Chapter 5

My resignation required a one-week notice period for handover.

I booked a hotel near the office for the week.

Once news of our breakup spread, my coworkers started looking at me differently.

Assuming I was just a slacker who got in through the back door, they began icing me out.

They dumped all the tedious chores onto my desk, from printing files to running coffee errands.

Mr. Landon knew the truth about my departure and occasionally spoke up for me.

That only made the rumors worse.

People started gossiping that Jax dumped me because I was sleeping with Mr. Landon.

It didn't matter that my manager was happily married and treated everyone with the same kindness.

The workplace bullying only intensified.

Jax never said a word to defend me.

Maybe he didn't know. Or maybe he just didn't care.

Three days later, Jax slammed a set of strategy documents onto my desk, his face dark with rage.

"Elena Brown, is this complete garbage supposed to be your work? It's a total disaster!"

I opened the folder, confused.

My name was listed as the author on the cover page.

I was leaving in days. I hadn't taken on a single new project.

Before I could speak, Chloe grabbed Jax's sleeve, tears streaming down her face.

"Jax, please don't blame Elena! It's all my fault!"

Jax turned his glare back to me, his voice icy.

"Don't think you can shirk your responsibility just because Chloe is taking the hit for you!

"The client is furious over this mess," he snarled. "Your bonuses for the next three months are canceled!"

I had never touched this proposal before.

Now that it had blown up, he threw all the blame directly onto me.

My coworkers' gazes pierced through me like needles.

Some whispered behind their hands. Others smirked openly.

I lifted my head, refusing to back down. "I have never touched that proposal."

Jax leaned down and lowered his voice, dropping into a harsh whisper.

"You're just a low-level worker. Getting penalized doesn't ruin your career.

"Chloe is different," he hissed. "I just put her up for department head. If upper management finds out she botched this, they'll pull her nomination!

"Take the fall for her. Do it for me."

Looking at his anxious face, desperate to protect Chloe at my expense, the very last trace of my love for him shattered into dust.

Chloe shot me a guilty glance, but her mouth stayed firmly shut.

A cold chuckle escaped my lips. "Fine."

I'd consider it my final repayment for the time she got alcohol poisoning on my behalf.

---

Because of the project failure, upper management put me on a blacklist and ordered my immediate termination.

At three in the afternoon, Mr. Barry called me into his private office.

"Elena, this company has truly wronged you," he said softly.

He canceled my voluntary resignation filing and processed it as an involuntary termination with a full severance package.

I signed the new paperwork and thanked him from the bottom of my heart.

I was the last one to leave the office today.

Everything left at my cubicle went straight into the trash can.

The second I arrived back at my hotel room, Jax and Chloe messaged me at almost the exact same second.

They said they had agreed to buy me a fancy dinner to make it up to me.

The dropped location was a trendy romantic bistro.

It was the same place they had dined at, dozens of times together, taking advantage of the ‘couple's special.’

Every time they came back, they claimed it was just to save money on food.

Yet Jax had never taken me there once.

I used to just stare at Chloe's social media posts, listening to her talk about it with a quiet ache in my chest.

I didn't bother replying. I grabbed my luggage and hailed a cab to the airport.

Right before boarding, my phone buzzed with relentless texts from both of them, telling me not to be late because they had a special surprise for me.

Annoyed by the noise, I blocked both of their numbers.

Six years ago, I held a one-way plane ticket and rushed to a strange city to build a life with Jax.

Six years later, Chloe took my place by his side, leaving no room for me in his heart.

It was finally time for me to go home.