Giving Up Research Rights Left Her Broke

“Travis, you also deserve credit for the company going public today.

“Come and stand next to me. Let’s do this together.”

Vanessa grinned as she waved Travis over. He hurried toward her.

The two of them held the pair of scissors together, cutting the ribbon side by side.

All the employees surrounded them, clapping and cheering.

“This is such a good sign!”

“Look at Ms. Carline cutting the ribbon with Travis! It means they’re going to lead the company to even greater heights together!”

“Come on, let’s head inside. The celebration cake is ready for you two!”

My eyes burned when I watched that warm, joyful scene at the company entrance. I could not help but tighten my grip around the brooch in my hand.

Today was meant to be the day the company went public. I had been up early, preparing nonstop.

However, the moment we arrived at the entrance, my wife, Vanessa Carline, said she had left her brooch at home and asked me to drive back for it.

I cared about her and wanted her to look her best for the ceremony.

Therefore, I did not hesitate to turn the car around and rush home to find it.

However, everything became crystal clear when I saw Travis Skeldon standing in the spot that should have been mine.

The forgotten brooch was just an excuse. She wanted me out of the way so she could share this moment of glory with him.

They had even moved the ceremony up by half an hour.

Travis looked over and seemed to notice me. He pretended to be surprised and asked, “Stephen, why did you only get here now? We couldn’t find you anywhere, so we just went ahead. Sorry about that.”

He spoke while pretending to be flustered. He set the scissors aside, but the smug look in his eyes did not fade one bit.

He had only been at the company for less than two months, but he acted like he owned the place just because he was Vanessa’s first love.

Knowing Vanessa would always have his back, he felt free to challenge me recklessly at every turn.

Vanessa glanced at me and scolded me without mercy, “Stephen, how could you be late on such an important day? Did you expect everyone to just stand here and wait for you?

“You’re always holding the company back. If you can’t do anything right, just let Travis take over the new product’s R&D.

“This project is a joint effort with domestic and international partners. We can’t afford any screw-ups, especially from you.”

It was summer, yet her words cut through me like ice, freezing my blood.

Back then, when she said she wanted to start a company, I gave up my flourishing career without a second thought.

I poured in all my savings and built everything with her from scratch.

She was incapable of running a company on her own, so I carried all the weight and took on every burden without complaint just to achieve what we had today.