Chapter 1
For seven years, my boyfriend Hunter and I had clawed our way from nothing to building a top-tier tech company.
He was rational, level-headed, and fiercely principled—never once making exceptions for anyone at work.
Until that interview, he made an exception to hire Diana.
She had been flustered and error-prone throughout the entire process, utterly incompetent by any measure.
Everyone was stunned, myself included.
When it came to Diana, he tossed aside his strict code of fairness.
He championed her, broke up the R&D team I led, and reduced me to a figurehead—stripping me of real authority, all to elevate her.
Diana got critical data wrong, costing the company massive losses.
Hunter knew full well the mistake was hers, yet he demanded I take the fall for her.
After I took the blame, Hunter didn't show a trace of guilt.
Instead, he gently comforted the distraught Diana.
"This wasn't my mistake," I said, looking him dead in the eye. "I won't take the fall for her."
He turned to me, his voice soft with false reassurance. "Once this is over, I'll make it up to you. We'll get engaged, and I'll give you a grand wedding."
After all those years, this was the first time he had ever promised me a future together.
But Hunter had no idea that I'd already given him the last of my love.
He didn't fall apart until he found out I got married—and the groom wasn't him.
*****
Diana walked up to my workstation holding the erroneous data report, a gentle smile on her face.
She said, "Mia, the board just finalized the post-mortem and pinned down blame. You're solely responsible for submitting a formal written apology and handling the compensation for this loss."
She sounded nonchalant, as if she weren't the one who'd caused the trouble.
I looked up at her. No argument, no anger, just a calm response.
"Understood," I said.
She clearly hadn't expected me to be so compliant. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes, swiftly replaced by concealed triumph.
She leaned in slightly and added in a voice only the two of us could hear, "Hunter's already made the final call. Just own up to it and be done with it. No need to make a fuss."
With that, she turned and left.
The colleagues around us ducked their heads and busied themselves. No one dared to speak.
Everyone knew the truth.
This massive financial loss had been caused by Diana's carelessness and arrogance.
But everyone could see clearly that Hunter's principles went out the window where Diana was concerned.
For seven years, I built everything from scratch with Hunter, personally founded the entire R&D department, and carried half the company on my back.
In the past, he was stern and impartial, prioritizing rules over relationships, never breaking his principles for anyone.
Ever since he made an exception to keep Diana, he crossed his own line.
He knew the full truth, yet he publicly pressured me at the board meeting to take the fall for Diana.
The CEO's office door opened, and Hunter walked out.
He was dressed in a crisp, tailored suit, his bearing noble and distinguished, his presence radiating cold, rigid authority.
When his aloof gaze swept over Diana, the chill in his eyes vanished.
He even asked her in a low voice if she had been frightened, patiently reassuring her not to take it to heart.
He was incredibly gentle.
Throughout it all, he didn't spare me so much as a glance.
He was certain I would behave as I always had, sulking and clinging to him, and then a few placating words soothed me into giving in.
But he didn't know that I had long since abandoned all such thoughts.
The so-called engagement and wedding were merely bargaining chips to shut me up.
This relationship he thought I couldn't walk away from—I hadn't wanted it for a long time.
