Ditch Him and Start Again

Hand-in-hand with Anna Klein, Zachary Lowe approached me and snapped impatiently, "Give me the card to the honeymoon suite. I'm going to soak in the hot springs with Anna."

Anna was clutching Zachary's arm affectionately as she gave me a taunting look. Those who didn't know our situation would've assumed that she was his wife, not me.

"Thanks, Elaine! Mr. Lowe and I will be sure to enjoy ourselves!"

I got to my feet and handed Zachary the card. He snatched it from me and started walking off, but he ended up bumping into me.

Losing my balance, I stumbled backward before bashing my waist against the table behind me. Even though I gasped in pain, he didn't even bother turning back to check on me.

Isaac Hudson, the head of the sales department, eyed me and said, "Anna has been under a lot of stress because of this project, and we finally managed to close the deal. She has made a huge contribution to the company, so it's only right for Mr. Lowe to treat her well."

It sounded as though he was warning me.

And yet, I was the one who went through multiple rounds of negotiations with the other party to convince them to sign the contract.

I even promised to provide numerous additional benefits through my parents' company, Stellar Group, before they agreed to it.

All Anna did was serve coffee at the meetings. How was she the one who contributed to the company?

Even Sean Campbell, the head of the technology department, stood up for Anna. "That's right. She's exhausted and needs rest, so don't disturb her, Elaine. You should prepare a nice dinner for her tonight!"

My heart grew cold when I saw the way both Isaac and Sean were now sticking up for Anna. They used to be on my side before she joined the company.

No longer in the mood to eat, I went back to my room. As soon as I got there, I received a call from Zachary.

"Anna has a headache. Hurry up and buy some medication for her. I'll give you five minutes to deliver it to our room."

"I'm not going," I replied icily.

"Anna wouldn't have been so vexed that she ended up with a headache if you hadn't wasted our time by getting jealous!" Zachary fumed. "Hurry up and bring us the medication, and I'll consider the matter closed! Otherwise, I'll—"

I cut the line, got into bed, and closed my eyes to sleep.

Zachary and I got married the moment we were legally allowed to. We grew up together. He even gave up his opportunity to attend a better college just so he could be with me.

"I want to be with you forever, Elaine. I never want to be separated from you!" he declared.

Just like that, we were inseparable. All of my firsts were with him.

Our relationship was so solid that we ended up together as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He never officially asked me to be his girlfriend. We went straight to a proposal.

He proposed at the beach, my favorite place. He gave me all of his assets and even wanted to transfer his shares in his family's company to me without keeping anything for himself.

"What's mine is yours, Elaine. We'll be united as one and never be apart."

However, soon after his proposal, his family went bankrupt. I was even the one who secretly paid for his college tuition.

Slowly, Zachary became a touchy, reactive person. He started losing his patience with me. He would easily get angry and start ranting at me.

Later on, he met Anna and spent most of his time with her. They shared meals and went on vacations together. Over time, there was no longer a place for me beside him.

From the very beginning, we agreed to start a company, Northcrest Co., together once we graduated. Ignoring my wishes, he made Anna his secretary.

I thought that as we strove to build up Northcrest Co. together, he would eventually recall our connection and mutual agreements. Never would it have occurred to me that I would be completely gone from his heart now.

We arranged to have a company team-building event here because a month ago, he said that if we did close the deal, he would take me to a hot springs resort to celebrate.

But it was Anna that he was using the hot springs with.

As my tears soaked into my pillow, I took off my wedding ring and tossed it into the trash can.