Chapter 3

The same night I left the Glenn family group chat, I submitted my resignation from Ethan's company.

I'd been there from the beginning, meeting clients with him and pulling all-nighters over proposals. During the hardest months, we practically lived at the office.

The first time the company turned a profit, Ethan told everyone, "Ivy isn't just my wife. She's the partner who got me through the hardest years."

Now he treated my resignation like another part of the game.

He approved it with a single message. "Approved. Come back when you're done making a scene."

Day five of Samantha's turn as "Mrs. Glenn" was also the company anniversary and my last day there.

I went in to return my access badge and hand off my projects. An anniversary video was playing in the lobby, but my name was gone, along with every photo of me from the early days.

There was nothing showing me packing orders in the warehouse, drinking with clients until my stomach bled, or staying up all night working on proposals.

Instead, the video ended with a photo of Samantha holding Ethan's arm.

The final caption read, "Thank you, Mrs. Glenn, for being there every step of the way."

Ethan knew the invitation to the anniversary celebration had been meant for me, but he still let Samantha wear the gown I was supposed to wear.

With the Glenn family bracelet on her wrist, she stood beside him, cut the cake with him, and raised a glass with him. Every time someone called her "Mrs. Glenn," she blushed and looked at Ethan.

He never corrected them.

"We're already five days into the game. Stopping now would ruin the fun."

I never went into the banquet hall. I stayed in the office and finished handing over my work instead.

As I was leaving, one of the longtime employees who had been with the company from the beginning recognized me.

"Mrs. Glenn," he called.

Then he looked at Samantha onstage. "Wait. Then who is she?"

The banquet hall went quiet.

That was when the guests realized Samantha wasn't Ethan's wife.

The whispers started almost immediately.

"She's not his wife, but she's wearing the Glenn family bracelet?"

"She moved into the house he shared with his wife and came here as Mrs. Glenn. Doesn't that make her the other woman?"

Before the whispers could go any further, someone nearby spoke up.

"Didn't you see Samantha's post? Ivy's the one who refuses to step aside. Mr. Glenn is already openly treating Samantha like Mrs. Glenn, but Ivy's still hanging on because she helped him build the company years ago.

"It's embarrassing. She just can't let go of being Mrs. Glenn."

The phone was passed around, and eventually it reached me.

The video showed me crying as I snatched back my nightgown. It showed me outside the master bedroom in tears, demanding that Samantha get out. Then it showed me leaving the Glenn family dinner visibly upset.

Every clip made me look like the problem.

What it didn't show was Ethan telling me it was all just a game. It didn't show him holding me afterward and telling me not to take it seriously.

The caption read, "Some people just don't know when it's time to step aside."

I stared at those words and thought about everything they'd done over the past three years.

Every time I broke down, everyone would keep pushing until I admitted, "I only took it so seriously because I love him too much."

Ethan still had all their old bets saved on his phone. They'd bet on when I would cry, whether I would break something, and even how long it would take me to apologize to Samantha.

Now I finally saw it for what it was. For three years, they had recorded me falling apart so they could laugh about it later.

Before I could say anything, Ethan came over and lowered his voice. "We've already gone this far. We might as well finish the game. Samantha was only trying to help, and I can't let this ruin her reputation."

I looked at him, and a laugh slipped out. "So ruining mine is fine?"

Ethan frowned. "Ivy, you've dragged this out long enough. If you hadn't taken the game so seriously, none of this would've happened."

I ignored him and left my access badge and resignation papers at the front desk.

"My handoff is done."

Then I walked past him and got into the elevator.

That was what finally made Ethan lose it. In front of all the guests, he called his lawyer over.

"Draw up a divorce agreement. When the seven days are up, I'll make her choose in front of everyone. Let's see how long she can keep this act up."