For five years, my birthday, Valentine's Day, our anniversary—he was always working late.

Always brushing me off with a simple "Sorry, I forgot. Work's been crazy."

I told myself it was fine. He was building his career, proving that my investment in him wasn't a mistake. That he was doing it all to give me a better future.

Then last month, I found a receipt from a luxury jeweler tucked inside his car.

The recipient was Claudia Swanson.

Seven figures.

That was when I understood. It wasn't that he didn't know how to be romantic.

His romance just never belonged to me.

He wasn't busy.

He simply never wanted to give his time to me.

At three in the morning, Evan finally came home.

He reeked of an unfamiliar women's perfume.

A long brown hair clung to his jacket. It wasn't mine.

He spotted me still sitting on the couch and froze for a second before his brow creased.

"It's late. Why aren't you asleep?"

I looked up at him, my voice so flat it could have been a dead line.

"The gala. Explain."

His hands paused mid-shrug as he was taking off his jacket.

He walked over and sat across from me, his tone casual, as if the answer were obvious.

"Claudia got dumped. She was crying, saying she wanted to kill herself. What was I supposed to do, ignore her? She's a young woman, all alone in Greyport. If something happened, that'd be on me."

"And so?"

I stared at him, my eyes sharp with contempt.

"So you ditched me. You ditched dozens of investors I personally brought to that gala, all to drive halfway across the city for a heartbroken secretary?"

"Bernice, do you have to be so aggressive about everything?"

Evan's frown deepened, irritation written across his face.

"It was one gala. You're telling me the great Ms. Pruitt can't hold down a room on her own? Why are you making such a big deal out of nothing?"

"You think this is nothing?"

I laughed.

"Evan, who was that gala for?"

"I begged countless people, humbled myself over and over, just to put you at the top of this industry. And you walked out in front of every single one of them. Whose reputation took the hit? Mine. Bernice Pruitt's."

"If that's how you want to see it, what am I supposed to say?"

Evan leaned back into the couch, the picture of indifference.

"I know you've done a lot for me. But that doesn't give you the right to control where I go and what I do. We're in a relationship, not a transaction. I didn't sell myself to you."

"I'm good to Claudia because she's my subordinate. She's my secretary. Looking out for her is just part of being a decent boss."

"Just admit it. Tonight wasn't about the gala. You're jealous. You can't stand seeing another woman anywhere near me."

I looked at that face of his and felt something inside me collapse. Five years of sacrifice, and the whole thing suddenly felt like one enormous joke.

I asked him.

"Then what about the project the R&D team spent six months on? Why did you put Claudia's name on it? She doesn't even understand basic market research. What could she possibly have contributed?"

Evan's expression shifted, but he recovered quickly.

"Claudia handled a ton of logistics and coordination for that project. Without her, you think things would've run that smoothly? You people are just biased against her because she doesn't have a fancy degree. You dismiss everything she does."

I could barely believe what I was hearing.

"She can't even write up meeting minutes without errors. What exactly is she coordinating?"

"Evan, you took six months of your entire team's blood, sweat, and tears and handed it to her as a stepping stone. How can you look those employees in the eye? The ones pulling all-nighters, every single night?"

"Enough!"

Evan slammed his palm on the coffee table and shot to his feet, towering over me.

"Bernice, whose company is this? I'm the CEO. I decide who gets credit, and it's none of your business."

"Don't forget," I said. "That company exists because I built it with my money."

I stood up too, my eyes locked on his.

He blinked, then let out a scornful laugh.

"Fine. I admit it. Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today."

"But you defied your own father for me. Five years of pushback, all that money, all that energy poured in. Are you really willing to burn it all down?"

His words were a poisoned blade, driven straight into my heart.

The wound was raw and bloody, but I couldn't even feel the pain anymore.

So he'd known all along.

He knew exactly how much I'd sacrificed for him. That was why he dared to be so brazen.

That night, we parted on bitter terms.

He slammed the guest room door and didn't come out for the rest of the night.

I sat in the living room until dawn.

When the first light crept through the windows, I sent my lawyer a message:

"Those documents I asked you to prepare. Where do we stand?"

The reply came almost immediately:

"Ms. Pruitt, everything is proceeding on schedule. We can move forward whenever you give the word."

I deleted the conversation. As if nothing had happened.

I'd given him chances. More than one.

Six months ago, I'd already noticed something was off.

He started working late constantly, staying out all night.

His phone was always face-down on the table.

He'd even changed his lock screen passcode to Claudia's birthday.

The first time I brought up Claudia was after I saw his social media photos from a company retreat. Everyone was looking at the camera. Everyone except him. His gaze had drifted to Claudia, tucked away in the far corner of the frame.

I told him to keep his distance from her.

He apologized. Said he'd just been spacing out, hadn't realized, and that it wouldn't happen again.

Then he turned around and promoted Claudia from administrative secretary to executive assistant to the CEO, tripling her salary.

He gave her a private office and clearance high enough to access the company's core data at will.

People at the company whispered behind my back, saying Claudia was the real future Mrs. Fox.

I was supposed to be his girlfriend, but I was treated like an outsider.

I swallowed it.

I told myself that after five years together, this was just a passing infatuation. He'd come to his senses eventually.

But my patience only made him bolder.

The next morning, I went to the office. The moment I stepped into the elevator, there was Claudia.

She was wearing the latest haute couture suit.

In her hand was a limited-edition bag I couldn't have gotten my hands on even if I'd waited in line for hours.

All bought by Evan.

When she saw me, she didn't shrink back. Instead, she smiled and sidled up to me.

"Good morning, Ms. Pruitt."

I ignored her.

She lowered her voice to a murmur only the two of us could hear.

"Ms. Pruitt, thank you for holding down the fort for Evan last night. He spent so long keeping me company, I could barely drag myself out of bed this morning."

She paused, her smile widening.

"Oh, and Evan told me the thing he hates most about you is that entitled princess attitude. You always make him feel like he's eating out of your hand. But he's a man. What he needs is emotional fulfillment, not your charity."

"If you'd like lessons on how to give a man what he actually needs, I'm happy to teach you."

"Of course, I'd have to borrow Evan for the demonstration."

The elevator doors opened. She clicked out on her heels, hips swaying, without a backward glance.

I stood in the elevator, nails digging into my palms, feeling nothing.

I walked into Evan's office.

He was reading a document and didn't even look up.

"What is it?"

"Fire Claudia."

No preamble. No buildup.

He finally raised his head, brow furrowed, irritation written across his face.

"What are you making a scene about now?"

"I'm making a scene?"

I stared at him.

"Do you have any idea what she said to me? She's lording herself over me, rubbing my face in it, and I don't even have the right to do anything about it?"

"What did she say to you?"

Evan's tone was pure dismissal. He rubbed his brow wearily.

"Claudia's not that kind of person. You must have misunderstood. She's young, she doesn't know better. Cut her some slack."

I laughed.

"She's your secretary, not your grandmother. Why should I cut her any slack?"

"Bernice!"

He slammed his pen on the desk and shot to his feet.

"Can you grow up? Stop acting like some jealous schoolgirl!"

"I'm at a critical stage in my career. Claudia gives me emotional support. She helps me focus on my work. And you? What do you do besides pressure me and pick fights?"

Emotional support.

So five years of giving him everything I had still couldn't compete with a young girl batting her eyelashes and playing the victim.

I looked at him, and suddenly, I didn't want to fight anymore.

"Fine. I'll drop it."

"The Global Summit is next month. The organizers gave us two spots, and I secured one for you. This is your best shot at breaking into the international market. Don't screw it up."

His expression softened instantly. He walked over and patted my shoulder.

"I knew you'd come around. You've always been the sensible one."

"Don't worry. Once I've got a solid foothold, I'll marry you. A big, proper wedding."

I looked at him. Not a single ripple stirred inside me.

This was his best opportunity.

And the perfect moment for me to pull the net closed.

Over the next month, I watched him and Claudia grow bolder.

The core algorithm my team had spent a year refining, he handed straight to Claudia.

She entered it in a competition and won an innovation award.

At the ceremony, Claudia teared up on stage and said, "I want to thank my mentor, Evan Fox. I wouldn't be here without him."

The internet praised them as a dream team.

No one knew that algorithm had been built on countless all-nighters pulled by my team.

My birthday. I'd reminded him two weeks in advance.

He promised he'd be there, swore he'd celebrate with me.

On the day itself, I waited for him all night. He didn't even send a "happy birthday."

The next morning, I saw it. Claudia had posted on social media the day before.

Evan had taken her to Disneyland. He'd arranged a private fireworks show just for her.

The caption read: "My little one. Be happy forever."

I was hospitalized with a stomach hemorrhage. I called him. His voice was thick with irritation.

"I'm on my way to the vet with Claudia. Her cat's sick. Just call a nurse. You're a grown woman. Stop being so dramatic."

Then he hung up.

I lay in the hospital bed.

For the first time, I realized that for five years, I'd been completely blind.

I stopped arguing with him. Stopped making scenes. Stopped asking about him and Claudia altogether.

I just went to work and came home on time, every day.

As if nothing had happened.

Evan probably assumed I'd given in. That I'd finally accepted Claudia's presence in his life.

The way he looked at me carried a new kind of satisfaction, like he was granting me a favor by staying.

He didn't know I was simply waiting.

Waiting for the perfect moment.

To take back everything I'd given him, with interest.

The moment came soon enough.

The Global Summit. Investors, media, industry titans, all under one roof.

Evan was set to unveil our new product at the event.

It was the key to cementing his place at the top of the industry.

The day of the summit, I sat in the front row and watched Evan stride onto the stage, radiating confidence.

He took the microphone and spoke with effortless charisma.

He talked about his journey from a penniless college kid to a rising star in tech.

He painted himself as a self-made genius who'd defied the odds.

Not once during the entire speech did he mention me. Not once did he mention the Pruitt Group.