Chapter 1

When my younger brother announced his wedding, I requested two days off from work.

My boss flatly denied my request.

She sneered, “Why does your brother’s wedding matter to you? You’re not even dating anyone. Aren’t you embarrassed to attend?”

Without another word, I logged into the system and submitted my leave request anyway.

Her calls came flooding in soon after.

“Who gave you permission to take time off?”

“If you’re gone, who’s going to drive me to and from work tomorrow?”

0It was the end of the year—always a chaotic time at our branch, with everyone scrambling to meet their quotas. I had already hit mine early, so I figured asking for two days off for my brother’s wedding wouldn’t be a big deal.

I approached my team leader, Julie Zhang, and politely made my request.

I thought it’d be a simple matter, but she refused me without hesitation.

“Why does your brother’s wedding matter to you? You’re not even married! Shouldn’t you be embarrassed to show up?”

Julie has always been known for her sharp tongue and condescending attitude. Everyone on the team has dealt with it at some point.

And sure, it was a busy time of year, with strict rules around taking time off. But her outright rejection felt personal.

I took a deep breath, keeping my tone calm. “Julie, I’m his sister. I need to be there for him. I hope you can understand.”

She glanced up from her phone, her expression darkening.

“Do you even realize what quarter we’re in? This is the end of the year—the most critical time for our branch’s performance reviews! If everyone took time off like you, our entire team would be eating dirt next year. Can you handle that responsibility?”

Sure, I could understand that taking leave during the busiest season wasn’t ideal. But wasn’t she being a little dramatic?

What made it worse was that just the day before, she had approved our male colleague’s leave request without a second thought.

“Why is it different for me?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Julie scoffed, crossing her arms. “Are you seriously comparing yourself to him? He’s taking marriage leave. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime event! If you want time off, wait until you get married.”

Her words were ridiculous. My brother’s wedding wasn’t some excuse—it was a legitimate reason to take leave.

No matter how I tried to reason with her, she wouldn’t budge. And to make things worse, she piled extra work onto me over the next few days, assigning me customer follow-ups that were supposed to be her responsibility.

I knew she was being petty, but I didn’t bother arguing.

Instead, I followed the proper channels. I informed both her and our department manager of my plans, then submitted my leave request through the system.

In the meantime, I kept up with all my tasks, ensuring there was no room for complaints about my performance.

By Wednesday evening, our manager had approved my request, and it was on its way to HR for final processing.

After finishing my daily report and posting it in the team chat, I packed up and left for the highway.

Before crossing the toll gate, I checked the group chat one last time to confirm no one was looking for me. Then, I switched my phone to airplane mode.

The drive required my full attention, and I focused on the GPS as I made my way home. By the time I exited the freeway, it was nearly midnight.

When I turned my phone back on, I was greeted by over twenty missed calls and dozens of unread messages.

Julie had sent me countless voice notes, each around sixty seconds long.

I didn’t even bother opening the first one. Whatever she had to say, I knew it wouldn’t be good.

Instead, I tucked my phone into my bag, stopped by a local diner, and treated myself to a warm bowl of noodle soup.

When I finally got home, my phone buzzed with yet another incoming call.

“Emma, what were you doing? Why didn’t you wait for me after work?” Julie’s voice was sharp and accusatory.

I replied matter-of-factly, “Julie, I told you earlier this week—I’m attending a wedding this weekend.”

That sent her into a full-blown tirade.

“Who gave you permission to take leave?”

“If you’re gone, who’s going to drive me to work tomorrow?”

“Do you even want to get promoted? Where do you get the audacity to ignore your superior’s instructions?!”

0