He Played Me, I Took Back My Fortune

Chapter 1

The new junior assistant accidentally splashed water all over me, and my CEO husband, Arthur Callahan, immediately slapped her hard across the face. "Clumsy i***t. Get the hell out of here, now!"

I rolled my eyes and teased him for overreacting. I thought all the gossip spreading dumb rumors about him and the assistant hooking up were total clowns.

Later, he walked me to the door personally, but I had left my bag behind and had to turn back to get it. The second I pushed the office door open, my blood ran cold at what I saw playing out inside.

The little assistant who had been sobbing her heart out just minutes ago was now straddling my husband's lap, looking like the cat that got the cream.

My usually aloof, ice-cold husband was cupping her soft, youthful face in his hands, dabbing ointment on her cheek. "Lyra, I'm so sorry. That vicious harpy I'm married to is so possessive and controlling. I was scared she'd target you, so I had to..."

"Mr. Callahan, you don't have to explain. I understand completely..."

My breath caught in my throat. I spun around, ducked into a quiet empty hallway, pulled out my second phone, and punched in a number.

"Put the financing for Callahan Corporation on hold for now. Also, draw up a divorce agreement for me."

After hanging up, I pushed the office door open again, turned on my phone's camera, and marched straight over to the two of them.

"Slap someone then hand them a candy to make up for it? Arthur, such brilliant staff management skills really deserve to be shared far and wide, don't you think?" As I spoke, I pulled up the group chat for the New York elite business community, ready to fire off the video I'd just captured.

Panicked, Arthur shot to his feet so fast he forgot there was someone sitting on his lap. A loud thud echoed through the room as Lyra went crashing hard to the ground.

Her face scraped against the floor. The already swollen spot where he'd slapped her earlier split open, oozing tiny beads of blood. Arthur didn't even bother comforting her. He lunged over and clamped down hard on my wrist.

"Honey, don't post that, please. That was all a misunderstanding just now. There's really nothing going on between Lyra and me, you have to believe me."

Misunderstanding? Yeah, right. The way they were looking at each other just now was so charged you could practically see the sparks flying. If I had walked in one minute later, they would probably have been locking lips right there on his office desk.

I let out a sharp, cold laugh and fixed my gaze on him. "Apologize to me properly, fire her, and then I'll buy that this was just some big misunderstanding."

A flicker of hesitation crossed his face. He pressed his lips tight and didn't say a word.

Given the Storm family's wealth and status, Arthur never would have qualified to be a son-in-law of the Storm family to begin with. I was the one who pushed back against every single member of my family, dead set on tying the knot with him.

After we got married, I didn't want him to feel inferior, so I dipped into my hundreds of millions in dowry to help him build Callahan Corporation from the ground up.

He was grateful for all I had done, and his love for me only grew deeper as a result. It was no exaggeration to say he treasured me like the apple of his eye.

I know even the strongest, most passionate feelings fade with time, but cheating is one hard line I will never tolerate.

I stared straight at him, no trace of warmth in my eyes. "Not willing to let her go? Fine, then I'm hitting send. Oh, and that one-billion-dollar funding deal we had lined up for Callahan Corp? Yeah, that's gone too, you know?"

His hands hanging at his sides curled into tight fists, then relaxed again. He stepped in front of me and bowed so deep his upper body was almost parallel to the floor. "I'm sorry, honey. I was wrong. I'll be more careful about boundaries from now on. I promise I won't mess up again." Then he picked up the phone and called HR, his voice cold and clipped. "Intern assistant Lyra is fired. Process her termination paperwork immediately." With that, he turned to look at me. "Honey, you're satisfied now, right?"

His eyes were brimming with pleading and obsequious fawning.

I was just about to nod when the cruel nickname he'd used for me earlier popped into my head. "Heard that in your head, I'm some jealous, overbearing tigress?"

Sweat immediately beaded across Arthur's forehead. He put on a fake angry act. "Which i***t's been spewing garbage behind my back? My wife's the kindest, sweetest, prettiest girl in the whole world."

I let out a small laugh, the tight knot in my chest melting right away. I grabbed my bag and stalked out on my high heels.

Feelings fade, that's just how it goes. As long as there's still respect between us, the marriage could still work out.

But I barely made it to the door when a figure stepped right in front of me, blocking my path.

Lyra stood there, cheeks puffed up with fury. "I didn't do anything wrong! Who do you think you are, making Mr. Callahan fire me?"

I glanced at her battered, scraped face. "I'll have finance double your severance package. That should be enough to tide you over until you find your next job. As for whether you did anything wrong?" I leaned down, getting right in her face. "You know exactly what you did."

That water spill earlier that morning had been no accident. She had splashed me on purpose. The second I walked into Arthur's office, the malice and jealousy oozing from her eyes were impossible to miss.

I had seen way too many girls like her, dead set on climbing the social ladder by latching onto rich, powerful men. Having her little scheme called out right to her face turned Lyra as white as a sheet, but she still stubbornly pushed back to defend herself.

"Even if I had some ideas I shouldn't have, who do you think you are to judge me for them?" She curled her lips, eyes sharp open with disdain. "You're nothing but a stay-at-home wife who only lives off her man. You think you're any better than me?"