All Chapters of The Quiet Exit: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

"See that, Will? I'm the top sales performer now! The company doesn't need you anymore."Donald Dixon turned to my sales team, his eyes full of contempt."From today on, all of you report directly to me. I guarantee great benefits. Your bonuses will be way better than sticking with this loser!"The 20 million dollars in sales I earned with blood and sweat became his bragging rights.Even my own wife, Chelsea Abbott, was staring at Donald with complete focus.My heart felt like it was being slowly crushed. It took me a long time before I spoke to Chelsea."So you agree with this? I don't care about the numbers anymore. I won't argue over the profit share. I just want to ask. If you fire me, who's paying back the final 60 thousand dollars?"Seven years ago, Chelsea's family business went under. Her father jumped from a building, leaving behind millions of dollars in debt.I brought Chelsea into the company and used my own performance to push her into a vice president role with

Chapter 2

Chelsea and I had been friends for two years before dating for another two.We had been married for three years. To pay off her debt, we never held a wedding. Through it all, I never once complained.Could she really throw away a seven-year relationship just for someone who had been back in the country for a few months?I still held on to one last shred of hope.Yet, Chelsea stayed silent for a long time. Then, she pulled a document out of her bag and handed it to me."I already wrote your resignation letter for you. Sign it and go home. When the year-end bonus comes in, I'll take you to Cratesisle."Even after everything, Chelsea really wanted me to step aside for Donald."Do you really think this is what I've been killing myself for all these years at this company?" I clenched my fists, my voice rising despite myself.Right then, Donald shoved my shoulder and shot me a challenging look. "That's enough! For Chelsea's sake, get your people here and apologize to me. Then we'll

Chapter 3

Without thinking, I rushed straight into the middle of the fight, trying to pull Tommy and Roger apart.I couldn't let my friends take the fall because of me.But in the chaos, Roger's eyes went wild. He grabbed a heavy-duty stapler off the desk and swung it at Tommy's head with everything he had."Watch out!"My vision narrowed. Instinct kicked in, and I threw myself forward, raising my arm to shield Tommy. The metal prongs of the stapler drove straight into my forearm.Roger yanked it back. Blood immediately soaked through my sleeve.The pain was blinding. Cold sweat broke out all over me. My arm went numb, as if it wasn't even part of my body anymore.The fight stopped instantly. Everyone stared at my arm in horror.Chelsea froze as well. She looked at the wound, panic flickering across her face.For a second, I thought she would say something. Anything.But she didn't."Will, do you really have to take it this far?" Her cold, disappointed gaze cut deeper than the metal

Chapter 4

Through the narrow gap in the door, I caught sight of Donald pressing Chelsea hard against the floor-to-ceiling window.Beyond the glass, the city glowed in endless layers of light.Inside that room was my wife, tangled in an intimate moment with another man.Donald bent down and brushed his lips along her neck, his voice low and raw with desire."Chels, you've loved me all this time. Why did you end up marrying that deadweight instead? From middle school until now, you've never forgotten me. When are you finally gonna dump Will and come back to me?"Chelsea leaned her head back slightly and drew an uneven breath before answering."Don't push me, Donald. When my dad jumped, he left behind millions in debt. Will stayed and paid every cent. I can't turn my back on him.""Then what about me?" Donald tightened his grip around her waist, his eyes rimmed with red."I came back the second I graduated, and you were already someone else's wife. What does that make me? Just this once,"

Chapter 5

Donald was the first to recover. He let out a strained laugh, forcing his expression to settle."Will, stop putting on a show. There's no way you're the chairperson at a SkyTech Group conference! It's just someone with the same name. You don't seriously think you matter that much, do you?""Yeah. That's enough, Will." Chelsea snapped back to herself as well. She looked at me, helplessness creeping into her voice."I know you're angry about losing your job, so you ran off and used the divorce papers to scare me. As long as you come home with me, I'll pretend I never saw them. We'll forget the whole thing, alright? Once the year-end bonus hits, I'll take you to Cratesisle and give you that wedding…"Here we go again.That wedding, the dream that had carried me through countless sleepless nights, now sounded hollow and almost cruel coming from her mouth."Chelsea, I'm not playing games."I finally pulled my arm free from her grip and took a step back. My voice stayed even as I re

Chapter 6

Victor had appeared at some point, his expression so dark that it looked like he might bite someone's head off any second.Donald's face changed instantly. He hurriedly plastered on a flattering smile."Mr. Smart! You misunderstood. That's not what I meant. This guy is a former colleague of mine. He snuck in here pretending to be the chairperson for the bidding conference. I was just about to kick him out for you."Hearing that, Victor let out a cold snort and looked at Donald like he was an idiot."You're blind, and not very bright either."The so-called former colleague you're talking about is a specially appointed chief consultant of SkyTech Group, in charge of the project you're bidding for."He's an industry pillar I invited three separate times before he agreed to come. He's also one of the evaluation committee members. And you say he's pretending?""How is that possible?!"Victor's words exploded in Chelsea's and Donald's ears.The color drained from their faces in an i

Chapter 7

Before Donald could even touch me, two security guards rushed in and grabbed his arms from both sides."Let go of me! Who the hell do you think you are? You're just a bunch of guard dogs! How dare you lay hands on me!"Donald struggled wildly, kicking and cursing nonstop."That's enough! Donald, you're representing the company here. Haven't you embarrassed us enough already? We lost today because we weren't good enough. On behalf of Helios Corp, I apologize to everyone…"Chelsea listened to the shouting, her face flushed bright red.She hurriedly bowed, grabbed Donald's arm, and dragged him out together with the guards.Just before she disappeared through the door, she turned back and looked at me, her expression complicated.I didn't follow her.I simply turned around and continued scoring the remaining proposals. I didn't spare Chelsea even the slightest bit of concern.For a full month after the conference, I heard nothing about them.I thought my life would finally be pea

Chapter 8

I know exactly how vicious debt collectors could be.Back then, Chelsea was just a junior office clerk.The collectors figured she had no way of paying them back, so they showed up at her door and tried to drag her overseas to sell her into prostitution.That would have been hell for any woman. Once you were sent there, your body would be destroyed, and you'd end up catching all kinds of STDs.Chelsea was terrified, crying nonstop and begging them to let her go.I stepped in front of her and got beaten until three of my ribs were broken.I even gave them the 100 thousand dollars I had saved over years of work for a down payment on a house, just to buy us some time.After hearing that, Chelsea fell silent.After a long time, she looked up. Her eyes were red, filled with despair."Fine. I'll sign. Come to the company in three days, and I'll give you the papers.""Then it's settled. I'll be at the company in three days."Three days later, I showed up as promised.The moment I

Chapter 9

The moment I finished speaking, the office fell into a dead silence.Then, it exploded with cheers."SkyTech Group?!" Tommy's voice shook with excitement."You mean that top-tier industry giant, SkyTech? Did I hear that right? Damn, you really made it, man!""Yeah! Back then, our boss tried for half a year just to get a connection with SkyTech. He couldn't even meet a department manager!""Will, you didn't just get in! You went straight into headquarters!""With my trash resume, I wouldn't even dare dream of SkyTech. Will, this is the best gift you can ever give us!""Will, we're coming with you!"The guys instantly erupted, eyes blazing, as if a bright future was already right in front of them.Only Roger stood frozen in place. Then he said sourly, "You're bluffing. SkyTech Group is no joke. With your outdated methods, you couldn't even beat Donald. You really think SkyTech would want you?"I smiled, looking at him like he was an idiot."Roger, I trained you myself. I kno

Chapter 10

Victor happily welcomed our entire team.Everyone adapted quickly to the new environment, and our performance climbed higher and higher.Not long after, I led them through a competitive counter-project. We hit with precision and squeezed Donald and his company to the brink of collapse.The day Donald was fired by his furious boss, he snapped and rushed straight to Chelsea's rental apartment."Chelsea! Come out!"He kicked the door open, his eyes bloodshot.At that moment, Chelsea's mind was filled with the image of me walking away, and the 60 thousand dollars hanging over her head.She was already completely exhausted."What are you doing here? You wrecked the company, and you still have the nerve to come see me?" Her voice was full of weariness and disgust."You think I wrecked it? If Will hadn't abused his power for revenge, would the company be like this? Would I be unemployed?" Donald snarled. Listening to Donald dump all the blame onto Will, Chelsea laughed in anger."

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