The Breakup Clause

When Aaron proposed we break up for the Nth time, I was pulling an all-nighter finishing a quarterly performance review. "Maya, you have 20 minutes to get down to the club and apologize. Otherwise, we are done." I immediately felt a wave of exhaustion. "This review is crucial for my promotion. Can you please throw a tantrum some other day?" He replied casually, "Tantrum? If your job is more important to you than me, then let's break up." "Fine, you know I'm petty." "It only takes one phone call from me to make sure you never get that promotion." I forcefully slammed my phone down, but a row of floating text—like comments on a live stream—suddenly appeared before my eyes. [You don't think the female lead is actually going to take the male lead's harsh words seriously, do you? He's actually planning to surprise her; he secretly pulled strings to guarantee her promotion ages ago.] [As long as the female lead shows she's willing to sacrifice her career for him, the male lead would hand over the CEO position to her. He'd never bear to ruin her future.] [Us folks with an avoidant attachment style are just like this! We say we don't want it, but we secretly crave it. We just rely on our partner holding on for dear life.] [The male lead is literally standing by the door right now, waiting for the female lead to take a cab over and coax him. This angsty, bittersweet romance is so addictive.] I was skeptical, half-tempted to go out and find him. Then, a text popped up. "I heard Ms. Maya’s promotion is off the table. Interested in jumping ship?" 01 I stared at the bizarre message, thinking hard. After confirming it wasn't a prank text, I still had no clue who this person with the little wing emoji next to their name could be. Was it an alt account Aaron made to test me? But immediately, I dismissed that idea. Aaron was too arrogant; he'd never stoop to testing me like that. In our ten years together, I was always the one to yield and compromise first. We'd played out this exact scenario—me taking a cab to win him back—countless times. My unwavering favoritism had always made him feel completely secure. So who sent the message? The floating comments instantly provided the answer. [The male lead's nemesis is actually trying to steal his girl! He just overheard the male lead making that call while hiding in the bar's restroom. As soon as he walked out, he contacted the female lead. He moves fast.] [Not only is the female lead the male lead's lover, she's also a key talent at Sterling Corp. Of course Carter is going to try to poach her while competing for the CEO spot.] [To the person above, are you telling me Carter, the arrogant CEO who spends every night fantasizing about venting his frustrations with the female lead, isn't doing this out of personal interest?] I narrowed my eyes. So it was Carter. In the last bidding war, I led the team that beat Carter's company. At the evening reception, people urged us to exchange contact info to facilitate future business communications. At the time, he didn't even spare me a glance. I stood next to him, my smile almost freezing on my face, before he finally, with a cold expression, handed over his phone to scan my QR code. I originally thought he would delete my contact as soon as he got home; I didn't expect him to keep it. But I only half-believed what the comments were saying. Aaron never hid our relationship, but in public, he always maintained the icy demeanor of a superior. To an uninformed observer, in his eyes, I was just a corporate drone making a measly salary. That's why Carter loved to mock Aaron. "Finding a drone who will sleep with you for free... Mr. Sterling truly is an outstanding businessman." Carter looked down on me. His extending an olive branch to me now looked suspiciously like an attempt to disgust Aaron. I ignored his message. Then, I saw a voice message from Aaron's assistant. "Maya, please hurry over. Mr. Sterling is drunk and refuses to leave." He also sent a video of Aaron throwing a fit. I hesitated for a moment. I was just about to change my clothes and head out when I stopped dead in my tracks. Yes, Chloe's coquettish laugh clearly rang out at the 30-second mark of the video. [The male lead is pulling this stunt again. To make the female lead nervous, he intentionally called the second female lead over.] [Who can blame him? The female lead always falls for it. Every time he scares her like this, she loses her mind with worry.] [Hurry up and go out, female lead! I swear on my premium membership, as long as you're willing to go over there, apologize, and coax him, tonight he'll be on his knees waiting for your little leather whip.] [I understand the male lead so well. Seeing his girlfriend in utter agony because he threatened to break up makes him feel incredibly powerful. It makes him feel like she loves him so much.] I froze. So the floating comments really weren't a hallucination. The "female lead" they were talking about was me, and the "male lead" was Aaron. Aaron did exactly what they said—always threatening to break up, waiting for me to win him back. If I didn't go, he would find all sorts of ways to have people around us pressure me. But if I did go, he wouldn't immediately soften up either. Last time, I took an overnight Amtrak train just to coax him. I pushed open the door, travel-worn and exhausted, and he didn't even look at me. Instead, he pressed himself tightly against Chloe. "Who told you guys to call her here? Weren't you being so tough, insisting on breaking up?" But the very next second, his body honestly betrayed him; he immediately stuck to me and held my hand to leave. That night, he kept me up making love seven times. The next day, he overcompensated by buying me designer bags and booking trips. I once asked him, if he tortured me like this, wasn't he afraid I'd run away? He rested his head against my collarbone and acted spoiled. "My wife would never leave me over something so small." "Maya, as long as you take one step towards me, I will always take the remaining 99 steps towards you." But what he didn't know was that being constantly tortured like this... I didn't even want to take a single step anymore. This kind of exhausting love, I didn't have the energy for it anymore. Seeing that I hadn't replied, his assistant kept calling to rush me. I hesitated, debating whether to coax him one more time. Just then, Chloe sent me a message. "Aaron said you don't need to come; he's going to stay and watch the sunrise with me!" She sent a short video clip. "Aaron, Maya still isn't here. Are you really going to break up with her?" Aaron took a huge gulp of liquor. "We're done. Don't mention her." "Haven't you always said you wanted me to watch the sunrise with you? Let's go." From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the camera lens. Obviously, he knew Chloe was recording. I took a deep breath and forcefully tossed my phone aside. I went back to optimizing my performance review presentation. Rather than believing the comments claiming Aaron had already secretly secured my promotion, I'd rather rely on my own abilities. I wasn't like Aaron or Chloe, born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Poor as I was, I had to rely on myself to seize every opportunity. 02 Aaron didn't come home all night. I also suffered from insomnia the entire night. The next day, when I walked into the office with a heavy heart, Aaron had arrived early. Impeccably dressed, completely unsmiling. The oppressive aura of the CEO radiated from him, overwhelming everything else. He was like a completely different person from the childish, erratic man he was last night. I nervously finished my presentation. When it ended, he applauded along with everyone else. The look he gave me could even be called calm and friendly. I was puzzled. Could it be that because I didn't coax him, he was actually fine now? After the meeting ended, I noticed a small gift on everyone's desk. The CFO next to me had stars in her eyes. "Wow, having a CEO boyfriend is so great. His girlfriend gets promoted, and he gives everyone a gift." The administrative assistant cleared her throat. "This is from the new Executive Assistant. It's a 'nice to meet you' gift for everyone." The CFO was shocked. "A limited-edition perfume as a 'nice to meet you' gift for everyone?" "What kind of new method is this for trust-fund kids to flex on corporate drones?!" The administrative assistant shot me an uneasy glance. She quietly pulled the CFO aside: "The new assistant is the only daughter of our major client, the White family." "Mr. Sterling paid for the gifts. He said he was helping his childhood friend make a good impression." So it was Chloe. I understood instantly. Chloe had always wanted to use working at Sterling Corp as an excuse to get close to Aaron. The White family had also repeatedly proposed an alliance, hoping the two of them would marry to join forces. Because of me, Aaron had always refused to agree. But after one night, he actually consented. He even let her work in the executive suite as his personal assistant. A position that even I, as his official girlfriend, wasn't allowed to hold. I tried my hardest not to think about what had happened between them last night. I opened a file, preparing to focus on work. A colleague told me Aaron needed to see me. I happened to need to see him too, so I headed straight for the executive suite. As soon as I walked in, I saw Chloe sitting on Aaron's desk, her back to me. Her slim waist, accentuated by a tight pencil skirt, was resting loosely against Aaron's hand. A sharp pain shot through my palm. I never thought the day would come when I'd see Aaron being so intimate with someone else. I let out a light cough, startling Chloe so much she jumped away. Chloe turned around and saw it was me. The smile instantly vanished from her face. She pouted: "You've worked here for years, don't you know you need to knock before entering a room?" I was slightly taken aback. Entering Aaron's office, I had never considered knocking. "Excuse me. Next time you guys are doing something inconvenient, remember to lock the door." Aaron had been waiting to see me lose my temper. Hearing my words, his expression shifted slightly. But his face remained remarkably calm. "Did you need something, Mr. Sterling?" He answered calmly, "Your promotion has been tabled by the board of directors for now." Chloe shot me a victorious look. I looked down at my toes and gave a small "Hmm." He really didn't lie to me. Just because I didn't coax him, he reached out and halted my promotion. My chest felt like it was being crushed by a boulder, making it hard to breathe. My eyes involuntarily stung with unshed tears. Thankfully, I had the heads-up from the floating comments. Right now, I could still force myself to maintain composure. "Oh, understood." Neither of us spoke; the atmosphere was dead silent. "If you want to fight for it..." I interrupted him, "I don't. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving." I quickly turned around, but he called out to stop me. "Also, the Chicago project will be handled by Chloe from now on. You don't need to worry about it. Do a handover with her today." I whipped my head back around. "What did you say?" I had spent six grueling months preparing for the Chicago project, going without a day off for months just for it. At one point, the pressure was so intense I had to take a handful of pills every night just to get a few hours of sleep. This project was my hope. I wanted to use it to show everyone my capabilities. So they wouldn't just think of me as someone who climbed the ladder through nepotism by dating Aaron. Aaron knew about my obsession with it. He even secretly helped me secure resources and played a supporting role. Seeing that the project was on the verge of success, he was actually telling me to hand it over to Chloe! "Chloe just joined the company; she needs a project to establish her footing." "The Chicago project has high visibility and is about to show results. It's perfect for her to practice on." I fought back tears and asked him, "You know perfectly well this project is my life." "Why are you treating me like this!" He laughed vindictively. "I told you, I'm petty and I hold grudges." "Besides, I'm the boss. I don't need your permission to assign a project to someone." "If you're not satisfied, you're welcome to resign anytime." Chloe covered her mouth and giggled. I looked at them both coldly. One reveling in my misfortune, the other exuding absolute calm. Both were certain I wouldn't bear to let go. "Fine, then I resign." Aaron's smile vanished. He stared at me in disbelief. He raised his voice. "Maya, don't think that just because you're my girlfriend, you have special privileges to throw a tantrum." "Don't think I really won't let you leave!" I looked at him coldly. "Mr. Sterling must be so busy he forgot we broke up?" He choked on his words. Chloe, seeing the tension between us, couldn't help but smirk. Then she put on a troubled act. "Aaron, let's just forget it. Don't fight over me." She smiled provocatively. "I'm clumsy. What if I mess up the project and waste Manager Maya's hard work?" He affectionately patted Chloe's head. "It doesn't matter if you mess it up. It's a small project, nothing to worry about." All the blood in my body rushed to my head. It took every ounce of strength I had to suppress the urge to charge forward and hit them. But my palms were already clenched so tightly they were bleeding. "A company that uses projects to curry favor with a woman isn't worth staying at anyway. "Consider my years of hard work here as feeding the dogs." Chloe angrily put her hands on her hips. "Who are you calling a dog?" I sneered. "Who the dog is, you know perfectly well." "Maya!" Aaron's face was livid. I turned around and left without looking back. 03 I walked back to my desk like a zombie. Only when no one was looking did my tears finally flood out. The comments appeared again. [The female lead is so foolish! Just now, the male lead was putting on an act specifically for you. The moment you left, he kicked Chloe out.] [The male lead just wanted to see her get jealous and soften up. He didn't expect the female lead to be so incredibly stubborn, willing to resign just to prove a point.] [If you're dating someone in power, you have to be willing to swallow your pride. She wants to stand tall and make money? You can't have your cake and eat it too.] [The female lead has no sense of reality. Without this job, who's going to pay the medical bills for her seriously ill mother? Can her pride be exchanged for cold, hard cash?] The comments were right. My mother's illness relied entirely on astronomically expensive imported medication to keep her alive. The salary Aaron paid me had constantly supported my mother's medication. If the prescription lapsed, my only remaining family member in this world would leave me. Just as my heart ached over the money, Aaron, in a rare move, initiated a text message. "Come over and apologize to Chloe, and I might consider giving the project back to you." "I'll also give you Sterling Corp's new projects for the second half of the year." "And your company credit card, come get it yourself." This was Aaron's first time backing down. The comments also pleaded on his behalf. [The male lead is finally willing to bow his head. Heaven knows how much this arrogant guy is struggling internally right now.] [Us avoidant-attachment folks are moved! Only if we love someone so much are we willing to bow our heads! Female lead, cherish this!] [Besides his 'say one thing, mean another' attitude, the male lead is rich, handsome, and deeply devoted. The female lead should cherish what she has and not push him away completely.] It's true. Aaron, aside from being a drama king, was undeniably good to me. If I could just endure this one flaw, he could be considered an excellent boyfriend. But I still refused without hesitation. "I submitted my resignation letter to the HR Director today." It took him a long time to reply: "Are you serious?" "Yes, don't come begging me later." "Don't regret this later. You threw away a perfectly good relationship and job because of your stubbornness." I buried my face in my desk and cried silently. I was heartbroken over our ten-year relationship, and I was reluctant to leave the job. But even more, I couldn't accept Aaron treating me this way. He had a black hole in his heart regarding love, and every time he needed to fill it, he used the method of torturing me. I couldn't see the end of this darkness. Nor could I make peace with it. Instead of being in constant pain, it was better if I was the one to end it. 04 I sent my resignation letter, then pulled up Carter's contact on my phone. "Mr. Carter, is your offer still on the table?" He replied instantly: "It's on the table, but Aaron's girlfriend is excluded." Me: "Already broken up, already resigned."