Chapter 4

I went to bed without waiting for Mark to come home. I had no idea what time he got back, and when I woke the next morning, he had already left.

Breakfast was waiting on the table with a note that read, "Happy tenth anniversary."

That was when I remembered. Mark and I had been together for exactly ten years.

I glanced at the flight I had already booked on my phone, then slowly set the note aside. It was also the day I was going to end things with him.

I sat down to eat and opened my social media feed. Rachel's new post was the first thing I saw. The breakfast in her photo was identical to the one in front of me.

The caption read, "Thank you for bringing me breakfast, Mr. Foster! I'll work even harder from now on!"

The bite of sandwich in my mouth caught in my throat, too far down to spit out but impossible to swallow. Any appetite I had left disappeared.

Just then, I got a text from my former supervisor, Emma Jones. "Erin, maybe it's a good thing you left. They're not opening the director position up after all. Rachel has already been given the job."

The message made no sense. Rachel had already moved into a new role as Mark's assistant. Why was she suddenly moving back to become director?

Emma went on to explain what had happened.

Mark had put Rachel in charge of all his key projects and personally pushed for her promotion. The director position was supposed to be open to everyone, but instead, it had quietly been handed to her.

My fingers began to shake. Leaving the company didn't erase the years of work I had put into those projects or everything I had done to earn that position.

Every time I came close to a promotion, Mark blocked it in the name of keeping up appearances. Yet he had no trouble handing the position to Rachel.

I tried to rein in my anger and hurt, but in the end, I couldn't stop myself from texting him. "Why did you give Rachel the director position?"

His reply was brief. "Her academic credentials are stronger, and she's more capable."

For a long moment, I could only stare at the screen. I had given up graduate school for his future. Now he was using the very sacrifice I had made for him to tell me I wasn't good enough.

Something inside me finally went numb.

I packed my bags and left for the airport.

…

For reasons he couldn't explain, Mark grew more irritated the longer I went without replying.

Not that he thought he had done anything wrong. In his mind, he had been fair. People with better qualifications and a strong work ethic deserved to be promoted.

Still, he spent the entire afternoon distracted, checking his phone again and again for a message from me.

Just as the workday was ending, the skies opened up.

Rachel knocked and entered his office, her voice unusually sweet. "Mr. Foster, it's pouring outside, and I didn't bring an umbrella. I can't get a cab either. Could you give me a ride home?"

Mark looked toward the windows. Rain was lashing against the glass.

His thoughts immediately went to me and how I would manage to get home alone in the storm without an umbrella or a cab. He jumped to his feet and grabbed his coat.

"Now that you're a director, you no longer report to me. We should keep things strictly professional."

Rachel went still, her smile freezing for a moment. She opened her mouth to respond, but Mark was already heading straight for my office.

He pushed open the door, but the room was empty. He was about to call me when Emma came up behind him.

She saw the phone in his hand and smiled. "Are you looking for Erin, Mr. Foster? She resigned yesterday. She's already left the country."