On the morning we were supposed to go to the courthouse, my fiancée—the CEO of the company we built together—intercepted me. She needed to marry her childhood friend first, to help him get his green card. She said it so casually, as if she were rescheduling a lunch meeting. As compensation, she told me, he’d bought me a car. When I stood there, silent, the condescension on her face was a mask she didn’t even bother to wear. “Cody picked it out himself, Ethan. That should count for something, right?” “Our relationship doesn’t need to be defined by a piece of paper,” she continued, the words worn smooth from overuse. “Once his residency is settled, we’ll have a proper wedding. It’s just a formality.” I heard myself agree, my voice a flat, distant thing. I watched her get into a car with Cody Hayes and drive off toward the courthouse. This was hardly the first time Ava had torched our life for the sake of the boy from back home, a man with barely a high school education. She’d put his name on a proposal I’d pulled three all-nighters to finish. She’d removed me as project lead and installed him in my place, spinning it as “nurturing new talent.” When I’d spent a month sourcing the perfect birthday gifts for her parents, she presented them as thoughtful treasures from Cody. In the two months since he’d arrived in New York, she had threatened to break up with me seventy-six times to get her way. Each time, the refrain was the same: “Cody and I are family, Ethan. Why do you have to make everything such a big deal?” If her heart already belonged to another family, what was the point of trying to be a part of hers? I pulled out my phone and dialed the number for the head of our industry’s leading firm. Before I could even speak, a warm, feminine voice, full of surprise and hope, came through the line. “Ethan? Does this mean you’ve finally made up your mind to come work with me?” … 1 The moment I stepped into the office, I saw the “car” Cody had bought me. It was a pink women’s beach cruiser, parked right next to my desk. A ridiculously large, glittery bow was tied to the handlebars. A few colleagues were whispering around it, their conversation dying the second they saw me. Their eyes held that familiar, toxic cocktail of pity and amusement. “So that’s the gift from Cody to our Director Wu? How… unique.” “Shh, he’s here.” Expressionless, I walked over, pushed the bicycle into a forgotten corner, and didn’t give it a second glance. Ava’s call came moments later. I answered to the immediate sound of her irritation. “Why did you take so long to pick up? Are you having second thoughts about Cody’s situation? God, Ethan, can you stop being so petty? For once, can’t you just try to understand?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Besides, this is just paperwork. It’s about securing Cody’s future. Don’t you and I have enough trust between us to handle this?” My silence must have registered. Her tone softened, the practiced shift of a seasoned manipulator. “Look, I know this is hard for you. But you know he’s like a little brother to me. I can’t just stand by and watch him struggle.” She paused, letting the bait hang in the air. “You’ve always been the one who gets me. You’ll understand this time, too. Right?” She was worried about him struggling, but not about my heart freezing over. And besides, what kind of company needed its CEO to enter a sham marriage to retain a “talent” who’d faked his college degree? It was all just an excuse, a flimsy cover for her blatant favoritism. I was too tired to argue. “Mhm,” I managed. “One more thing,” she said, her voice all business again. “That project Cody’s been having trouble with—I need you to fix it. I want a solution on my desk by the end of the day. It’s your responsibility. Don’t disappoint me.” A cold laugh caught in my throat. So that was the real reason for the call. I was being dispatched to clean up Cody’s latest mess. It was a familiar role. She was always protecting him, burying his mistakes, even paying a client out of her own pocket after Cody got into a drunken fistfight with him at a bar. The project in question was one I had personally secured after a month of grueling negotiations, catering to the client’s every bizarre demand. But Ava had dismissed my work with a breezy, “We’re all on the same team,” and handed the title of Project Lead to Cody. Now, after he’d assaulted the client, the punishment had somehow landed on me for “failing to properly manage him.” And I was supposed to salvage it? The audacity was breathtaking. Even her sudden agreement to marry me, after seven years, had been a calculated move for Cody’s green card. Seven years of us. I’d lost count of how many times I’d brought up marriage. Each time, she had an excuse. At first, we were fresh out of college, focused on our careers. I understood. Then we started the company, and it took off. She wanted to wait until we went public. I understood that, too. Then, we were a top-five firm in our sector, the IPO was a success, and my college roommate’s kid was starting elementary school. I thought, this time, it has to be different. When I asked again, she accused me of being conventional, of not understanding her. “Aren’t things perfect the way they are? Why do you need a piece of paper to validate us?” An hour later, she sent me to JFK to pick up Cody, who was just arriving in New York. In the two months he’d been here, she’d used our relationship as a weapon against me seventy-six times. And with each threat, it became painfully clear to everyone where her loyalty truly lay. The respect in my employees’ eyes curdled into knowing glances. Her parents’ warmth toward me cooled into indifference. My friends started dropping not-so-subtle hints, urging me to wake up. They were right. It was time to wake up. I was clinging to seven years of history, but she was only clinging to Cody. Mistaking my silence for submission, Ava’s voice turned cheerful, as if the matter was settled. “Don’t worry. The second Cody’s green card is approved, I’ll file for divorce and we’ll get married. We’ll have the wedding of your dreams, okay?” She added, “Oh, and did you see the car he got you? Isn’t it great? He’s such a thoughtful kid. You should cut him some slack, you know? Don’t make people think you’re small-minded.” A bitter laugh escaped me. She couldn’t go three sentences without circling back to her wonderful Cody. While I was working late nights to save our company, she was at Per Se with him, posting on Instagram about the importance of “making memories.” While I was at the hospital with her sick father, she and Cody were skiing in Aspen, captioning their photos with “The brave enjoy the world first.” She was enjoying the world, alright, while I was the one carrying its weight for her. And still, in her eyes, I’d never measure up to him. Before I could reply, I heard his voice in the background, whining. “Ava, come on! The office is closing for lunch soon!” “Gotta go,” she said, all business again. “Don’t forget to handle that project.” She hung up. I gripped my phone, the plastic creaking under the pressure. She couldn’t even spare another ten seconds for me. Two minutes later, a notification popped up. An @all message in the company’s general Slack channel. I tapped it open. A congratulatory announcement, written in bold, red font, filled my screen: [BIG NEWS!] A huge congratulations to our own Cody Hayes and CEO Ava Chen on tying the knot today! A match made in heaven! We wish the happy couple a lifetime of love and happiness! Beneath the text was a photo. Cody, in a crisp white suit, had Ava wrapped in his arms, his head bent to kiss her. Her eyes were closed, a blissful smile playing on her lips as she held up two crimson marriage certificates for the camera. The background was unmistakable: the seal of the City Clerk’s office. The channel exploded. Cody’s sycophants were the first to react: “Congratulations, Cody! Congrats, Ms. Chen! This is the best news our company has ever had!” Cody himself quickly posted a voice memo, his tone thick with smug satisfaction. “Wow, thanks everyone. Ava and I were going to keep it low-key, but she insisted we share the joy with our company family. Dinner on me soon, everyone!” The head of HR immediately chimed in: “So generous of you, Cody! This finally puts all those nasty rumors about Ms. Chen’s personal life to rest. Some people need to learn to recognize their place.” He followed it with a winking-face emoji, a digital arrow aimed straight at my heart. I had no intention of engaging, but they weren’t about to let me off that easily. One of Cody’s cronies tagged me directly. “@Ethan Wu, what do you say? As a company veteran, shouldn’t you be the first one to congratulate our CEO and her new husband?” The moment the message appeared, the quiet hum of the office shifted. Heads that had been buried in screens now flickered with furtive glances in my direction. Before I could even react, Cody replied to the comment. “Hey, guys, leave Ethan alone. Let’s not make things awkward for him. He’s probably having a rough day. No need to pressure him.” It was a masterful stroke of passive-aggression, painting himself as the magnanimous victor while publicly confirming I was the one who’d been discarded. And Ava? She posted a single, sterile sentence: “Thank you, everyone. Now, back to work. All project approvals will be handled by Director Wu for the time being.” Her silence on the matter was the most brutal confirmation of all. I wasn’t her partner. I was just a useful tool. I calmly navigated away from the Slack channel. Then I opened my employment portal and electronically signed my own resignation letter. 2 That evening, I took a cab to Ava’s parents’ house. My car, of course, had been commandeered by Ava. The house, a beautiful brownstone in Brooklyn, was one I had bought years ago with every penny I had, intending for it to be our marital home. But Ava had complained it was too far from our Manhattan office. So, she moved her parents in from their small town and had me buy a sleek, modern condo in Midtown. The joke was on me. She continued living in the Brooklyn house with her parents, while the Midtown condo sat empty, off-limits to me. I was renting a small studio apartment near the office. For convenience, she’d said. Now that I was leaving, I felt I owed her parents a final, respectful explanation. With that thought, I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Her mother opened the door. The smile on her face vanished the moment she saw me. “Ethan. Is the company not busy? What brings you all the way out here?” Before I could answer, she turned and walked back inside, muttering just loud enough for me to hear, “You should learn from Cody. Such a thoughtful boy. He came to visit just the other day, brought us such expensive gifts. And you? You’ve been with Ava all these years and you show up empty-handed.” I froze. Just last week, I’d had a friend bring back a top-of-the-line fishing rod from Japan for her father and a custom-made silk shawl from Italy for her. Had Ava taken credit for those, too? I followed her into the living room. Her father was on the sofa, lovingly polishing the very fishing rod I’d given him. “Mrs. Chen,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “That fishing rod, and the shawl… I had a friend bring those for you. Didn’t Ava tell you?” Her father shot me a cold glare. “That’s enough, Ethan. Ava already told us. They were special gifts from Cody.” He set the rod down pointedly. “Why would you try to steal credit from a younger person like that? It’s pathetic.” Her mother, who had been about to make me tea, put the cup down and shook her head at me with profound disappointment. In their eyes, I was no longer a welcome guest. Just then, the front door opened, and the sound of Ava and Cody’s laughter filled the entryway. “Mom, Dad, we’re home!” Ava walked in, arm-in-arm with Cody, both of them beaming. When Cody saw me, his smile faltered. In a split second, his eyes welled up with tears, and he scurried behind Ava like a frightened child. The shift in the room was instantaneous. The elder Chens’ faces hardened. Her father slammed the fishing rod down on the coffee table with a loud crack. “Ethan, were you bullying Cody? Let me tell you something. I’ve watched that boy grow up. He’s like a son to me. Don’t you dare overstep!” He pointed a shaking finger at the rod. “You say you bought this? Fine. Take it back. We don’t want it. And don’t bother coming through my door again.” “Exactly,” her mother chimed in. “Cody is new to the city. For him to think of buying us such wonderful gifts… it shows his character. And you? You try to claim his good deed as your own. How could we ever trust you with our daughter?” This was all the encouragement Cody needed. His performance began in earnest. “It’s all my fault,” he said, his voice trembling, tears now streaming down his face. “I never should have bought those things. Ethan, please don’t be angry with Mr. and Mrs. Chen. It’s all on me.” He looked tragically toward the door. “I’m clearly just in the way here. I’m taking up your space. I should just… I should leave New York tomorrow.” Ava pulled him into a protective embrace, stroking his hair. “Cody, you don’t have to apologize to him. He’s just being petty and jealous. He can’t stand to see anyone else succeed.” My hands started to shake. I stared at her, my voice low and tight. “Ava. Tell me the truth. Who bought these gifts?” She turned her head, her eyes like chips of ice. “Are you done making a scene, Ethan? Cody bought them.” Then, under her breath, so only I could hear, she hissed, “My parents have high blood pressure. If you upset them, I swear to God, you and I are finished.” She was frantically signaling with her eyes, pleading with me to drop it. In that moment, the truth settled in my bones. I had always been, and would always be, an outsider. Her father grunted, getting to his feet. “We’re having a family discussion here. You should leave.” A family discussion. And I was the only one not part of the family. A flicker of triumph crossed Cody’s face before he masked it with faux concern. “Maybe that’s not such a good idea… Ethan is a guest, after all…” “Ethan,” her father said, ignoring Cody and turning his full attention to me. “Let me be perfectly clear. I don’t think you’re good enough for my daughter. Education? Cody is a graduate of a prestigious international university. Ability? You only have a position at the company because Ava is the CEO. You’re out of your league. Do yourself a favor and leave with some dignity.” A man whose high school diploma was bought online. A company that would have gone bankrupt three times over if not for me. I couldn't help it. I laughed. “Your house? This house that I bought with my own money, that you’ve been living in, rent-free, for years? And now you’re telling me I’m not good enough for your daughter?” That struck a nerve. He snatched a teacup from the table and hurled it at the floor. It shattered, sending shards of porcelain flying. A sharp pain bloomed on my forearm. “The deed is in my daughter’s name!” he roared, his face purple with rage. “First the gifts, now the house! Is there anything you won’t try to claim as yours? Get out now, or I’m calling the police!” I looked at the twisted faces of this family and felt nothing but exhaustion. There was no point in fighting anymore. I held Ava’s gaze for a long moment, then turned and walked out the door without another word. She frowned, a flicker of something unreadable in her eyes, but ultimately, she said nothing. 3 Outside, the night air was sharp and cold against my face. I started walking with no destination in mind, suddenly adrift. The keys to the Midtown condo were with Ava, and I had no desire to go back for them. I’d already terminated the lease on my studio apartment. It looked like I’d be sleeping in my car. I walked to my usual parking spot around the corner, only to find it empty. My Land Rover was gone. Frowning, I pulled out my phone and dialed Ava’s number. It rang for a long time before she finally answered, her voice dripping with annoyance. “What do you want now, Ethan? I thought you left.” I clenched my jaw, forcing the rage down. “Where’s my car?” There was a pause. Then, in a tone of utter entitlement, she said, “Oh, the Land Rover? I gave it to Cody.” It took every ounce of my self-control not to smash the phone against the pavement. “You what? What gives you the right to give my car to him?” “What’s this ‘yours’ and ‘mine’ nonsense?” Her voice shot up an octave. “Can you stop being so damn cheap? Cody just moved to the city. He can’t be taking Ubers everywhere, can he? He’s using your car for business meetings, to generate revenue for the company!” She wasn’t finished. “Besides, didn’t he buy you a new one?” she scoffed. “What’s the big deal about letting him drive a decent car for a change?” A piece-of-junk bicycle. She was actually comparing it to my Land Rover. As if that weren’t enough, she added one more thing, as if it were an afterthought. “Oh, and the Midtown condo was just sitting empty, so I let Cody move in. It’s much more convenient for him than a hotel.” I finally snapped. “You wouldn’t dare!” I roared into the phone. “I bought that place!” A cold, dismissive laugh came from her end. “You bought it? Ethan, have you forgotten whose name is on the deed?” she sneered. “I’ll let whoever I want live there. It’s none of your business.” Her tone shifted again, back to the aggrieved party. “And let me tell you, my dad is furious. He was so upset he smashed that old tea set you kept in the cabinet. If you ever want to speak to me again, you’ll bring an identical one back here tomorrow and apologize.” A pause. “Otherwise, we really are over.” She expected me to come crawling back, just like all the other times. Not this time. My fury was a white-hot flame now. “Ava, confirm something for me,” I said, my voice dangerously calm. “The tea set. Was it in a black lacquered box?” “Yeah, that’s the one. Your precious little treasure. Now you’re worried about it? Maybe if you’d had a better attitude, none of this would have happened.” “Ava,” I said, the words feeling like shards of glass in my mouth. “That was my father’s. He left it to me when he died. Surely you haven’t forgotten that.” For the first time, there was a flicker of panic in her voice, but it was quickly buried under her usual arrogance. “I… I didn’t remember. It’s just a tea set. Your dad has been gone for years. It’s not important.” She bulldozed on. “Stop changing the subject. You be here by noon tomorrow with an apology. Do you hear me?” I rubbed my temples, feeling something inside me, some final thread of hope, shatter into a million pieces. “An identical one? That’s going to be impossible.” A dark, humorless smile touched my lips. “You know, I should really thank your idiotic father. He finally made me see your whole family for who you really are.” That did it. “What did you just say?” she shrieked, her voice a hysterical torrent. “Ethan Wu, how dare you! After all the years I’ve wasted on you, you have the nerve to talk to me like that?” The dam broke. “That’s it! We are done! Don’t even bother showing up to work tomorrow. You’re fired!” “Who do you think you are? Who do you think will ever want you after me? You can forget about the houses—you won’t get a single brick. And the car? Don’t even think about it!” She slammed the phone down. I stood on the cold sidewalk and lit a cigarette, the small flame trembling in my hands. I took a long drag, letting the smoke fill my lungs, trying to calm the storm inside me. Seven years of my life. Two properties. Everything I had. All of it gone, leaving me with nothing. They had even destroyed my father’s last gift to me. This was the end of the line. It was time to bring out the arsenal I had hoped I would never have to use. I looked down at the evidence I had saved on my phone. The last bit of mercy in my heart flickered and died. They wanted to take what was mine. I was going to make them spit it all back out, piece by painful piece.
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