He Cheated For Promotion, I Dumped Him

Chapter 2

We had been together for six years, and I rarely spoke to him in that tone.

I still remember when he first joined the company. I was already the project team's leader, firmly established as someone who was efficient, decisive, and known for never mixing business with personal matters.

Back then, he'd wrap me in his arms and smile.

"Everyone else only sees your tough exterior. I'm the only one who gets to see your soft side."

From our college days until now, I'd given him more warmth and tenderness than anyone else ever had.

But the more I gave, the more he came to take it for granted.

Since that was the case, there was no reason to spare his feelings anymore.

"What?" I stood up and looked at the man I'd loved for six years. "You had the nerve to cheat, but not the courage to admit it?"

The air grew heavy with tension.

Dave turned his face away, refusing to meet my eyes.

"I have a chance to transfer to the overseas headquarters next month." After a long silence, he finally spoke.

I raised an eyebrow, set my water glass on the table, and asked, "What does that have to do with you cheating on me?"

Dave frowned, clearly irritated by my choice of words.

"What does it have to do with it? Elle, there's only one opening for a headquarters promotion every three years. Do you have any idea how much effort I've put into getting close to Shane? Can't you stop making everything so difficult for once? Can't you cut me some slack and see how exhausted I am?"

What a load of self-righteous nonsense.

He wanted to use Shane, and her uncle, the company's chairman, to climb the corporate ladder.

At the same time, he refused to accept the label of "cheater," stubbornly insisting he was somehow justified.

"Then go ahead," I said with a faint smile. "Go to your little girl and chase the future you want."

I held his gaze. "Dave, I sincerely hope you get everything you think you deserve."

"Elle Flemming!" His face flushed with anger and embarrassment. But when he looked into my completely unreadable expression, he froze.

There wasn't a trace of sadness on my face.

I was as calm and detached as if I were throwing out a bag of garbage.

Of course I knew what he was thinking.

He hated how little I seemed to care.

"I worked so hard to get close to her. Do you really have no idea why?" he asked after a long pause. "I can put up with all of this for our future, but you're being petty and unforgiving. Elle, your need for control is out of hand."

He looked at me as though he were passing judgment.

"It was just a private account and a few words I said for show. Was that really worth confronting me over?"

He was desperately trying to salvage his pride.

Every word painted me as the unreasonable, paranoid girlfriend who didn't appreciate how hard her partner worked.

Meanwhile, he cast himself as the man nobly enduring humiliation and making sacrifices for our future.

Too bad for him.

That kind of manipulation had never worked on me.

The word reasonable had never been part of my vocabulary.

Controlling, on the other hand... That one fit just fine.

"You're right," I said. "I do have a strong need for control. Strong enough that I can no longer tolerate my cheating ex-boyfriend living in the house I paid for in full."

I smiled. "Dave, move out. The movers I hired will be here shortly. No need to thank me."

By three o'clock in the morning, amid the howling wind outside the windows and Dave's furious shouting, my house finally fell silent again.

To avoid office gossip, Dave had insisted from the very beginning that we keep our relationship private.

I used to think I understood his reasons.

Now I realized the truth.

He had never seen me as his only choice.

After all, only three days after I ended our relationship, he was openly coming to work with Shane. It almost felt like a declaration of war.

That same morning, a familiar box of candy appeared on my desk.

I suffered from severe hypoglycemia and was prone to fainting whenever I overworked myself.

Dave had worried about it for years.

Every month, he'd order a box of my favorite candy and have it delivered directly to my office.

I stared at the bittersweet reminder of a love that had long outlived its time and sighed.

Just as I was about to put it away, the office door swung open.

Shane walked in. "Director Flemming, I'm sorry, but I think a box of candy was delivered to the wrong office."

She smiled, her eyes glittering with unmistakable triumph. "Those are the relationship announcement gifts Dave ordered for everyone. Could you give them back to me?"