جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

Mark looked every inch the impartial professional. For the first time, I no longer had the energy to argue with him.Maybe that was when we began drifting apart. After that, we spoke less and less.Later, Rachel was reassigned as Mark's personal assistant. On paper, it looked like a lateral move, if not a step down. In reality, it was a promotion. She got to spend every day at his side.Mark came out of the situation looking fair and principled, while Rachel got everyone's sympathy. No one cared that I was the one who had been wronged, even though I had earned my promotion to associate director.Even now, remembering how hurt and alone I had felt made my heart ache. Knowing I had wasted ten years of my life was even worse.After dinner, Mark started to get up. Ever since we moved in together, whoever didn't cook did the dishes.I kept my voice steady. "Mark, I want to talk."He sat back down and looked at me.I drew a breath. "Mark, we need to brea—"His phone rang before I co

I went to bed without waiting for Mark to come home. I had no idea what time he got back, and when I woke the next morning, he had already left.Breakfast was waiting on the table with a note that read, "Happy tenth anniversary."That was when I remembered. Mark and I had been together for exactly ten years.I glanced at the flight I had already booked on my phone, then slowly set the note aside. It was also the day I was going to end things with him.I sat down to eat and opened my social media feed. Rachel's new post was the first thing I saw. The breakfast in her photo was identical to the one in front of me.The caption read, "Thank you for bringing me breakfast, Mr. Foster! I'll work even harder from now on!"The bite of sandwich in my mouth caught in my throat, too far down to spit out but impossible to swallow. Any appetite I had left disappeared.Just then, I got a text from my former supervisor, Emma Jones. "Erin, maybe it's a good thing you left. They're not opening th

In the past, Mark would have quietly moved out of Rachel's reach without embarrassing her in front of everyone.This time, her touch made his skin crawl. He pulled away before she could take his arm and gave her a cold look."Ms. Lynch, that's inappropriate. Whatever help I gave you was strictly work-related and nothing more. Don't mistake it for something it wasn't, and don't touch me like that again."The office filled with startled whispers.Rachel's smile vanished. She stared at him, stunned that he would shut her down so harshly in front of everyone.Mark didn't look at her again. He only wanted to find me. He turned and hurried out of the office.He sped home, gripping the steering wheel, his heart pounding. He tried to convince himself Emma was wrong. I was probably at home, angry with him.But the moment he opened the front door, he knew. The house was cold and empty. Every sign that I had ever lived there was gone.My shoes were missing from the entryway closet. My sid

I looked up and saw Mark. He sat across from me, his gaze fixed on my face, his expression full of conflicting emotions.We had only been apart for a few days, and I looked much as I always had. My expression was still gentle, but he could tell that something had changed.It was the way I looked at him. The hurt was gone, along with my need for his reassurance. All he saw now was calm detachment.That detachment unnerved him more than any accusation could have."What are you doing here?" I asked, as if he no longer mattered to me.Mark felt a sharp ache in his chest, and his throat tightened. He had so much he wanted to say, but suddenly had no idea where to begin.After a few seconds, he finally managed to speak. "Erin, I'm sorry. I know I was wrong. I really do. I've been selfish all these years. I cared more about my reputation and my career than I did about your feelings."I hurt you again and again, and it was all my fault."He looked at me, his expression pleading. "Pleas

After the failed projects left the company with heavy losses, the board acted quickly. Mark was demoted from a senior executive to a department manager.Without the power and status he had once enjoyed, he finally calmed down. He stopped dwelling on his regrets.He knew he had never built his career alone. I had sacrificed ten years of my youth to help him get where he was, and he couldn't let everything I had done for him go to waste.He would work hard and earn back the position he had lost. Even if there was no chance of winning me back, he owed it to me after everything I had given up for him.From then on, Mark changed.He stopped chasing prestige or worrying about appearances. He devoted himself to his work, took every project seriously, and treated everyone under him fairly.Through patience and hard work, he gradually helped the company recoup its losses and regained the respect of his colleagues and business partners.As time went on, he occasionally checked my social m