry. I got drunk and someone tricked me into it. I didn't mean to."

For a mistake that serious, Wendy barely reacted.

"You've completely lost control of your drinking. You're not allowed to drink anymore."

Then she looked at me. "Dylan, I just realized the rule about tripling performance penalties for being one minute late is unfair to top performers like you. I wasn't thinking clearly last night. That rule is canceled. Meeting adjourned."

Just like that, she erased the punishment.

No one would be penalized.

Everyone in the room understood exactly who she was protecting.

And it wasn't me.

As she turned to leave with Tristan, I picked up the plate and stepped in front of them.

"Hold on.

"If that rule's canceled, Tristan is still last place.

I held the plate toward him.

"You're the one who insisted on enforcing company rules. You came up with this punishment yourself. Don't tell me you're backing out now."

The other co-workers immediately piled on. "It's just a punishment. We've all been punished before.

"Go ahead and eat. We're only looking out for you.

"You're so skinny. Think of it as extra protein."

Tristan stared at the worms still wriggling in the pasta.

His face went white.

He nearly threw up.

Wendy rubbed his back and snapped at everyone else.

"I said the meeting is over. Why are you all still standing around? Get back to work. Do I need to personally escort each of you out?"

The crowd quickly scattered.

When she saw me still standing there, her tone softened. "Don't worry. Mistakes will be punished. No one gets special treatment.

"Tristan, come to my office later and write a ten-thousand-word reflection report. You're not leaving until it's finished."

I almost laughed.

Her favoritism wasn't exactly new.

I didn't even bother arguing.

I grabbed my phone and headed for the door.

She had been comforting Tristan, but the moment she saw me leave, she panicked and hurried after me.

Pulling me into a corner, she held up a medical report. "Look. Tristan really is allergic to worms.

"If I wasn't worried about things getting out of control, would I have let you take the hit?

"Honey, for the sake of the company and our family, can you let this go just this once?"

Back when she found out I was allergic to peach, she'd shoved allergy medicine into my hand and made me eat it anyway.

I wasn't going to die, after all.

But when it came to Tristan, suddenly everything was different.

I opened my mouth to cut her off.

Her phone rang.

She answered immediately.

Tristan's aggrieved voice came through the speaker. "Wendy, I drank a lot yesterday. The worms freaked me out, and now my head really hurts.

"What should I do?"

A flash of panic crossed her face.

"I'm coming right now."

The second she hung up, Wendy dug twenty dollars out of her purse and shoved it into my hand.

"There's a problem with a project. I need to go deal with it. Buy yourself something good. Take the rest of the day off and come back tomorrow."

Before I could respond, she was already gone.

But I wasn't planning to forgive her this time.

I was done.

Done with her.

Done with the company.

I called a friend who'd been trying to recruit me as a partner for years. We met at a restaurant, talked over dinner, and worked out the details.

By the time we signed the contract, it was dark outside.

Afterward, I wandered through the mall.

Then I spotted a public proposal.

For a moment, memories surfaced.

Wendy and I used to have good times.

But after we built the company, she became more and more obsessed with profit.

Somewhere along the way, we turned into strangers.

I let out a quiet laugh and shook my head.

Just as I was about to leave, I got a clear look at the woman being proposed to.

It was Wendy.

Tristan knelt on one knee, holding a bouquet and a diamond ring.

"Wendy, you paid for my education. You helped me leave that small town. You funded my PhD overseas and stayed with me through three years of long distance.

"You're the most important woman in my life."

"I'm still broke. Even this ring was bought with your money.

"But I promise I'll work hard and give you a good life."

The crowd erupted.

"Say yes!"

Wendy nodded shyly.

Then she held out her hand and let Tristan slide the ring onto her finger.

The ring replaced the wedding band she'd once shared with me.

I smiled.

Then I started clapping.

Louder than anyone else.

She turned toward the sound.

The second our eyes met, all the color drained from her face.

The bouquet slipped from her hand.

She rushed over. "Honey, don't get the wrong idea.

"I just asked Tristan to help me rehearse.

"When we got married ten years ago, we were broke. We bought the cheapest rings we could find.

"I wanted to make it up to you with a real proposal and a diamond ring."

She looked at me hopefully.

"Honey, after ten years, will you marry me again?"

The crowd immediately started cheering.

I stood there with a cold smile.

Not moving.

Wendy forced a laugh and grabbed my hand.

She tried to slide the diamond ring onto my finger.

It wouldn't go on.

No matter how hard she pushed.

The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.

She lightly smacked my arm. "Honey, I keep telling you to eat less.

"Look at you. You've gained so much weight the ring doesn't fit.

"I'll exchange it for a bigger size later."

I glanced at the ring.

The wedding band we'd bought ten years ago still fit perfectly.

This one was obviously smaller.

It had been bought for Tristan.

And she expected me to believe it was just a rehearsal.

Did she think I was stupid?

The crowd didn't know any better.

They immediately took her side.

"It's normal for guys to put on weight."

"What matters is the thought."

"After ten years of marriage, she's spending a hundred thousand dollars on a diamond ring just to propose again. That's real love."

A hundred thousand?

I raised an eyebrow.

Back when we got married, we were so broke we bought our wedding rings from a dollar store.

They rusted away years ago.

One anniversary, I scraped together three hundred dollars to buy her a pair of silver rings.

I thought she'd be happy.

Instead, she accused me of wasting money.

She dragged me back to the jewelry store, demanded a refund, and made a huge scene.

Then she cut my monthly allowance to a hundred and fifty dollars for being irresponsible with money.