Chapter 1
Sophie's POV:
Foul-smelling tobacco-stained water dripped down my chin onto the spotless floor tiles, while hoots of laughter rang out all around me.
Tina Brown stepped closer, her voice soft and tinkling with laughter, pitched so that only the two of us could hear.
"Sophie, don't blame me for this, okay?
"Everyone in the company knows you're the most capable at your job. I'm just a fresh grad intern. Who am I to compete with you for a spot?
"But if I can't steal your job, can't I at least steal your man?"
She reached out, pretending to brush a bit of ash off my shoulder.
"Blame yourself for getting too much in the way. So... I used AI to forge a few photos of you leaking company confidential information and sent them to the company's main group chat."
Tina's gaze skipped over my shoulder to land on Cameron, her face glowing with barely contained triumph.
"Oh, right, guess who approved this little plan of mine?
"It was Cameron. Even the idea of splashing you with this tobacco water was his, just to let me vent my frustration properly!"
A violent wave of nausea roiled up in my stomach.
I looked over at Cameron.
I thought back to when I first joined the company 3 years ago.
A rival, in an attempt to steal a contract, spread rumors in an industry group chat that I drank my way into projects.
That night, Cameron, who had always been gentle and refined, had stormed into the rival's drinking banquet like a madman.
He beat the man who had spread the rumors until his face was covered in blood, forcing him to bow and apologize to me publicly.
He held me tight, his hands soaked in blood, his eyes red.
"Sophie, as long as I'm alive, I will never let anyone slander you even the tiniest bit."
That promise still rang clearly in my ears.
Yet now, he was letting his new secretary sling the worst possible mud at me.
Cameron frowned, and finally waved away the surrounding crowd of gawking colleagues.
He walked up to me, pulled a tissue from his pocket, and held it out to me.
"Alright, drop the wronged victim act. It's not that big of a deal.
"You almost took the opportunity from her, so letting her feel better will make it easier for her to help you get work started over there once she transfers.
"As for those photos, we'll suppress them internally. Don't drag this out and make a scene."
There was impatience in his eyes, as if I was truly the one failing to appreciate his well-meaning arrangement.
"The suspension I mentioned earlier was just to make Tina feel better. Go home and rest properly for the next couple days. Consider it 3 days of leave on me."
He took out his phone and tapped the screen a few times casually.
Then I received a transfer notification.
$5,200.
I stared down at the number, my stomach twisting into a painful knot.
Last week, the custom suit he was wearing got stained with red wine. He had asked me to take it to a top-tier luxury care shop for dry cleaning and maintenance, and the money I had fronted for that service was exactly $5,200.
He couldn't even be bothered to give me a single cent more than that.
"Go buy yourself a new outfit and wash your hair. I'll come over to see you once I'm done with work later.
"Be a good girl, cheer up. You're going to be a bride in a couple of days."
I didn't take the tissue, turned and walked out.
There was still an offer from Feldmore in my email, which I had already decided to turn down.
I had planned to be Cameron's right hand for his overseas operations based on Belmere Street.
But now, it seems there's no point in that.
I thought back to 3 years ago, when I had just joined the company and was working to exhaustion, saying over and over that I wanted to quit.
Cameron wouldn't let me. "A woman has her fortune only when she has a career of her own," he said.
His mother didn't have a job of her own back then, so when his father cheated, she didn't even dare to get a divorce, and eventually died of depression.
He had sworn he would never let me end up like his mother.
But now Cameron had changed. He personally handed my opportunity to someone else.
Staying would only hurt me. I had to leave.
I opened the email and clicked Accept.
My passport and the mementos my mother left me are all locked in the safe in our wedding apartment.
Since I didn't plan to come back, I'd take all of them with me.
Taking a deep breath, I dialed another number.
"Hello, this is Lovey Bridal."
"It's me, Sophie Dunphy." My voice was a little hoarse. "Please cancel the wedding dress fitting I booked for tomorrow."
