Lost the Job, Lost My Wife

Leonard Graham's POV

The promotion announcement sent the entire company into an uproar.

Some people felt sorry for me, while some were disappointed for me. But overall, no one was surprised.

From the moment Henry Zeller walked through the doors, everyone knew the CEO had brought him in.

And that CEO was my wife, Yvonne Parker.

I'd spent three years working toward becoming the Director of Marketing.

I worked around the clock, bringing in seven investments worth more than ten million each, building connections across the company's most critical supply chains, and generating roughly 15% of the company's annual profits.

I practically lived at the office, trying to earn that promotion. I even lost 13 pounds in a month.

Yet the moment Yvonne led an expensively dressed Henry into the office, I knew what was coming next.

I had lost again.

The company's group chat was still buzzing with gossip about the promotion.

"I told you this whole thing was just for show," someone said. "They've already decided who gets the position."

"Exactly. Everyone knows Henry got the job because of Yvonne. I've been with the company for years, and that's the first time I've ever seen her take such good care of someone."

Someone hurriedly cut in. "Breaking news! I heard from Yvonne's assistant that she's been secretly married for five years, and her husband works here!"

"So Henry is Yvonne's husband? No wonder she treats him so well. He's only been here for half a month, and she's already made him a department director."

"Does anyone feel bad for Mr. Graham? He's been working toward this promotion for so long, and now…"

"What's there to feel bad about? He's up against the boss' husband."

There was a pause before another message came in.

"Wait, isn't Mr. Graham in this group too?"

I stared blankly at the messages on my screen.

Ever since Henry came back from overseas, I'd seen some version of this happen countless times.

The first time was at one of Yvonne's family gatherings, when Henry showed up as an uninvited guest.

There wasn't a seat left for him at the main table.

Yvonne hesitated for all of two seconds before looking at me without the slightest hint of guilt. "Go sit somewhere else. Henry can sit here."

She took him to the main table, and I ended up squeezed into a corner by the door with distant relatives I had never met.

Even members of the Parker family joked about it.

"Yvonne hasn't changed. Henry will always come first for her. There's no use competing with him."

I never wanted to compete with Henry, but I just couldn't help feeling bitter.

After all those years of hard work, seeing it all amount to nothing was difficult. All I wanted was to be closer to Yvonne.

In the second year of our marriage, I left my senior position at a multinational company to join Parker Group, where I started over from the bottom.