Chapter 5

“Levia, where is the proposal I prepared for the meeting?” I asked. My voice was still hoarse, a remnant of my tears and the suffocating dust from the warehouse earlier that afternoon. I tried to gather what little professionalism I had left. This evening’s meeting was crucial for the future of our expansion project, and I refused to let my personal problems destroy the team’s hard work.

However, Levia did not immediately hand me the folder I asked for. She looked nervous, hesitant to answer. Her fingers were intertwined anxiously, and her eyes avoided mine. There was a deep चिंता etched across the face of my loyal assistant.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am… Vivian came into your office earlier. I tried to stop her, but she got angry and pushed me until I fell!” Levia said, her voice trembling. She winced slightly while holding her elbow, which looked reddened—perhaps from hitting the corner of the desk during the incident.

My blood boiled instantly. The exhaustion that had weighed down my body seemed to evaporate, replaced by a cold wave of anger. That woman had truly lost her mind. Not only had she destroyed my marriage, but now she dared to touch company assets and hurt the people I trusted.

“So you mean the proposal I prepared was taken by Vivian?” I asked to confirm, trying to keep my voice from exploding in the middle of the office corridor.

“Yes, Ma’am. She said if you want it, you have to get it from her office,” Levia replied softly.

I clenched my fists until my knuckles turned white. This was a low and deliberate provocation. Vivian was clearly baiting me, wanting me to come to her, to flaunt the power she had just gained from Bastian’s blind protection. Forcing myself to stand tall, I—Casandra—had no choice but to walk toward Vivian’s office.

My footsteps echoed against the granite floor, creating a sharp rhythm along the corridor toward the secretariat wing. Every step felt like a thorn piercing through me, but I would not let that woman win by stealing the result of my hard work.

When I reached her slightly open door, I stopped. I heard laughter ringing inside—a shrill, victorious laugh that made my stomach churn. Vivian sounded delighted as she spoke with her friend, a finance manager who also worked at this company. They seemed so close, as if celebrating a great conquest.

“Are you sure you can win Bastian’s heart, Vivian? Isn’t he already Casandra’s husband?” her friend asked, her voice uncertain but curious.

Vivian laughed—a laugh dripping with mockery. She leaned back in the executive chair that wasn’t hers, twirling a gold pen I recognized as the one I had given Bastian last year.

“Casandra is about to be thrown away! Bastian didn’t even defend her when she argued with me! You saw what happened in the warehouse earlier, right? He was the one who dragged her there. She’s already worthless in his eyes,” Vivian said dismissively.

“Is Bastian really like that? Shouldn’t he trust his wife? After all, Casandra built this company with him from nothing,” her friend replied, trying to bring some logic into the insane conversation.

Vivian scoffed, then sipped her expensive coffee with forced elegance. “Casandra? She’s just a foolish girl Bastian ran to when I broke up with him. He married her because he needed someone reliable to work hard for him while his heart still belonged to me. Now that he’s successful and drowning in money, I’m taking back what’s mine! Besides, who would stay with a stiff and boring woman like Casandra when there’s me?”

Hearing that confession, my heart seemed to stop for a moment. So for five years, I was nothing more than an escape? A workhorse used to build a throne so his former lover could reclaim her place? The pain was far worse than being locked in that rat-infested warehouse earlier. This was the ultimate humiliation for a wife who had given her entire life and love.

I couldn’t hold back anymore. I shoved the door open violently until it slammed against the magnetic stopper.

Braak!

Both women were startled. Vivian’s friend quickly stood up, her face pale, while Vivian instantly twisted her expression into a cynical smirk. She didn’t look ashamed at all, even though her filthy secret had just been exposed.

“What do you want, Vivian? Why did you take the proposal I prepared?” I demanded as I stepped toward her desk. I stared at her sharply, trying to assert what little authority I still had as the President Director.

Vivian lifted the folder I was looking for, swinging it in the air mockingly. “You want this proposal? Don’t dream. It’s now part of my responsibility as Bastian’s personal secretary. You don’t need to worry about the meeting this afternoon, Casandra. You should just go home and take care of that pale face of yours.”

“Give it back, Vivian! That’s the result of months of research by my team!” My voice rose. I tried to grab it, but she swiftly pulled it away, nearly making me lose my balance.

“Who do you think you are? I’m the one who controls what reaches Bastian’s desk now,” Vivian challenged.

As we argued fiercely, the office door opened again. Bastian walked in, his face looking tired, but it instantly turned alert when he saw me there.

“What’s going on here? Why all the noise?” he asked in a heavy voice.

Within seconds, an unbelievable drama unfolded before my eyes. Vivian, who had been standing arrogantly just moments ago, suddenly threw herself onto the floor with a loud thud. Before I could react, she raised her hand—

Slap!

—she struck her own cheek hard, her fair skin instantly turning red.

She began to sob, crocodile tears streaming down her face. “Bastian… help me… Casandra suddenly came in and attacked me…” she cried, sounding pitiful.

Bastian was shocked to see Vivian’s reddened cheek and her collapsed on the floor. He turned to look at me with pure anger in his eyes. No questions. No room for explanation. To him, what he saw was enough.

“Bastian, look! Casandra slapped me! She got angry just because I was trying to help organize her documents!” Vivian wailed, clutching her cheek, acting like the most victimized person in the world.

Bastian said nothing to me. He simply stepped forward quickly, his eyes gleaming like a predator ready to strike. Before I could defend myself or explain that I hadn’t even touched her, he was already standing right in front of me.

Without warning, his large, strong hand swung through the air.

SLAP!

The blow was so hard that my head snapped to the side. My ears rang violently, and a burning pain instantly spread across my left cheek. My body staggered backward, crashing into a filing cabinet. I could feel something warm and metallic trickling from the corner of my lips.

“Casandra, feel my slap! You dared to hit Vivian—then I’ll repay it for her!” Bastian shouted.

I held my throbbing cheek, staring at him with eyes that had gone completely empty. Fresh blood dripped onto my fingertips. My lips were split, but my heart was far more shattered. The man who once promised to protect me had now become the first person to raise his hand against me—for a woman who had just framed me.

On the floor, Vivian hid her victorious smile behind the hand that pretended to wipe away her tears.