To torment her ex who dumped her for money, my CEO girlfriend hired him as her assistant. She humiliated him weekly but never fired him. Ross was incompetent, constantly messing up. Each time, Victoria berated him while I fixed his mistakes. I told myself it was temporary revenge. Then he cost the company millions by misplacing a decimal. When he tearfully offered to resign, Victoria turned to me: "Take the blame. We must set an example." She threatened breakup, certain I’d cave. But this time, I just said, "Fine. Let’s break up." 01 Victoria froze for a second, then a practiced smile spread across her face. The tension in her shoulders eased as she slid back into a familiar routine, taking my hand and cooing. "Oh, baby, I forgot you had a temper. My Ethan is always so good and does whatever I ask. Of course we're not breaking up. We're getting married!" She squeezed my hand. "Ross stole my mother's life-saving surgery fund, Ethan. I've only been tormenting him for six months. If he quits now, where do I get my revenge?" "Come on," she wheedled, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I won't make you take the official blame. But you'll have to work some overtime, okay? Make up the loss, keep the board happy. You can do that for me, can't you?" Before I could answer, she whipped out her phone. A moment later, a notification pinged on every device in the company: an all-hands meeting in the main conference room. We all filed in. Ross, naturally, was the last to arrive, shuffling his feet. He was about to slump into a chair when Victoria’s voice cut through the room, sharp as ice. "Who said you could sit? Have you forgotten what you did? Do you have any idea the kind of damage your 'mistake' has caused? How many people will have to work their asses off to fix it?" Her voice was low but carried an authority that made the air crackle. Ross's eyes immediately reddened with theatrical tears. The rest of the staff, however, were used to this show. Heads bowed as phones lit up with a private group chat. And here we go again. Round six of the public humiliation show. The best part is, after she's done screaming, he'll get a promotion, and we'll be the ones working weekends to cover the million-dollar 'oopsie'. She thinks we're just part of their sick little game. I don't know, this time feels different. I saw her and Ethan arguing in her office earlier. And look, he's not even sitting next to her. Is this it? Is Ethan finally putting his foot down? God, I hope so. I can't take another day of that leech Ross. I’d joined that group chat under a fake name months ago. It was the only thing that kept me sane, knowing I wasn’t the only one suffering. I used to tell myself to just hang in there, that Victoria would eventually get bored. I was a fool. From her seat at the head of the table, Victoria watched Ross's lip tremble. She cleared her throat, a flicker of something unreadable in her eyes. "However, this company has always been lenient with its employees. Since this is your first major offense, your punishment will be…" The room held its breath. "...a one-hundred-dollar deduction from this month's performance bonus. Let this be a warning to you all." A collective, silent groan rippled through the room. Victoria then rose and walked to my side, placing her hands on my shoulders. She tilted her chin at Ross. "Well? Aren't you going to thank Mr. Cole? If it weren't for Ethan agreeing to work overtime to cover the company's losses, you'd be out on the street." My hand tightened around the pen I was holding, and it snapped in two with a sharp crack. The same old story. A grand gesture of punishment that meant nothing, followed by me cleaning up the mess. When Victoria hired Ross, she insisted his salary had to be high enough to keep a "gold-digger like him" around. He made thirty thousand a month as an assistant—more than most of our department heads. A hundred dollars was less than his dinner budget. I remembered a time I’d negotiated a deal that, while costing us a million in upfront profit, secured a hundred-million-dollar contract down the line. Victoria had docked my entire year's salary, lecturing me that if everyone took risks like that, the company would go under. She’d said that because I was her fiancé, she had to be harder on me, to avoid demoralizing the staff. All her principles, all her rules, were a fucking joke when it came to Ross. Ross, trembling as if he’d been mortally wounded, dragged himself to his feet and walked over to me. SMACK! He slapped me across the face. "You've had it out for me since day one, Ethan," he spat, his voice shaking with manufactured rage. "You knew there was a problem with that contract and you let me fail. I'm sick of you. Thank you? Go to hell! This company isn't big enough for both of us!" Victoria’s face contorted with fury. She pushed me behind her. "What do you think you're doing?" Ross then turned and slapped her, his eyes filled with a lover's tragic despair. "Victoria, you know I only put up with this torture because I love you! If you're going to defend him like this, then I quit! I'm done with you!" The room erupted. People shot to their feet, asking if we needed a doctor. I calmly addressed Ross, my cheek stinging. "I told you the contract was wrong. You ignored me and went over my head straight to Victoria to get it approved. Don't you dare try to rewrite history." Victoria’s face was a mask of conflicting emotions. "That's enough, Ethan!" she hissed. "Are you trying to blow this up so the board finds out? Will you be happy once Ross is fired?!" She turned back to Ross, her voice a low, threatening whisper. "Without the salary I pay you, what happens to your mother? Don't be a fool." I had to laugh. Years ago, when Victoria and Ross were engaged, her mother suddenly fell ill. Ross's mother, seeing an opportunity, convinced him to steal the thirty thousand dollars Victoria had scraped together for the surgery. He dumped her and fled the country. If I hadn't stepped in, pulling together loans and my own savings, Victoria would have lost her mother. She told me she would have ended her own life. And for the past six months, I’d watched her use "client dinners" as an excuse to go take care of Ross’s mother, who’d had a stroke. What a saint. When my own mother passed away, Victoria had been "too busy with work" to be with me. Her own frail mother? I was the one who sat with her in the hospital, who remembered her on holidays. But Ross’s mother got Victoria’s personal attention. Ross stood there, fists clenched, defiant. "I can make it on my own!" I couldn't help but sneer. "On your own? The only thing you're qualified for is washing dishes. You think you can afford a Patek Philippe on a dishwasher's salary?" "Ethan!" Victoria's voice was sharp. She shot me a death glare, then let out a sigh. "Ethan, you're suspended. Go home. Ross will cover your duties." A shocked silence fell over the room. I laughed, the sound brittle. "He hits me, and you suspend me?" Ross’s face lit up with a smug grin. Victoria gave his cheek a dismissive pat. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm not sending Ethan home because of you. We have a wedding to plan. He needs the time off." She turned her cold gaze back to Ross. "And as for you, since you've caused so much trouble, you can do his job. That's your real punishment." Even a child could see her blatant favoritism, wrapped in a tissue of corporate bullshit. My colleagues looked at me with a mixture of pity and disappointment. I let out a cold laugh and unclipped my ID badge from my suit. "No need for a suspension," I said, my voice ringing with finality. "I quit. That way, you won't have to choose the next time he throws a tantrum." 02 I didn’t get to be Victoria’s second-in-command by accident. I was good at my job, and I had a Rolodex of offers from bigger companies willing to pay me a fortune. The VP title meant nothing to me. If she wanted to give it to Ross, she could have it. I walked out of that conference room, went straight to HR, and had my access revoked. I was out of the building in fifteen minutes. Victoria tried to follow me, to "explain," but I brushed her off each time. She was the CEO; her pride wouldn't let her make a scene. Her face hardened, and she let me go. My car keys were with her, so I was about to call a cab when my phone started buzzing. You did the right thing, man. We've all been sick of her favoritism for months. You'll always be the boss to us. Fly free, Ethan! We're right behind you! That pretty boy Ross is going to make our lives hell. I'm polishing my resume tonight. I messaged each of them back, telling them to hang tight, that if they wanted out, I'd help them. By the time I got home, Victoria had finally deigned to text me. I know you're just angry. I'm not going to hold it against you. Use this time to focus on the wedding plans. A wave of exhaustion washed over me. Our wedding. It was a month away. But the bride had already chosen another groom. What was the point? I opened the wedding planning group chat and typed a message. To all our friends and family: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the wedding scheduled for September 9th has been postponed indefinitely. We wish you all the best. The chat exploded. Victoria’s cousin was the first to chime in. Okay, my cousin-in-law-to-be is the most stable guy I know, so this has to be Tori's fault. What did you do this time, @VictoriaQuinn? Last time your assistant pissed off a client, Ethan was the one who went to smooth things over and got a bottle broken over his head. He put up with that. So what did you do to finally push him over the edge? Spill the tea! Victoria replied with a single question mark. Then: Ethan's just joking. The wedding is still on. A second later, my phone rang. Her voice was laced with annoyance. "You've been complaining for months that I never have time to plan the wedding with you. Now I give you the time, and you pull this stunt?" In the background, I heard Ross's voice, deliberately loud. "Tori, this VP chair is so uncomfortable. Can you buy me one of those fancy ergonomic ones? It would be great for my gaming." "Who gave you permission to call me Tori?" Victoria snapped. "And who are you to make demands? I hired you to work, not to play games! ...Which model? I want to make sure it's comfortable for when Ethan comes back." I laughed, a hollow, bitter sound. The whole situation was absurd. I hung up and blocked her number. If she wanted to play her little push-and-pull games with Ross, she could have at it. I walked into the bedroom and saw the stacks of handwritten invitations on the desk. I’d insisted on doing them by hand, telling her it was more personal. She’d laughed and called me an old-fashioned romantic. Only three left to write. And now, they would never be sent. I found a pair of scissors and started cutting them into pieces, one by one. Then I stopped. One of the invitations had different handwriting. It was Victoria's. And on the line for the groom's name, she had written: Ross Vance. A cold wave washed over me, starting from my toes and crashing into the base of my skull. My heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand. All this time, while I was joyfully planning our future, the groom in her fantasies had been someone else. I spent the rest of the afternoon dismantling our wedding. I returned what I could, gave the non-refundable decorations to the kids downstairs, and packed my own belongings into boxes. By the time I looked up, the sky was dark. I ate some frozen dumplings for dinner. As I was washing the dishes, the front door opened. Soft footsteps crept up behind me, and a pair of delicate hands covered my eyes. "Guess what surprise I have for you?" 03 "Red roses," I said flatly. It’s all she ever gave me. When she first asked me out, she brought red roses. I’d mentioned, once, that I liked them. For the next seven years, on every birthday, every anniversary, every holiday, it was red roses. Ninety-nine times. I used to think it was a sign of her devotion. Now I just saw it as lazy. "Nope!" Victoria said with a laugh, dropping her hands. I turned, surprised. She was holding out a small, elegant box. Inside was a deep navy-blue tie. "Will you wear this at the wedding? Come on, my handsome groom, don't be mad anymore." She didn't notice the blood drain from my face. She didn't notice how my body had gone rigid. She took the tie out of the box and tried to loop it around my neck. I shoved her hands away. Her face instantly clouded over, and she tossed the tie back into the box. "Ethan, that's enough." She then took a picture of the tie and started texting, a smirk playing on her lips. I could see the screen. It was Ross. I begged you to buy me this tie for months, and you give it to him?! he wrote. Victoria’s smirk widened. My fiancé likes it, so I bought it for him. What right do you have to be angry? I moved then, stumbling into the bathroom. I collapsed in front of the toilet and retched, my stomach heaving. She had forgotten. I had told her, years ago, about my father. About how my mother had been having an affair, and how she'd stood by and watched as her lover strangled my father to death with a tie. It was the defining trauma of my life. I couldn't even button the top button of my shirts. I never forgave my mother, not even on her deathbed. And now, to win a petty game against Ross, Victoria had given me a tie. The force of my heaving brought tears to my eyes. When I finally emerged from the bathroom, I walked over to the box and swept the tie into the trash can. Victoria finally looked up from her phone, her eyes wide with shock. I went into the bedroom and came back with her pair of matching slippers, her coffee mug, her little trinkets from our shared life. I set them on the table. "I'm looking for a new place. I'll be out in a couple of days. This is all your stuff. Do what you want with it." Her face was pale, a flicker of panic in her eyes. "What is it now?" "You love your ex so much?" I said, my voice dripping with scorn. "Then I wish you two a long and miserable life together." I went into the guest room and locked the door. A long time later, as if she'd finally figured it out, there was a soft knock. "Ethan," she whispered through the door. "I'm sorry. I screwed up. I won't do it again. I took the day off tomorrow. We can go get our wedding photos taken. Please?" I was about to refuse, but then I remembered: I had to go to the studio anyway to cancel the appointment. I remained silent. Let her think I agreed. My actions would speak louder than any words. The next morning, she insisted on holding my hand as we left the apartment. Ross was waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs, looking pathetic. The moment he saw Victoria, he threw his arms around her, his voice cracking. "Tori, my mom was discharged from the hospital, but my apartment is too small for her to recover in. Can you help me find a place?" He could have texted her. He was here to provoke me. Victoria pushed him away, annoyed. "For God's sake, Ross, can't you do anything for yourself? I'm your boss, not your mother's caretaker. And my fiancé is standing right here. Don't give him the wrong idea. We're on our way to our wedding photoshoot. I don't have time for your drama." She got the reaction she wanted: Ross's face fell. But when he clutched his stomach, her expression softened. She snatched the box of dumplings from my hand and shoved it at him. "Stop being so dramatic. Here. These were Ethan's leftovers. You can have them." And with that, she grabbed my hand and pulled me away. She knew I had stomach problems, a souvenir from years of stressful client dinners. She knew if I skipped breakfast, the pain would be excruciating. And she had just given my food away. I curled my fingers into a fist, then pulled a piece of hard candy from my pocket and popped it into my mouth. It wasn't worth the fight anymore. In the car, Victoria launched into a tirade about Ross. "He's still such a pathetic gold-digger! Too cheap to even rent a decent place for his own mother! And she's just as bad, letting her grown son beg me for a place to live. It's ridiculous!" I ignored her, scrolling through apartment listings on my phone. Her voice trailed off. After a moment of silence, she asked, "Our new house… it's been airing out for six months now, right?"
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