Chapter 1

On the company's annual bonus day, my husband Derek cooked up a lie, accusing me of slacking off. He ordered me to hand over the massive, nearly completed project I'd been working on to his first love, Brianna.

I didn't get angry. Instead, a cold laugh escaped me. I even offered Brianna my partnership stake in the company.

"Constant business trips every single day? Total burnout! Here, why don't you take my partnership too while you're at it!"

For a moment, all my colleagues stared, convinced I'd lost my mind.

But no one realized I still held the critical evidence for the project.

Without me, that project would turn into a disaster. Derek would face massive blowback from the client for botching it, leaving him drowning in debt!

"Brianna, this company owes its success to you. You're our most valuable asset."

"This bonus pool? It's all yours!"

In the conference room, our CEO Derek wore a self-satisfied grin as he gently squeezed Brianna's shoulder and handed her a thick stack of cash.

Instantly, my coworkers swarmed around them, cheering and clapping:

"With talent like Brianna on board, our company's future is endless!"

"Derek really knows how to spot talent! He and Brianna make the perfect team!"

Watching the cozy scene in the conference room, I couldn't help but let out a bitter chuckle, silently clutching the project files in my hand.

Today was supposed to be the company's quarterly bonus payout.

But as I pulled into the company parking lot, Derek took a call and suddenly ordered me to run out and finalize a different project's closing paperwork.

After being his wife for years, I trusted Derek completely.

Figuring it was an urgent client matter, I didn't hesitate to turn around. I spent the whole day sweating through errands in the sweltering heat.

But watching Derek hand over the entire bonus to Brianna—a new hire who'd barely been here two months—everything suddenly made sense.

That "urgent client" was just Derek's excuse to get me out of the way.

He wanted to hand the achievement of my year-long work to his long-lost first love—the one he'd never really gotten over.

Brianna turned and spotted me, feigning surprise:

"Ava, you're finally here? What kept you?"

"I thought you had the day off, so Derek started the meeting early. My mistake."

Brianna's tone was polite, but there was an unmistakable challenge in her eyes. She even waved the cash stack right in front of me, a blatant victory lap.

Derek didn't look the least bit sorry. Instead, he shot me an impatient glare, his voice icy:

"Ava, what's with the attitude? You expect everyone to wait around for you?"

"No wonder you're always dragging your feet on projects—you're holding this company back."

"Since you're here, just hand over that project you're working on to Brianna. Save us from more mistakes on your watch."

Listening to Derek's order, I clenched my fists as coldness spread through my chest.

The project he was talking about? I'd slaved over it for a year—real blood, sweat, and tears.

The client was a major regional player, and the retainer alone was a whopping five million dollars.

But the case involved tangled international financial disputes. I'd logged countless miles, bouncing between time zones, my body breaking down from stress-related illnesses.

Now, with the project almost wrapped up, Derek was trying to hand over a year of my hard work to Brianna with just a few dismissive words.

I felt completely unappreciated.

I still remember when Derek said he wanted to start a company. I didn't hesitate—gave up my thriving career, emptied my savings, and built this business from the ground up with him.

But he had zero experience in this field and honestly lacked the skills to run a business, let alone keep it going.

So for years, I've carried this company on my back.

I worked myself to the bone without a single complaint, and that's why we're successful today.

Yet Brianna tags along on a few business trips, and suddenly she's taking all the credit?

Derek was really something—completely heartless.

Ten years of marriage, and I'm worth less than the woman who dumped him years ago.

He'd finally burned every bridge in our relationship.

After a long pause, I nodded numbly, staring at the floor, and spoke in a monotone:

"Fine. Whatever you want."

Triumph flashed in Brianna's eyes, but she still played humble:

"Ava, I'm just the new girl. How could someone like me handle a big case like yours?"

"I just heard Derek say you'd been working on this for almost a year without closing it. I thought maybe I could help out, that's all."

Derek patted Brianna's shoulder affectionately, his voice turning encouraging:

"Brianna, you're an overseas-educated talent! If you can't handle it, no one here can!"

That almost made me laugh out loud.

Brianna’s degree was totally fake—she couldn’t even recite basic legal terms during her interview.

Only Derek, treating her like some prize, would pay her that ridiculous salary.

After reassuring Brianna, Derek turned to me with a sneer:

"Ava, you’d be nothing without me. You think you earned your spot here?"

"Gotten too comfortable, forgot your role? Complaining about one project? If Brianna hadn’t stuck up for you, I’d fire you right now!"

I rolled my eyes internally.

Derek conveniently forgot he used to beg me to handle every deal detail when we started the company. I taught him everything, ruined my health, tapped my connections to land contracts for him.

Now that we’re stable, he acts like I’m dead weight—insulting me to boot.

With that, I walked straight toward Brianna.

Coworkers’ eyes bounced between us, clearly expecting a showdown.

But instead, I smiled calmly, pulled a partnership transfer agreement from my bag, and slid it across the table to her.

"Constant business trips? Total burnout. Here—why not just take my partnership directly!"