Chapter 4

That ‘beautiful, strong, and tragic’ persona was exactly the kind of thing Willow and her friends could not resist.

Melody and Irene quickly brought Jasper into their circle and saw themselves as his older sisters, supporting him in every way at work and taking great care of him in private.

Willow, Melody, Irene, and I had shared everything since the beginning of the business. Since Jasper appeared, we gradually no longer had anything to talk about.

The first direct conflict occurred half a year ago, during an important new energy project bidding. The proposal my team and I put forward was fundamentally at odds with the direction Jasper’s team was taking.

At the project review meeting, my proposal narrowly won because of its detailed data and manageable risks.

Jasper did not directly refute the data. He just stood up with slightly reddened eyes. "Mr. Surrey's plan is very comprehensive and takes into account every detail. I'm very impressed.

“But some seniors might be accustomed to the full allocation of company resources and can't understand the pressure that we newcomers, who can only start from scratch and explore by ourselves, need to bear in terms of innovation and breakthroughs.

“My plan may be radical, but it represents the future."

His pointed remark was like a bucket of dirty water dumped over my head. He spoke as if everything I had achieved today was not earned through my own hard work, but simply handed to me through so-called ‘full allocation of company resources’.

Before I could speak, Melody comforted Jasper, "Jasper, don't say that. We can see your effort clearly."

Irene also chimed in, "Yes, it's good that newbies have fresh ideas. We can't keep looking at things through the same old lens. Willow, I think Jasper's proposal is very bold and worth a try."

I looked at Willow. She was the president and my wife, and I needed her support.

She was silent for a moment, but her words were sharp like a knife. "Mason, your proposal is the safer option, but sometimes Starmax needs to take a bit of a risk. I'll reconsider this."

That was the first time the three of them publicly dismissed me.

The real despair came the night before the promotion review.

Willow had to come home late.

I was tidying up her study when a text message popped up on the computer.

[I've spoken to the review committee. The final round will be decided by voting. Jasper, do your best this time. Don't let us down.]

My mind went blank.

The message only appeared for two seconds before quickly being unsent.

My hand holding the mouse went ice-cold.

The so-called fair competition was a deception tailor-made for Jasper from the very beginning.

The judging committee, the voting system... She paved everything for him.

I, her husband who shared a bed with her, the veteran who had made great contributions to the company, was nothing but a fool kept in the dark and a backdrop used to highlight Jasper's ‘merit-based wins’.

Anger and a sense of betrayal instantly overwhelmed me. However, I still held onto a sliver of hope, fantasizing that she would regain her senses and realize who was truly the most suitable person for the regional general manager position on the selection day.

However, reality slapped me hard, completely waking me up.

I finally understood that this was Willow's world. In Starmax, she set the rules.

After failing to get promoted and ‘tearfully’ accepting the huge compensation, I changed completely.