At the champagne banquet celebrating a thirty-million-dollar contract, my boss’s assistant suddenly stormed in and slapped me across the face.

“You’re the kind of person who damages the boss’s interests!”

I froze, and so did the corporate clients.

“What do you mean?”

After a marathon negotiation, the credit was clearly mine. Wasn’t the boss my fiancé? How could the business I just secured for his company possibly harm him?

“I saw you go into the boss’s private wine cellar and take one of his treasured champagnes!”

“You could have easily bought one on the market if you were entertaining friends!”

Right then, my fiancé, Daniel Walker, came in and saw me being slapped. Instead of feeling any pity, he joined in:

“That was Cristal! And you gave it to a bunch of random old men with beer guts to drink for fun?”

“I didn’t—”

Smack!

Daniel’s hand came across my face. “Do you have any idea how expensive that bottle is? Twenty thousand dollars! And you used it just to please those useless clients?!”

“That’s right. If I hadn’t stopped her in time, they’d have been clinking glasses already!” Emily Johnson, the assistant, kept spouting nonsense.

“Mr. Walker, what is this—” one of the clients tried to speak.

“Shut up! All of you, get out!” Daniel barked before they could explain.

“But they’re—” I started, only to watch the clients storm out in anger.

To save the project, I rushed after them to apologize.

“If you dare leave during work hours, you’re fired!” Emily’s voice echoed behind me.

I didn’t take her seriously. My title might look modest, but I was in fact the corporation’s second-in-command. She had no right to control me.

Still, the clients were adamant. With a boss like Daniel, they had no confidence—unless I gave up ten percent of the profit, they wouldn’t proceed.

Since the fault seemed to be mine, I had no choice but to agree.

I quickly contacted my colleagues to take over the project. But to my shock, the team chat notified me: “You have been removed.”

At first I thought maybe the admin had kicked me out by mistake. But when I arrived at the office, the security system flagged me as a stranger. That’s when Emily’s words hit me—she had actually managed to fire me.

I tried calling Daniel, but he didn’t pick up.

Of course, she couldn’t have had such authority without his backing.

Enraged, I grabbed the thirty-million-dollar contract and headed straight to the company of my childhood friend, Michael Harris.

“You came so suddenly—trying to surprise me?” Michael teased.

“That’s right.”

“Thirty million! Are you here to buy out my company?” he joked, pulling me into the main seat.

“Consider this a pledge of loyalty. Can I work here now?” I asked seriously.

“Work here? Forget that—I’ll make you a partner! But really, don’t joke with me. You were the number two at Daniel’s corporation. Why would you want to come to my tiny firm?”

“Still call it tiny after landing a thirty-million contract? Even Daniel will have to show you respect now.”

Michael’s tone grew serious.

“But aren’t you about to marry Daniel? Joining a competitor at this point… I’ve never seen anyone do that.”

“Don’t worry about the contract for now. Just give me a position—we’ll talk about the rest later.” My eyes were firm.

“You fought with Daniel and came here just to spite him, didn’t you?” Michael pressed.

His question hit right at my heart. Was I really just throwing a tantrum?

Of course not!

All these years, I’ve been utterly devoted to Daniel Walker—not just emotionally, but in my work as well. To secure more contracts for the corporation, I spent countless nights negotiating with clients.

And what did I get in return? A stinging slap and baseless accusations.

If his assistant could so easily fire me, then what was I in his eyes? Less than the dog he kept at her side?

“Do I look like someone who can’t separate feelings from work?” I muttered.

Michael Harris still wanted to press me for answers, but I was so fed up that I slipped away under the excuse of going to the restroom. He wasn’t the type to abandon me anyway.

Once I’d cooled down, I remembered that I had some private files left on my office computer. With no choice, I contacted my deputy to help me get back inside.

But just as I reached the office door, I ran into Emily Johnson.

“Who let Sophia Carter in here? Don’t you know she’s already been fired from the corporation?!” Emily barked.

Startled, my deputy stammered an apology.

“You don’t even have basic confidentiality awareness. You’re fired too!” Emily shouted.

“Fired? You don’t get to decide that! Bring Daniel here!” I snapped.

“Well, isn’t this convenient?” Emily’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “I’m the head of Human Resources now. Of course I can decide. Get your people out of here—she’s not allowed to stay another second!”

Sure enough, within moments Daniel came out of another office, fiddling with his shirt buttons. God knows what the two of them had been doing.

“Fine, we’ll leave,” I said coldly.

“You two can still make a written apology inside the company, and I might let this slide. But if you walk out, don’t even think about coming back!” Daniel threatened.

I ignored him and walked off with my deputy.

But for some reason, Daniel followed us out.

“Sophia, is it really that hard to bow your head to Emily?” he demanded.

“You’re just being spiteful, openly violating company rules. Can’t you be more reasonable?”

“If you had even half of Emily’s sense, I’d never have had to threaten you with termination.”

His words made me laugh bitterly.

That Cristal champagne was requested by the client. Was one bottle too much to trade for a thirty-million-dollar contract and long-term cooperation? I even risked my alcohol allergy to drink with them.

Yet he believed Emily’s story without question, hit me without asking, and somehow I became the one at fault?

“Scare me? There’s no need. You wanted me gone—well, I’m leaving now! Since you’re so eager to believe Emily’s lies, then there’s no point in saying another word, is there?” I shot back.

“My point is, Emily had it rough too—her hand swelled from slapping you. If you’re leaving, at least apologize to her before you go!”

That made my blood boil. If anyone owed an apology, it was Emily. She slapped me, and I was already being generous by not calling the police.

To say nothing improper was going on between them? Even ghosts wouldn’t believe it.

Yes, Daniel and I had been introduced because our families were close for generations. But was our bond really this fragile?

Emily had graduated and immediately become his assistant. Before her internship even ended, she was promoted to mid-level management. And now, in front of the employees, Daniel openly favored her.

Was I really that cheap in his eyes?

When I looked at him now, all I felt was disappointment.

My deputy clutched her box of files, crying the entire way and telling me about her family troubles.

So I brought her straight to Michael’s company.

“There. Now you’re still my deputy here, and I’ll even pay you a higher salary than before.”

Hearing that, my deputy finally stopped crying and managed a smile.

I just shook my head at her.

…

To celebrate my joining his company—and for bringing in a thirty-million-dollar contract—Michael Harris hosted a welcome banquet for me at the most luxurious hotel in New York City.

But the moment we stepped into the lobby, we ran right into Daniel Walker and Emily Johnson!

Daniel looked worn out, but Emily’s face was flushed, the kind of glow that left little doubt about what they had been up to.

The instant they saw me and Michael together, their eyes lit up with sudden energy—as if I were the one having an affair.

“So this is what you call ‘working late,’ huh? Coming to a hotel?” I fired the first shot.

“You’re the one cheating, and now you want to turn around and accuse the CEO? Compared to you, we’re practically saints!” Emily shot back arrogantly.

“All these years, and you’re still in touch with him?!” Daniel roared, grabbing Michael by the collar.

“Hey, let go! Sophia just joined our company. I’m throwing her a welcome dinner. What’s wrong with that?” Michael shoved him off.

“You’re at a hotel! Just admit you’re sneaking around—why bother denying it?” Emily’s voice trembled with outrage. Having an affair herself, she naturally assumed others were just as filthy.

“Are you blind?” I pointed at the signboard beside us.

It read in bold letters: “Warmly Welcome Sophia Carter to Apex Corporation.”

Daniel glanced at it, but instead of calming down, his anger flared even hotter.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Where’s your professional integrity? You just got fired, and you go straight to my competitor’s company?!”

“I’m still your fiancée, aren’t I? Did you even consider my feelings before doing this?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, so you still remember you’re my fiancé? During work hours you sneak into hotels with your assistant, and you think you’ve treated me with respect?”

“You’re the one who upset Emily so badly. I just brought her out to eat something nice, to clean up your mess!” Daniel was still trying to twist the story.

“Ha! More like you wanted to keep a backup for yourself,” I sneered.

“See? Ms. Carter is always so difficult. Even her subordinates give me a hard time—I can’t do my job at all,” Emily added, looking pitiful.

“Sophia Carter, apologize to Emily right now! Did I ever spread nasty rumors about you?” Daniel raised his hand, ready to strike me again.

But Michael was ready. He blocked the blow instantly.

“What the hell? Are you protecting someone else’s woman now? Which one of us is your fiancée? Do you always act like this?” Michael was speechless. Everyone here knew each other, and he clearly hadn’t expected Daniel to really hit me.

“Shut up, Michael Harris! Sophia, you’re nothing but a liar. Even if you brought me an extra million in dowry, I still wouldn’t marry you!”

Ever since Emily came into the corporation, Daniel had turned into a different man.

The clingy fiancé who once couldn’t leave me alone now used “overtime” as an excuse every other day, constantly sending me on business trips just to keep me away.

His concern dwindled, while rumors spread about him taking Emily everywhere. Today I saw the truth with my own eyes.

Deep down, I had known for a while: Daniel’s heart had left me long ago. It was only me who kept pouring love into this hollow engagement.

Ours was a family alliance. True feelings were scarce. Otherwise, I would have ended things with him much sooner.

Still, better late than never.

Taking a deep breath, I looked him in the eye and declared firmly:

“If you won’t marry me, then I won’t marry you either!”

“What did you just say?!” Daniel froze, completely stunned.