Chapter 4

The next morning, my best friend bombarded me with calls until I finally woke up. That was when I found out the incident last night had blown up online.

People were calling me all kinds of names for harassing a female coworker. I was being branded as a disgrace to the industry, and several companies had even blacklisted me.

Worst of all, even my family was doxxed.

I knew this was Susie's warning. Shaking with rage, I called home and ensured my family was okay. Only then did I sigh in relief.

I looked around our once-cozy home, filled with memories of the life we once shared. Now, I felt sick to my stomach. I gathered everything that reminded me of her and threw it all away.

Then I contacted a lawyer to draft a divorce agreement as quickly as possible before storming back to the office.

When I arrived, I was told that all my projects had been handed over to John, who had just been promoted to department manager. I even lost my title as the designer.

"Sorry, Mr. Lloyd. From now on, all your hard work belongs to me."

John had deliberately changed into a custom-made suit Susie had bought for him. He had gone from an ordinary nobody to a rising industry star practically overnight.

He patted me on the shoulder, looking smug.

Susie stood nearby, arms crossed. "From now on, you'll stay by John's side and handle the odd jobs. The shareholders are very upset with you after seeing the news. This was their decision. I had to avoid any appearance of favoritism, so there's nothing I can do."

I sneered inwardly. "Something tells me you're actually thrilled about this."

She shrugged. "That's your warning for not obeying me. If you just apolo—"

I cut her off indifferently. "Forget it. Just remember to sign the divorce papers once I send them to you."

John's eyes lit up. Then he put on a fake guilty look and looked at Susie.

"Ms. Miller, I never meant to give him the wrong idea. Who knew he'd take it this far and get so worked up over it? Maybe I should give up the manager position."

Susie's face darkened. "No. You've already been treated unfairly enough because of him."

With that, she pulled out her phone and held it up to me. "Take a look at this."

On the screen was a livestream. A crowd of reporters had surrounded my grandparents, bombarding them with questions about what they thought of having a grandson like me.

Grandpa was so furious that he collapsed.

I started shaking with rage. "Whatever problem you have with me, you come after me. Leave my family out of this!"

"Weren't you so cocky when you shoved John yesterday?" she spat out icily.

My eyes were red with anger. "Grandpa and Grandma have always been nice to you! Where is your conscience, Susie?"

She didn't seem bothered in the slightest. "They're old. What's there to care about? This is the price you pay for laying a hand on John."

Something inside me turned frigid. I stepped forward and slapped Susie across the face.

"How dare you hit me?"

She screamed in fury and called security to drag me out of the building. I laughed coldly and sent my resignation straight to HR.

…

A few days later, at the launch event for the company's new products, Susie walked onto the stage with John. She proudly presented several of the bestselling pieces I had designed.

Sales numbers surged backstage. They were practically glowing with excitement. Somehow, she convinced herself that I would definitely get on my knees and beg her to take me back.

Then the screen behind them flickered on. A video of them fooling around in just lingerie and underwear inside the showroom began to play. In the footage, their fluid sprayed everywhere.

Susie's breathy voice came through the speakers. "Switching suppliers really did cut out costs by a ton. Skyler, that old-fashioned fool, kept going on about maintaining quality and whatnot. What an idiot."

"Exactly," John replied. "And we can just pay some agency to fake those quality inspection reports when the time comes. Those clueless consumers will never know the difference."

Onstage, Susie's face was deathly pale. Her whole body began to tremble.

John panicked, too. "Turn it off! Where's the backstage crew! Cut the power!"

Alas, it was too late.

An assistant rushed over in a panic. "This is bad! We're trending online now. More than 90% of the orders have been canceled and refunded. We're also getting flooded with complaints. Apparently, someone called the Consumer Protection Agency."