Chapter 1

On the second day of Harley Sinclair and his assistant Megan Cavanaugh's honeymoon, I completed all my work handover and went to HR to process my resignation. In less than ten minutes, I received a notification from Harley: "Approval granted." "Looks like Mr. Sinclair's been wanting to fire her for a while now. At least she knows when to quit." "Yeah. Staying in the company would only annoy Mr. Sinclair anyway. Might as well leave early. I just wonder what she plans to do next." "Why should we—people earning barely three grand a month—worry about her? She's Mr. Sinclair's wife, after all. Even if she quits and does nothing at home, she'll still have more money than she could ever spend." My coworkers watched me with thinly veiled smugness while I packed my things. I was already used to it. Everyone knew Megan and I didn't get along. Even as my husband, Harley always sided with her—going so far as to humiliate me in front of others just to protect his precious assistant. That was why they all scrambled to target me and were eager to curry favor with her. I simply let out a cold laugh at the thought. "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not just quitting. I'm switching jobs. Another company offered me double the salary, and the benefits are far better than what I've got here." With that, I ignored their jealous, sour expressions. I picked up my neatly packed personal items and walked out of the company. But the moment I stepped out the front door, Harley called. I was still debating how to explain the resignation, but he spoke as soon as I answered the call. "I sent you a file. Finish it within an hour and send it to me." So, he didn't even know I'd resigned. I couldn't help but laugh and open the file. It was the project I'd recently handed over to Megan. As always, he allowed her to take the credit and the recognition while I did the work. And if anything went wrong, the blame fell on me. I'd tried to refuse at first, but Harley had pulled every trick in the book to persuade me. When I stood firm and wouldn't give in, he gave me the silent treatment for days. He refused to speak to me on purpose. Before I got married, my parents often told me that in a marriage, one person would have to be the first to back down. I didn't want things between us to become strained, so in the end, I gave in and took over. I truly believed that one day, Harley would understand all the hard work I had done. But this time, when he picked a fight with me and gave me a three-month-long silent treatment just to get Megan promoted, I finally started to lose hope. Even when I came down with a fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit and was rushed to the hospital, he didn't so much as glance at me. All he cared about was forcing me to hand over the multimillion-dollar project I'd spent a month grinding through—just so Megan could take it. That was when I completely gave up. "I'm not at the office," I replied calmly. "Not at the office?" Harley's voice turned cold. "If I'm not mistaken, it's working hours, isn't it, Tiana? Do you know that according to company policy, leaving your post without permission during work hours means losing a day's pay?" "I know, but I already—" I was just about to tell him I'd quit when Megan's gentle voice came from the other end of the line. "Harley, if Tiana doesn't want to do it, don't force her. Let me handle it instead." "No. You worked late last night. You need to rest today." Harley's tone softened. It was completely different from how he'd just spoken to me. Megan tried to insist she wasn't tired, but Harley was firm. "I'm your boss. When I tell you to rest, that's an order. Are you going to disobey me?" Megan stuck out her tongue playfully. "I just feel bad for Tiana. The work might be too much for her." "She's got it easier than you. You're on business trips still sorting contracts, while she's sitting around the office doing nothing all day. "And besides, she's my wife. She owns part of the company. Isn't it only right for her to put in some effort?" Harley sneered. With that one line, he erased all the hard work I'd ever done. I no longer felt anger, jealousy, or devastation like I used to—just numbness. After all, this wasn't the first time. Seeing that I had stayed silent, Harley assumed I'd agreed. His tone softened a little. "Tiana, do you really think I'm just giving you work? "I'm trying to train you. After all, you're my wife. You should have more drive and a stronger sense of responsibility toward the company. "You should really learn from Megs. She worked until 4:00 am yesterday. I've never met a woman so outstanding and hardworking." Megan, who was sitting nearby, chimed in with a smile in her voice, "I think Tiana's very capable too." Yet, despite her words, her tone carried a faint trace of disdain. Harley didn't notice this. He chuckled lightly before saying, "If she were even half as capable as you, I'd laugh myself awake in my dreams. "Don't forget, every single project this year was completed by you." The two of them played off each other in perfect sync. I said nothing as I didn't feel like arguing. Every project this year had been snatched from me by Megan. Harley knew it well, yet he pretended to be clueless. It probably wasn't worth worrying about to him. After all, we'd been married five years. Surely, I wouldn't leave him over something this petty. "All right then. Megan and I have a dinner engagement later tonight. Finish it quickly and send it over." Harley then hung up without waiting for a response. Not even two minutes later, my phone buzzed twice—it was a new post from Megan's socials. In the photo, the two of them were seated at a lavish candlelit dinner. She playfully leaned her head on Harley's shoulder, and in front of her sat a delicate gift box. It seemed like just the right size to hold a ring. I scrolled down a bit more and saw the post Megan had shared the night before. At 4:00 am, she and Harley were still drinking and having a great time at a bar. So, the "hard work" Harley praised her for was… drinking? And the so-called business dinner later that night was nothing more than a date. I let out a cold laugh, not even bothering to confront Harley about it. What was the point? He always had some excuse ready. Not to mention, even if I managed to shut him up with the truth, what came next was never an apology or any sign of remorse. It would be just another round of silent treatment. Every time, it was up to me to find ways to smooth things over. Thinking back now, all that time spent trying to fix things would've been better spent focusing on myself and finding ways to make money. After all, feelings could always change, but money would never betray you. With that thought, I left the company and began considering what to do next. However, just as my car pulled out of the parking lot, my phone buzzed twice. I opened it to see a payment notification. Harley had just charged 200 thousand dollars to my card. Again.