Chapter 4

Joanna usually couldn't even be bothered to call Mom "Mrs. Shore". Now she was all smiles as she called Mrs. Johnson "Mom"?

Larry's father, Mr. Johnson, shot me a look full of contempt. "So, he's just some broke relative here to freeload?"

Mrs. Johnson pinched her nose and snorted. "Do you know how pathetic it is for a grown man to crash at his cousin's place and bleed her dry? Joanna, tell him to move out. It'll be humiliating if this gets around."

While they took turns mocking me, Joanna didn't say a single word in my defense.

Larry was practically glowing with smugness, but he feigned concern and said, "Mom, Dad, stop. Jo and I are married now, so Callum is my cousin-in-law now. It's only right for us to look after him a little. Why don't we just let him stay?"

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson answered in unison, "He's moving out!"

At that, Joanna pulled me aside and asked in a hushed voice, "Callum, can you just put up with this for a bit longer and move out for a few days?"

I'd lost track of how many times she'd sold me out for Larry. Ever since he joined the company, she'd been favoring him and shortchanging me. Time after time, she dressed it up as a wish, wanting me to hand over my work and my wins so he could take the credit.

Now, she even wanted me to give up what used to be our home.

I didn't throw a fit or blow up like I used to. I just walked into the bedroom and pulled out the suitcase I'd already packed. "This is perfect, actually. I've already packed my things."

Joanna didn't even stop to wonder why I'd packed in advance. She just assumed I'd finally learned to be understanding and said in satisfaction, "Callum, I swear this is the last time I'll ever do this to you. Once things settle down, I'll divorce Larry and marry you. We'll have the most incredible wedding. I won't let you down ever again!"

I gave a noncommittal nod. As I turned away, a notification popped up on my phone. My resignation had just been approved.

One second, she was swearing up and down that she would never hurt me again. The next second, she'd approved my resignation.

Fine by me.

She had no idea there wasn't going to be a future for us. In two days, I'd be on a plane out of the country, gone from her life for good.

…

After I left, I checked into a hotel. I slept like a rock.

The next morning, I went to the office with Joanna's resignation approval to finish my exit paperwork. The moment I walked out of HR, I sensed the strange looks from my coworkers and heard their mocking whispers, which were just loud enough to reach my ears.

"Callum looks so put-together. Who would've known he would turn out to be a homewrecker?"

"Seriously, sharing an office with someone like that just feels gross."

I frowned. "Homewrecker? What are you even talking about?"

One of them suddenly shoved me hard.

"Drop the act, will you? Mr. Johnson shared his and Ms. Quill's marriage certificate on his socials yesterday. You're just a shameless bastard who tried to come between them!"

My shoulder slammed into the doorframe. A sharp pain shot through me, making me grunt.

Before Larry came into the picture, everyone at the company knew Joanna and I were an item. They'd bent over backward to suck up to me, begging me to put in a good word and pleading for me to bring them onto projects.

Now that Larry was the new favorite, they all rushed to kick me while I was down. They forgot how much I'd done to help them get to where they were.

"I'm not—"

I was just about to defend myself when Larry walked into the office in a sharp suit, his arms loaded with a stack of gift cards and a huge bag of chocolates.

He handed them out to everyone he passed, telling them to share in the celebration. My coworkers immediately started fawning over him.

"Congratulations, Mr. Johnson! You're clearly a real catch. You and Ms. Quill were made for each other!"

"If you ask me, he's gonna be VP real soon!"