All Chapters of A Permanent Loss for a Temporary Role: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

"Everyone, it's day 23 of my study check-in! Only one week left until the exam, and today I'm finally revealing the position I'm aiming for!"Hearing that familiar voice through the livestream, I jolted. Right then, it hit me. I had been reborn.After Cassandra Lindth announced the position she was going for, the chat exploded."No way! Isn't that the most competitive post? Like 6570 to 1 odds!""How ridiculous! People spend years preparing for this, and you think a month of studying is enough?""I just followed her! Can't wait to see her cry when the results come out."The majority of comments were skeptical, mocking Cassandra for overestimating herself."Are these people serious?" My boyfriend, Derrick Hayes, fumed as he went through the insulting comments, reporting each one. "They don't even know how smart she is!"I couldn't help but scoff. Anyone who had prepared for these exams knew that no matter how smart someone was, 30 days of studying alone could never get them the

In the days that followed, I stuck to an insanely strict schedule.I woke up at 5:00 am every day and went through practice questions nonstop, studying straight until 11:00 pm.By the time the interview was over, Derrick's phone calls were relentless, pressing for details.Once I gave him a confident answer, the excitement in his voice was impossible to hide.Ten days later, the final exam rankings were released. At the same time, my phone buzzed with a text confirming my start date for the temporary position.I immediately posted a social media update just for Cassandra to see."Three years of grinding, and I've finally made it. A fresh start."Attached was a screenshot of the position I had applied for, along with the onboarding notice.The next day, as I was packing up my things, Derrick blocked my way, his face dark with fury."Yvette, do you have any shame at all? You didn't even go to the interview. How dare you edit a fake score and pretend you passed?"My stomach drop

Cassandra shouted, "How is this even possible?"Heads turned as people nearby watched.She swallowed down the panic rising in her chest and forced a smile. "Yvette, have you lost your mind? You really think you can scare me like this?"You're just jealous I scored the highest and got this position, right? Let me tell you. The notification to report has already been sent. There's no mistake about it!"I just smiled quietly, saying nothing.Derrick stepped forward, his brows furrowed. Seeing Cassandra's pale face, he spun toward me, yelling, "Yvette! What did you do to Cassandra this time? If you can't handle this, don't make a scene here!"Cassandra quickly shifted her expression, tears welling in her eyes, making her look pitiful. "Yvette, I get that you're upset I passed, but you can't curse me like that! I earned this fair and square. How can you hope I end up stuck as a temp?"Derrick's face flushed with anger as he pointed at me. "Yvette! How can you be so heartless? You got

All eyes immediately turned to me.Cassandra's expression changed in an instant. She let out a short, forced laugh."I told you so. You all believe me now, don't you? If she'd cheat on a civil service exam, who knows what else she'd be willing to do?"She didn't just cheat! She sabotaged me, and now the police are here to take her away. Serves her right!"Derrick's expression softened immediately, his tone shifting."I knew you were innocent. I believe you. This has to be Yvette acting out of jealousy. She must have pulled some stunt to frame you."Everyone around seemed stunned by the reversal, their looks toward me a mix of shock and confusion.I raised my hand calmly. "I'm Yvette Shaw."Cassandra's glare turned vicious as she yelled, "Officer! Arrest her!"The police quickly approached, explaining that I needed to come with them for questioning and asking me to cooperate.I nodded in acknowledgment. "No problem. But there's one thing I don't understand."On the day of the

Cassandra kept screaming and yelling until the police finally dragged her away.Everyone else dismissed it as the ravings of a lunatic.Only I knew the truth—she had given up 30 years of her life.But so what? Throwing all that away for a worthless man. Was it ever worth it?I stopped caring about Cassandra and Derrick. I went home and focused on preparing for the upcoming provincial exam.It wasn't until I walked out of the exam hall that I finally had the space to think about everything that had happened over the past few weeks.Online, the chaos about Cassandra's cheating had reached a fever pitch.The scandal escalated so quickly because she had insisted on having her assistant livestream the whole thing. People had witnessed firsthand how she went from victim to culprit.All those earlier live streams where she swore she had passed turned out to be completely staged. People felt deceived, and the outrage quickly spread across the internet."Fraud! I knew she wasn't cut ou