Semua Bab The High Price of Loyalty: Bab 1 - Bab 10

On the other end of the line, Melanie Gardner sounded puzzled as she asked, "Kieran Campbell? What are you talking about?"Before I could respond, Jeffrey Young snatched the phone right out of my hand. His tone instantly shifted to something gentle and wounded as he spoke into the receiver. "Melanie, you need to get here now! Kieran's causing a scene at the office."Melanie was concerned and quickly replied, "I'll be right there!"The line went dead with a beep.I felt a wave of relief wash over me, thinking at least she still cared about what happened to me. It was obvious that Jeffrey was trying to drive a wedge between us.I locked eyes with him and said coldly, "Do you even know my wife owns this company? What gives you the right to fire me?"Jeffrey let out a confident, mocking laugh. "Of course, I know this is Melanie's company. I'm also the sales director she herself hired at top dollar."He leaned in close, whispering smugly, "Melanie and I go back twenty years. We pra

Jeffrey acted like he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. Then, he pulled a marriage certificate from his briefcase, contemptuously hurling it at my face."Take a good look! Now, who's the real homewrecker here?!"I picked up the document from the floor and opened it. Sure enough, it was their marriage certificate.My mind went blank.Melanie spoke with smug satisfaction. "That's right. The marriage certificate I had with you was fake. I only did it to keep you loyal and hardworking, so you'd earn more money for me. Now that the company's on track, and I've got Jeffrey to back me up, you're useless."Her tone even carried a hint of relief as she continued, "Everything I own has nothing to do with you. You can get out now."I wanted nothing more than to tear this shameless pair apart. Nonetheless, I forced down my rage and looked at Melanie.I spoke slowly, deliberately, "Fine, the marriage was fake. But my shares in the company are real, aren't they? I'm also a shareh

I smiled calmly and said, "Ms. Gardner, Mr. Young, that's rich–coming from you two. Didn't you once say that whoever the company gives resources to becomes the top seller?"I added, "I'm just a useless piece of trash, a discarded pawn you kicked to the curb. Now that I'm gone, what threat could I be to you? Why are you both so nervous?" My words made Melanie's and Jeffrey's faces turn a deep shade of red.That was when Fiona stepped forward. She was tall and poised, her presence alone enough to make Melanie's arrogance fade a little."Ms. Gardner, I'm currently hosting a welcome ceremony for Everise Group's new CEO. Are you here to offer congratulations? If you're here to cause trouble, then I'm sorry."Fiona smiled slightly and gestured toward the entrance where a row of tall, imposing security guards in black suits stood at attention. She said, "My security team is the best money can buy. After all, I'm not like you, Ms. Gardner. I don't have such poor judgment that I'd mistake

After seeing Steve off, I realized I had a bit too much to drink, and my head was spinning. I headed back to that so-called marital home.When I got to the door, though? I found an unexpected visitor waiting for me.Melanie stood there in full makeup, looking perfectly put together. When she saw me, her eyes lit up and she rushed over immediately. Her face was the picture of wounded innocence, with tears pooling in her eyes, ready to spill over at any moment."Kieran, do you not love me anymore? Why couldn't you at least leave me some dignity at dinner? You used to be the one who loved me the most." Her performance gave me nothing but nausea. I let out a cold laugh and shot back, "Love you? When you slapped me in front of the entire company for your precious childhood friend, did you think about saving my dignity? When you tricked me with a fake marriage certificate and played me for a fool, did you think about how much that hurt?"Seeing that reasoning was not getting her anywhe

Steve's face was dark with fury, yet his professional restraint kept him from storming out immediately. He looked at Melanie with a forced smile and said, "Ms. Gardner, your company's employees are...amusing."Melanie completely missed the sarcasm in Steve's polite remark. She actually thought Steve was complimenting their company culture!She immediately plastered on a smile and replied, "Yes, Mr. Fletcher! At our company, we usually eat casual food together, just like one big family. The atmosphere is super relaxed."Rosalie was even more clueless about reading the room. She started digging into the food herself while running her mouth without a filter."You have no idea, Mr. Fletcher! Our company can barely afford to pay base salaries anymore. Ms. Gardner said we needed to cut costs, so I carefully selected these dishes. I read online that big shots like you who are used to fancy food actually prefer 'comfort food'.., If you like what we ordered, maybe you could give us another