Three days after we got our marriage license, I logged into the HR system to schedule our honeymoon leave for my wife, Katerina. Only to find that her fifteen days of vacation time were already marked as ‘taken.’ I froze, my mind reeling. We were together every day. When could she possibly have taken a honeymoon? I immediately dialed her number. "Your vacation days... they're gone?" Her voice on the other end was impossibly gentle. "Oh, that. It wouldn't look good for me to take a vacation right after my promotion to VP. I just had HR cancel the days. Why? Is something wrong?" "No, nothing," I said, forcing a laugh. After hanging up, I pulled up her employee profile in the system. My eyes locked onto the name listed in the 'Spouse' field. Then, I took the stairs, heading straight for the workstation of the man listed there: an intern named Caleb Finn. 1 I slammed into Caleb at the fifth-floor landing. The paper gift bag in his hand burst open, sending packages of specialty chocolates scattering across the floor. They were from Silver Creek. When he looked up and saw it was me, his expression was brazen. He bent down, picked up a box, and offered it to me. "Hey, Marcos. My wife and I brought these back from our honeymoon in Silver Creek. You should try some." The words "Silver Creek" were like a needle to the heart. Katerina had held my hand so many times, whispering, "As soon as this project is over, we'll go to Silver Creek. We'll see the fields of wildflowers beneath the snowy peaks and eat the local rosewater pastries." She'd been saying that for eight years. From the late nights we spent as nobodies, grinding away in obscurity, to her confident stride as a top executive, she had never once made good on that promise. The last time it came up was as we were leaving the courthouse, license in hand. She'd muttered vaguely, "What's so great about Silver Creek, anyway?" It turned out she’d already seen the snow-capped mountains and wildflower fields. With another man. My throat felt thick, my breath catching in my chest. "Do you know that Katerina and I are married?" I asked, my voice raspy. Caleb just smirked. "Yeah, I know." I stared into his eyes, desperately searching for a flicker of innocence. He was young. Maybe he was just a naive intern, manipulated by Katerina’s power. I was already calculating in my head: if he agreed to walk away, I could pull some strings, get him a better position at a top-tier firm. But his next words shattered that delusion. "She told me it was a sham marriage." My hands trembled as I pulled the marriage certificate from my bag, holding it up for him to see. "This has the county's official seal. How could it possibly be a sham?" He slapped the red booklet out of my hand, scoffing. "That's hilarious. Katerina mentioned you were a little unstable, always fantasizing that she's your wife. Guess she wasn't exaggerating." He deliberately stepped on the certificate, grinding his shoe onto our photo, leaving a dirty black scuff mark. "She went to the courthouse with you out of pity," he sneered. "Part of her new duties as VP—caring for mentally ill subordinates." He turned and walked away, leaving my pride crushed on the floor beneath his footprint. The strength drained out of me. I sank to my knees, unable to stand. I was the sole heir to a multi-billion-dollar fortune, playing the part of an ordinary employee so Katerina wouldn't feel insecure. Eight years. We’d held hands in secret in the breakroom, shared a bowl of cheap ramen on late nights, planned our future in a tiny rented apartment. Behind the scenes, I was the one rewriting her proposals, begging my father to grant her unprecedented promotions, and calling in favors from my wealthy friends to secure her investments. I had carried her through the hardest times, and just when we finally got married, my life with her was dismissed as a delusion? I desperately tried to wipe the scuff mark off the photo with my sleeve, but the stain seemed to have melded with the paper, only growing darker the more I rubbed. Clenching my jaw, I called my father’s executive assistant. "Mr. Harrison, I need you to check the official marital status of Katerina Vance." I staggered back to my desk, feeling hollowed out. A moment later, his reply came through. "Mr. Shaw, the county records confirm you and Ms. Vance are legally married." "However, it appears Ms. Vance instructed someone in HR to list Mr. Finn as her spouse in the company's internal system." "In a divorce, she could claim the system entry was a clerical error, while still legally being married to you. This would position her to claim half of your personal assets." My fists tightened. Every bit of her success, every piece of her shining armor—I had given it all to her. If she dared to betray me, I would be the one to personally drag her down from the heavens and into the mud. … Mr. Harrison sent over Caleb's complete file. Katerina had personally interviewed him. She’d offered a third-year college student an intern’s salary of a hundred thousand dollars a month. While other interns started at the bottom, Caleb was immediately appointed as the VP’s personal assistant on the 60th floor. His registered home address was a luxury condo across the street from the office—a condo Katerina had purchased, claiming it was a place to rest during her lunch breaks. The papers trembled in my hands. I had let Katerina use me as a stepping stone to reach the sky, only for her to let another man reap the rewards. Before I could confront her, she called me, her tone accusatory. "Honey, were you looking through my files in the HR system?" The perks of being a boss. She had spies reporting my every move. "Even if we're close, I am a Vice President now. It's not appropriate for a junior employee like you to be snooping around my profile. Besides, trust is the most important thing in a relationship." I bit back the rage boiling inside me, listening coldly as she continued her charade. For eight years, I had been her workhorse—pulling all-nighters to perfect her plans, chasing down clients, shielding her from difficult situations. All she had to do was offer me a smile. When I collapsed with a fever from overwork, she'd stayed by my side all night, cooling my forehead with a damp cloth. When I once mentioned off-handedly that I loved the artisanal croissants from a little bakery in the South End, she woke up early for three straight weeks to buy them for me. Those small moments of tenderness had wrapped around my heart like vines, convincing me the love in her eyes was real. I never questioned her late nights, her business dinners, her long trips. It was all a lie. A carefully constructed performance to trick me into paving her way to the top. I sent her the screenshot. "You didn't want me looking at your profile because you were afraid I'd find out your husband is listed as Caleb Finn?" There was a brief silence. Then, she explained, "He's just an intern with no connections. Having my name in his file protects him from a lot of office politics and bullying…" And what about the years of condescension and scorn I endured while hiding my identity for her sake? I couldn't listen anymore. I hung up on her. Whether as her lover or her subordinate, it was the first time I had ever ended her call. A second later, the internal office line rang. It was Katerina, her voice now dripping with authority. "Marcos Shaw. My office. Now." I was ready for a fight. But the moment I opened the door, she threw herself into my arms. I gripped her shoulders, pushing her back. "Katerina," I asked, my voice hoarse, "why are you giving him special treatment?" She caressed my cheek, her tone as sweet as honey. "He's a recent graduate, struggling to find his footing. I'm just giving him a bit of a safety net. Don't overthink it." "Don't overthink it?" I shoved her away. "What about everything I've done for you? Does none of that matter?" Her gaze was so full of love it made my head spin. "Of course it matters. You're so jealous your lips have gone pale. It breaks my heart to see you like this." She turned, picked up a glass of water, and held it to my lips. "Here, drink some of this. Calm down." I turned my head away, sulking. "I'm not thirsty. I have to go prepare for the project presentation." Seeing my defiance, she took a large gulp of the water herself. Then, before I could react, she pressed her lips to mine. The warm water, laced with her scent, forced its way down my throat. I swallowed reflexively, choking. A wave of dizziness hit me. The lights in the office began to spin. The last thing I saw was the dark, unreadable expression on Katerina's face as it blurred into nothing… … In the main conference room, the board of directors, the investors, and the suppliers were all waiting for my presentation. But I was unconscious, knocked out by the water Katerina had given me. When I finally woke up, I bolted towards the conference room, my heart pounding with dread. I was too late. The Chairman, my father, was furious. "Marcos Shaw! How dare you be late for a meeting of this importance!" Katerina stepped forward, playing the part of the peacemaker. "Chairman Vance, please don't be angry. Marcos has been working so hard he must have accidentally overslept." "Luckily," she added with a bright smile, "our new intern, Caleb Finn, was able to step in. His presentation was absolutely brilliant!" The blood rushed to my head. I stared in disbelief at the projector screen. It was displaying my sketches—the ones I’d spent a month on-site at the construction yard to create. And in the bottom-right corner, in bold letters, was Caleb's name. She hadn't just stolen my work. She had drugged me to clear the path for him. The executives shook their heads, walking past me with looks of disappointment. Once the room was empty, Caleb rushed to Katerina, wrapping her in a tight hug and planting a kiss on her cheek. "Katerina, thank you!" She pinched his chin affectionately. "For what? I told you I'd help you rise to the top." "Why?" I trembled with rage. "That was my work! My blood, sweat, and tears!" She shot me a cold look. "You've been here for years and you're still a junior associate. It was time to give Caleb a chance to prove himself." I lunged forward, intending to go straight to the Chairman and expose everything, but Katerina grabbed me, her grip like steel. In the struggle, my elbow struck her arm. She hissed in pain. Caleb immediately pulled up her sleeve. A fresh, bloody gash was weeping on her forearm. His eyes reddened as he touched the wound. "You even drugged yourself… and you cut your own arm to stay awake, just for me!" Katerina simply wiped a tear from his eye. "I'd do anything for you." My stomach churned. I turned and fled to the elevator. Katerina chased after me, slamming the emergency stop button just as the doors closed. The elevator jolted violently, plunging us into darkness. "I have claustrophobia! Let me out!" I screamed, hammering on the doors, my nails splintering against the steel. "You need to calm down," her voice came from the darkness. "Stop bullying a young man who's just trying to get by." I begged her, pleaded with her, but she just made a call, telling the maintenance crew they could leave for the day, severing my last shred of hope. When they finally rescued me the next morning, I was a wreck. A crust of dried blood and tears was caked on my forehead where I’d hit it against the wall. My throat was raw, and my eyes stung and watered at the slightest exposure to light. My colleagues looked at me with pity as they handed me my termination letter. Violating company policy by accessing a superior's private information. Unexcused absence from a critical meeting. Maliciously leaving work before the end of the day… I demanded to see Katerina, but was told she had taken Caleb to a resort for a "site inspection"—a celebration of his early promotion. As for me, I was given one hour to clear out my desk and get off the property. I didn't go back to the small apartment filled with our memories. I hailed a cab and went straight to a gated mansion in the city's most exclusive neighborhood. The Chairman—my father—who had been so disappointed in me yesterday, was now a storm of shock and paternal fury, calling the family doctor to treat my injuries. "That vile woman must have a death wish!" he roared. "How dare she lay a hand on my son!" My mother was wiping away tears. "This is all your fault, Arthur! Insisting he learn the business from the ground up. Look what it’s done to him…" Seeing the two people he loved most in distress, my father’s anger found its target. "That bastard! I'll fire her immediately! And that intern she's protecting can go with her!" Firing them was too easy. I wanted to be the one to watch her fall. "Dad," I said, my voice steady. "I want to come back to the company. As your successor." He would have given me the moon if I'd asked for it. Of course he agreed. The next day, Katerina was informed that her site inspection was cut short. She was to return to headquarters immediately to meet the new, incoming CEO. When she rushed into the executive suite, flustered and annoyed, the large leather chair swiveled around to reveal my face. "Marcos? What are you doing here?"
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