Chapter 4

Even when Whitney was the one at fault, I still had to swallow my pride and apologize.

I used to think it was my responsibility. Whether I was repaying her kindness or trying to save our relationship, I always felt I had to keep her happy.

But now, I was just tired of it all.

I lowered my head and went back to what I was doing earlier.

A short while later, Whitney came out of the bedroom with a sour look on her face.

"Did you see the messages in the group chat?" she asked.

"What messages?" I pretended not to know what she meant.

I didn't even look up, but I could tell she was relieved. "It's nothing. It was just some work-related messages that were sent to the wrong group."

I found her excuse ridiculous, but I couldn't be bothered to call her out on it.

I couldn't help but wonder how much else she'd been hiding about herself and Jude.

When I didn't answer, Whitney spoke again. "Jude's car has been fixed. What about yours?"

I knew she was giving me a chance to make peace with her.

In the past, I would've taken that as a sign that she had forgiven me and rushed to make her happy.

But this time, I didn't even look up. I replied flatly, "It's just an old, beat-up car. There's no point fixing it."

Whitney frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

I looked up at her, confused. I had no idea what she was upset about.

My car had been scratched and dented plenty of times before. Whenever I suggested getting it fixed, she had said the same thing.

I expected her to lose her temper again, but instead, she sighed.

"I know you're still mad about what happened at the company, but Jude has been doing great work lately. I gave him the car because I want to keep someone as talented as him."

I nearly laughed out loud when I heard that.

Whitney had made an exception to hire Jude, even though he was terrible at his job. He had made more mistakes than I could count.

His mess-ups ranged from ordering plain water for a client while getting milk tea for himself during meetings to sending a business partner our cost sheet instead of the price quote.

That last mistake had cost the company tens of thousands of dollars.

There was absolutely no reason to keep him around.

If I hadn't known how things really were at the company, I might have believed Whitney.

I stayed silent, and Whitney continued, "You're my boyfriend. Once we get married, the company will be yours, too. So why are you making such a fuss over your salary? Why must you insist on competing with Jude?"

"Neil, everything I do is for the good of the company. I just don't want the other coworkers to think I'm playing favorites with you."

I knew those were nothing but excuses.

Everyone at the company knew how Whitney treated Jude and me.

I had spent three days working nonstop to finish a project, only for her to hand it over to Jude on a whim. All he had to do was put together a slide for the presentation, and he got all the credit.

I had spent days negotiating with a client and was about to close the deal. Then she used my name to take Jude out to dinner with them. Suddenly, he was the one who had won the contract.

Things like that had happened more times than I could count.

After seeing this happen over and over, my coworkers had come to believe that Whitney favored Jude over me.

Some even thought Whitney disliked me. As a result, I had faced plenty of dirty looks and mistreatment at work.

Whitney had seen it all but had never stepped in.

I didn't bother explaining. She would only accuse me of making excuses anyway.

"Okay." I gave a casual nod. "You don't have to explain any of this to me. I no longer work for the company. You can do whatever you want."

Whitney said nothing.

Finally, she sighed. Then she walked over, stood on her tiptoes, and wrapped her arms around my neck.

She spoke in a sweet, gentle voice. "To be honest, I had my own selfish reasons, too. I wanted you to take some time off and get some rest. You could use this time to think about our wedding.

Then, her smile turned playful. "So, when are you planning to propose?"

But I had proposed to her many times before, and she had turned me down every single time.

Whenever we fought, she would bring up marriage to make me feel better.

Sometimes, I felt less like her boyfriend and more like someone she could push around whenever she pleased.

I didn't reply to her.

Whitney scratched under my chin, as though I were a pet. "Come on, don't be mad. Give me a smile."

With that, she leaned in to kiss me, as if she were trying to win me over.

I caught the scent of Jude's cologne on her again.

My stomach turned. I shoved her away, frowning in disgust. Then I pulled out a wet wipe and wiped my hands clean.