The Boss's Wife Called Me a Homewrecker

On our first day back from the holiday break, my boss’s wife stopped by the office with gifts. She held a lipstick up to my lips, sizing it up. "Cute shade," she said. "It’s the exact same color as the lipstick smudge on Henry’s collar." The second she said that, the entire office went dead silent. Everyone stared at us. "You can have this tube. Consider it a gift from me. After all—" "Being a homewrecker is hard work." As the target of her little speech, I was completely baffled. Sure, I had gone to business dinners with my boss, but since when did that make me a mistress? Besides, my family literally owns this entire conglomerate. Why would I ever need to fight you for your husband? After a seven-day holiday, the office was drowning in work. Everyone was stressed out of their minds. In the middle of the chaos, a cheerful female voice echoed through the room. "Hard at work, everyone? I brought some little treats to reward you all." It was Bella, the wife of our Vice President, Henry. She was dressed in head-to-toe designer clothes, with two men carrying shopping bags behind her. Bella walked in, her eyes darting around the room, completely ignoring the polite greetings from the staff. She scanned every female coworker in the room before finally stopping at my desk. "That’s a nice lipstick color." I was about to make polite conversation when she dropped the bomb. "It’s the exact same shade as the lipstick stain on Henry's collar." Bella tossed the lipstick onto my desk. "This is for you. I picked this shade specifically. It suits young girls like you. Think of it as a little gift from me." What the hell? How did I suddenly become the other woman? "I think you’ve got the wrong idea. I’m not..." I picked up the lipstick to hand it back, but she pushed my hand away. "Oh, don't worry. I didn't say anything bad." "Henry is a successful man. It’s normal for him to have female friends. I'm not here to make a scene." "But feel free to visit our house next time. Don't waste money booking hotels. And stop using business trips as an excuse to go on dates. It's bad for the company." Her passive-aggressive words turned my confusion into pure anger. I slammed the lipstick right back against her chest. "Henry and I only attend business dinners for work. We have never done anything inappropriate." "I don't know anything about a lipstick stain, and I am not a homewrecker!" But Bella didn't flinch. She just let out a cold laugh. "Keep denying it. Do you think I'd come here without proof?" With that, she turned to the rest of the office. "I hope everyone enjoyed the treats. I'll be leaving now." "Oh, and make sure not to give Alice’s share to anyone else. She might have to go out with Henry later tonight, after all." "Why you—!" I went to chase after her, but several coworkers blocked my way. Their faces were twisted with disgust. "Alice, you are shameless. I actually thought you landed those big clients on your own. Turns out you just slept your way to the top." "Bella is nice enough to let it slide, but we can't stand working with someone so dirty in our department. If you have any self-respect, pack your bags and quit." "Using cheap tricks like that at your age. I can't believe you had the nerve to give that top-seller speech last month. It makes me sick." I tried to keep my cool and explain that this was all a misunderstanding. But they had always isolated me because of my high sales performance. Now, they finally had an excuse to gang up on me. "You're the only single woman in this office! If it's not you, who else could it be?!" "Enough." Henry's voice boomed from the doorway. He pushed the office door open, looking incredibly tense. The room fell quiet. He looked at me and called my name. "Alice, in my office. Now. We need to talk." Calling me in privately right now only made the others whisper more. They looked at me as if I were going in there to do something filthy. Anger and humiliation boiled inside me. I was about to ask him to clear my name in front of everyone, but the moment the door closed, he slammed his hand on the desk. "This is a place of business! Stop causing drama and ruining the office environment!"

The anger I had been suppressing finally exploded. I snapped back without hesitation. "You can't even control your own wife! She came into this office and spread lies about me. How is that my fault?!" Henry slammed his hand down again. "Watch your tone when speaking to your boss!" Henry’s face flushed red, then pale. He lowered his voice, sounding desperate. "Alice, this is not a big deal. You and I are clean. Why are you so worried about what they say?" "Not a big deal?" I let out a mocking laugh. "Mr. Bennett, you got caught cheating by your wife, and now you want me to take the fall? Seriously?" Henry choked on his words, his face turning uglier by the second. He took a deep breath, stepped closer, and lowered his voice in a threatening tone. "Alice, be smart. I still hold the key projects for next quarter." "You’ve always been my top choice for them. Don't let a little drama ruin your career." Seeing that I remained silent, his tone softened a bit. "Don't worry. I'll clear things up with the team. I'll prove your innocence." He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and a second later, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I opened our team's WhatsApp group. Henry had just posted an announcement: [To all staff: There was an unfortunate misunderstanding in the office today regarding some personal matters. It was purely a rumor.] [Please do not spread gossip during work hours. Focus on your tasks and maintain team harmony. I will handle the details privately.] "I'll give you the projects you deserve. Just stop causing me trouble." With that, Henry rushed to open the door, practically throwing me out. I figured since he had technically cleared my name, I should just focus on my work. Let them gossip; they couldn't touch me anyway. But I quickly realized I was being way too naive. For the next few days, the whispering behind my back was annoying, but manageable. Until today, right after work, when Bella blocked me at the office entrance. "Alice, you really are a stubborn little bitch, aren't you? How dare you talk back to me!" "Bella, I made myself clear last time. I have nothing to do with your husband. Henry even posted a clarification in the WhatsApp group..." "That was just a show he put on to protect you! Do you think I'm stupid?" Bella sneered. "I already showed mercy last time. What makes you think you can replace me?" A crowd was starting to gather. Bella raised her voice. "Look at this shameless whore working at your company!" She paused, looking at the onlookers. "Henry has zero interest in you, stop throwing yourself at him!" Listening to her, I actually found it hilarious. She found out her husband was cheating, yet she was still desperately trying to save his face? "Since you’re so sure I'm Henry's mistress, why don't you tell everyone exactly what I did?"

I crossed my arms and spoke casually. "Let's lay it all out in front of everyone. I'm not going to take the blame for something I didn't do." After all, who in their right mind would want a balding, middle-aged guy like Henry? Seeing my attitude, Bella snatched a receipt from her designer purse. "Last Tuesday at 7:00 PM. The restaurant at the SKY Hotel. You and Henry had a private candlelit dinner. The bill was $3,800!" "I found this receipt in his suit pocket myself. What's your excuse now?" The surrounding coworkers began to whisper. "Wow, the Sales Department is wild." "Bella came all the way here to confront her. It must be true." "Alice looks so innocent. I can't believe she'd ruin a marriage." "Enough. Keep your mouths shut," I said, pulling out my phone. "I did have dinner with Henry that night, but we weren't alone. Johnson from Marketing was there, and so was the representative from Monroe Enterprises." I pulled up a photo on my phone and showed it to everyone. "Good thing I have a habit of taking group photos with clients, otherwise Bella would have successfully framed me." But Bella wasn't giving up. "Fine! Even if that dinner was for work, how do you explain this?" She shoved her phone screen in front of my face. "This was taken by Henry's dashcam on the night of the 7th last month!" "That's you sitting in the passenger seat, isn't it? Late at night, just the two of you in a car. Are you still going to deny trying to seduce him?" "The 7th of last month?" I burst out laughing. Bella snapped, "What's so funny?" I looked her dead in the eye. "I'm so sorry, Bella. But on the afternoon of the 6th last month, I boarded a flight to New York." "I was at an industry conference for five straight days. Tell me, how did I teleport into Henry’s car on the 7th?" Bella stood frozen, unable to utter a word. I didn't press her further. Instead, I turned to my coworkers. "You all saw it. Henry and I are completely clean. This is all in Bella’s head." "You guys should watch out. Who knows which one of you she’ll target next." Bella’s face turned bright red as her accusations fell apart. The whispers of the crowd were now turning against her. Just as she was trapped in her own embarrassment, Henry rushed in. He pushed through the crowd, stood right beside Bella, and glared at me. "Alice, is this ever going to end?! It was a simple misunderstanding. Did you have to make a scene and embarrass Bella like this?" Henry’s face was red with panic. Bella clung to his arm, looking like a victim. "I just asked her to stay away from you, and she started insulted me in public. She's trying to ruin my reputation!" Henry looked at the crowd. Eager to stay on the VP’s good side, the coworkers quickly chimed in. "Yeah, Alice was way out of line. She was incredibly rude to Mrs. Bennett." Taking the hint, Henry immediately used his power to punish me. "Alice, you’ve been causing too much drama lately. It's ruining team morale. You are off the key projects for next quarter. Someone else will take over." "Also, write a formal apology and have it on my desk by tomorrow morning!" I looked at the couple. One was desperately shifting the blame, the other was living in deep denial. My patience was officially gone. I looked directly into Henry’s threatening eyes and spoke calmly. "Henry, you don't have the authority to decide whether I stay or leave."

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