He Cheated For Promotion, I Dumped Him

Chapter 1

When I stumbled across my boyfriend's secret account, he'd just posted a new thread asking for recommendations on romantic cities for couples to visit.

On a whim, I replied anonymously, recommending an old riverside town I'd always dreamed of visiting but never had the chance to see.

Ten minutes later, he replied to my comment.

47587: [Thanks, but my girl and I already went there for Valentine's Day this year. She didn't like it.]

My fingers went still.

I opened the profile again, the username nothing more than a random string of numbers, and scrolled through his posts.

There weren't many.

But every one of them proved the account belonged to my boyfriend, Dave Wells.

The custom watch I'd given him. The one-of-a-kind hydroponic plant on his office desk. A photo from our fifth anniversary, with only my hand visible, the ring I'd been wearing was unmistakable.

I steadied myself and looked back at his reply.

My girl.

I was two years older than Dave.

He had never once called me that.

And Valentine's Day...

This past Valentine's Day, he'd told me he was away on a business trip with his team. He'd been so busy he hadn't even called.

Without a word, I texted my assistant and asked her to pull the list of employees from the tech department who had traveled for work during Valentine's Day.

Three minutes later, the answer arrived.

Shane Fallow.

The only female intern on the trip. Twenty-three years old, fresh out of college.

So it was her.

I thought back to the conversation we'd had the night before.

I'd suggested taking a few days off next week and going somewhere together.

The major project he'd been leading was entering its final stage and was scheduled to wrap up this week. Next week should have been the least demanding time he'd had in months.

Before I could even finish asking, he looked up from his computer and said flatly, "I have another business trip next week. I don't have time. If you want to go somewhere, ask one of your friends."

In six years together, it was the first time he'd ever refused to take a vacation with me.

Ever since we'd started working at the same company, we'd taken our annual leave together every year.

Even after finding his secret account, I still clung to the hope that he was planning some elaborate surprise.

Then someone from Human Resources spoke to me.

"Director Flemming, Vice President Wells submitted his annual leave request three days ago."

She glanced at the list before continuing, "Others taking leave next week include the Vice President of Operations, someone from Legal... and Shane Fallow, the Tech Department intern. She's requested a week's sick leave."

I smiled without saying a word.

Every time Shane's name came up, people hesitated.

On her very first day, everyone had learned she was the niece of a director at headquarters. Most of the company treated her like a privileged newcomer padding her résumé.

Only Dave had insisted he treated her no differently.

"She's just another intern. I don't play favorites."

But over the past year, his actions had said otherwise.

He wore the red braided bracelet Shane gave him beneath the custom watch I'd bought him, claiming it had been blessed at a church and brought him good luck.

The stuffed toy she gave him sat in the most prominent spot on his desk. He said everyone in the department had one, and he didn't want it to look as though he was singling her out.

For the first time in our relationship, he forgot our anniversary.

Yet he remembered the hundredth day of Shane's internship and had reserved a table at her favorite restaurant.

Whenever I questioned him, he'd tell me I was imagining things.

"With her connections, it makes sense to be a little more accommodating. That's just office politics. You're a director yourself, you should understand."

I understood all too well.

That was why I'd kept convincing myself to let it go.

Again.

And again.

Until I saw that post.

If I'd only suspected before that his heart no longer belonged to me, now I knew.

It was over.

I spent the entire afternoon sitting numbly in my office before finally going home.

That night, I waited for Dave to return from work.

"I saw your leave request in HR."

The moment he stepped through the door, he stopped.

"You looked into me?" His voice sharpened. "That's an invasion of my privacy," he added.

"Is it?" I didn't even look up when I added, "Does that privacy of yours include your 'girl'?"