Chapter 1

Today's meeting in the Starmax Group's top-floor conference room would determine the candidate for General Manager of the Northern Region.

I had poured all my energy and effort into this position. Today, the outcome would finally be determined.

The department director’s voice reverberated in the meeting room, announcing the core management team would decide the final result team through voting.

It would be between me and another candidate, Jasper White, because we were tied for the highest key performance index.

My gaze swept across the conference table.

Melody Tanner, my wife Willow Lawrence's good friend, was playing with her expensive wristwatch as she gave Jasper an encouraging look.

Next to her, Irene Stark nodded slightly and had a faint smile.

They were Willow's close friends and also my ‘friends’, and they had worked side by side with me at the company for many years.

My score was slightly higher initially, but through these two's manipulation, they gave Jasper various reasons to be awarded points, and finally pushed him to the same level as me.

The voting began.

One vote, two votes... The votes were as I had expected: tied.

The air in the conference room grew thinner, and I could hear my heart pounding.

The final suspense rested on Willow, the president of Starmax Group.

Everyone looked at her, their eyes filled with unspoken certainty.

We were husband and wife. She had no reason not to support me.

I looked at her too, forcing a polite smile whilst my hands clenched so tightly under the table that my knuckles turned white.

However, Willow's gaze passed over me and landed on Jasper, whose face was pale with tension. Her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and her tone was gentler than I had ever heard before. "Relax. Don't be nervous."

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

My smile froze, and my blood ran cold.

After her gentle reassurance, Willow finally looked at me and said firmly, "I vote for Jasper."

Jasper's eyes instantly lit up with surprise, while Melody and Irene smiled knowingly.

My wife of five years did not even offer me an explanation.

At that moment, I finally understood I had lost—not because of performance or ability, but because I had long lost my place in her heart.

That evening, back in our penthouse in the city center, the emotions I had suppressed all afternoon burst forth the moment I closed the door.

I did not react hysterically. I simply walked silently into the walk-in closet and began packing my luggage.

Willow followed me in, hugged me from behind, her voice tinged with weariness and apology. "Mason, don't be like this. It's just a job position. You don't need to—"