Chapter 4

I had no idea what they were saying, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I was leaving soon anyway. They could gossip all they wanted.

Then Maya came charging over. Before I could react, she dumped an entire cup of hot coffee over my head.

"You shameless bitch! You went after my boyfriend? I'm going to kill you!"

Her boyfriend?

I was still trying to figure out what she was talking about when Maya launched into another stream of abuse. It took me a moment to realize what she was accusing me of.

According to her, I was the one who had come between her and Caleb.

The sheer hypocrisy almost left me speechless.

Once I understood what was happening, I looked past her and saw Caleb standing nearby. He watched Maya insult me and our employees point and whisper, yet he made no move to stop any of it.

Caleb and I had kept our marriage private at work. I had been beside him from the beginning, helping him build this company step by step. He'd thanked me more times than I could count, and during the hardest years, when we struggled together, he'd sworn that one day he would make it all up to me.

Now he simply stood there while Maya falsely branded me the other woman.

I wasn't about to let everyone think I was someone's mistress, so I pulled out our marriage certificate.

"You've got it backward. You're the other woman. Caleb and I got married a long time ago. We're husband and wife."

The employees froze. A moment later, the whispering started again.

Maya didn't look worried in the slightest. She snatched the certificate from my hand, tore it to pieces, and tossed them into the trash.

"That thing is fake. I have proof that you've been harassing Caleb."

She immediately posted on her social media feed.

The first video was a compilation of every time I'd lost my temper. Maya had cut away all the context, leaving only clips of me furious and out of control, with nothing showing what had happened beforehand.

Then she posted another video.

This one showed her at the house, calling Diane and Mark "Mom" and "Dad."

"Caleb already introduced me to his parents a long time ago. I even call them Mom and Dad now.

"You're the one who's been using your position at work to threaten him and refuse to leave him alone."

That was enough for the employees.

"She's completely unhinged. No wonder Mr. Jones has always had such a bad relationship with her. So Quinn's been harassing him this whole time."

"She thinks being good at her job gives her the right to threaten him? That's disgusting."

Still, Caleb said nothing.

Instead, he quietly took out his phone and turned on the camera, waiting to capture the moment I finally snapped.

All at once, a wave of exhaustion washed over me.

Soon enough, Caleb, Maya, and everyone else there would have nothing to do with me.

They could believe whatever they wanted. I couldn't be bothered to defend myself anymore.

"Fine. Believe whatever you want."

I ignored the rest and walked straight over to Caleb with my resignation letter.

He stared at it.

"What is this supposed to mean?"

"Nothing in particular. I'm tired, and I want some time off. Please approve my resignation, Mr. Jones."

"No. I won't."

I looked at him. "I thought I was supposedly harassing you. What, you don't want to let me go?"

"That's not..."

For once, Caleb seemed completely at a loss for words.

He looked ready to explain, but then he turned and saw the hurt expression on Maya's face.

His jaw tightened, and he signed the resignation.

I finished the rest of the exit paperwork without showing a trace of emotion.

Later, inside Caleb's office, he frowned as he tried to explain himself.

"Everything that happened just now was an act. All you have to do is admit you're angry. I'll go out there right now, explain everything, clear your name, and give you your job back."

I handed him the pen and smiled easily.

"I hope you two have a long and happy life together."

I ignored Caleb's furious reaction behind me, gathered my things, and went home.

I had barely reached the door when Mom messaged me, telling me to get to the hospital immediately.

Only after I arrived did I learn what had happened.

Maya had sent Dad the video of me being humiliated at work. His health was already poor, and the shock and anger had sent him straight to the hospital.

"Dad, forget about them," I said beside his bed, trying to comfort him. "We can't control what other people say. My life is only going to get better from here."