Chapter 4

"Contract? I'm not heading to the office later, so I can sign it whenever I get there. The oatmeal won't taste good once it gets cold."

Cameron picked up the container and headed for the door.

The eagerness on his face was so obvious, and I said frankly, "It's the divorce agreement."

He stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around, wearing the smug expression of someone who thought he'd finally seen through my little game.

"So, you're still pretending you're not upset?" he said with a smirk. "All I did was accept her proposal. It was just a way to lighten the mood. Besides, I married you, didn't I? What more could you possibly want?"

"Then let's get divorced," I said evenly. "I'll get out of your way and let you two have your love story."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" he sulked, furrowing his brow. "Nothing is going on between Poppy and me. We're just coworkers.

"You're not a teenager anymore, so why are you still playing this jealous-girlfriend game every time something happens?"

He gave me the same explanation countless times whenever Poppy came between us. I used to argue back, but now I'd grown tired.

"Yeah, I understand." I shrugged. "You're just coworkers."

Yet somehow my lack of reaction seemed to make him even angrier. "What kind of attitude is that? Haven't I already explained everything to you?"

"Nothing." I shook my head. "You should hurry and bring her breakfast. It wouldn't be right to make a sick person go hungry."

He slammed the container onto the table and glared at me, full of anger and disappointment.

"I took care of her all day yesterday, and I'm exhausted. If you're not going to help, fine, but could you at least stop making everything into an argument?"

My fingers tightened around my spoon. I'd thought my heart had already gone numb, yet his words still managed to hurt me.

I couldn't help recalling the video Poppy had posted on social media, where Cameron had been bending over backward to take care of her, feeding her and fussing over her with a tenderness I'd never once seen in his eyes.

Ten years of being by his side, and I still couldn't compete with someone he'd known for barely a hundred days.

Facing his accusations, I didn't shoot back because, after everything that had happened, I no longer had the slightest desire to waste my breath.

Yet his anger continued to build when I remained silent.

Eventually, he seemed to remember that Poppy was still waiting for him and decided that even arguing with me wasn't worth wasting his precious time. He gave me one last furious look before slamming the door behind him.

My assistant started sending me one message after another, asking me to deal with business matters. I told him to take everything directly to Cameron, then submitted my resignation to Human Resources.

The HR manager rejected it, saying, "Mr. Cox said you need to discuss this with him personally."

Wasn't Cameron busy taking care of Poppy? Apparently, he still had time to interfere with my resignation.

I called him a dozen times, but none of my calls were answered.

Then I opened Poppy's social media feed, and sure enough, there he was. She had been discharged from the hospital, and he had gone to pick her up before bringing her back to the office for a celebration.

I hailed a cab and headed straight to the company.

Once I stepped through the doors, several coworkers spotted me and immediately stepped aside, whispering among themselves.

"Stephanie is in serious trouble. I heard she made Mr. Cox's favorite person sick at the annual meeting."

"Wasn't she supposed to be Mr. Cox's right-hand woman?"

"Right-hand woman? She's been with him for nine years, and she's still just a secretary. How can you be that clueless?"

...

Their words followed me into the elevator, and as the doors closed, I felt my heart sink.

Everyone else could see what was happening, yet I'd been the only one foolish enough to keep pretending I couldn't.

I'd brought countless deals to the company and helped generate millions in revenue, yet after nine years, I was still nothing more than a secretary.

Poppy, on the other hand, had been here for barely three months. She hadn't even learned her way around the computer systems before Cameron promoted her to vice president.

Who did he favor? The answer was obvious all along.

I just hadn't been willing to admit it until I'd already hurt myself beyond repair.

When the elevator doors opened, I was greeted by a noisy celebration as everyone gathered around to congratulate Poppy on her recovery.