At the company's latest project seminar, I walked into the conference room three minutes early.

My husband's female colleague, who was always fussing with her hair, shot me a look of dissatisfaction.

"Late again. And where's the coffee I asked you to buy? You ignored me again, didn't you? Are you deaf?"

I glanced at my watch, ignored her, and walked to my seat.

To my surprise, she kicked my chair aside and sneered. "If you can't even handle something this simple, you might as well stay home and let Mr. Stanford take care of you!"

"And you still call yourself a career woman? If it weren't for Mr. Stanford, I would've fired you on the spot. You're nothing but an eyesore, a disgrace to working women."

As soon as she finished, the room filled with disdainful glances directed at me.

Without hesitation, I dialed Leonard's number and tossed my phone onto the table. "Then ask your dear Mr. Stanford if he dares to fire me."

——

The phone rang twice before Leonard hung up immediately.

A faint chuckle spread through the room.

"Pfft, did you hear that? She actually asked Mr. Stanford if he dared to fire her? He doesn't even want to talk to her!"

"I heard that women in unhappy marriages tend to be mentally unstable. She's incapable of doing anything well, yet she still clings to her status as the CEO's wife, using it to throw her weight around."

"What annoys me the most is this kind of woman," someone added with a sneer. "Always acting superior to everyone else, but in reality, she knows nothing. She's a disgrace to women. Heh!"

I ignored their taunts and continued dialing, but Leonard kept rejecting my calls.

I frowned slightly. At that moment, Anne sighed and said mockingly, "All right, everyone already knows what kind of person you are. Stop trying to keep up appearances."

"Now hurry up and buy the coffee. We have a meeting."

She casually flipped through the documents on the table, pretending to be serious.

However, I did not move. With a cold expression, I kept redialing Leonard's number.

Finally, the call connected, and the room instantly fell silent. Everyone was waiting for Leonard's reaction.

He clicked his tongue, and I could almost picture him frowning in irritation. "Are you out of your mind? I drank with a client until midnight yesterday, and my head is killing me."

"What's with all the calls?"

I did not hesitate to ask, "Leonard, your assistant is trying to fire me. Do you know about this?"

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, just two seconds before his voice came back cold and indifferent. "I don't know, but she's right to do so."

My eyes darkened slightly as I swept a glance at my colleagues, who had already started chuckling.

"Nicole, you said you didn't want to be a housewife, so I placed you in the best department. But what have you done? Your performance is always at the bottom, yet you still collect a salary for nothing. Do you have any idea how many people are dissatisfied with you?"

"When this company goes public, I’m not keeping anyone who can't pull their weight. If you can’t do your job right, just go home and cook me some soup instead of making a fool of yourself here!"

Before I could say anything, the call ended with a sharp click.

The atmosphere in the conference room buzzed with excitement. Everyone was eagerly watching, waiting for me to crumble in embarrassment.

Anne swayed toward me, her posture full of arrogance. "I told Leonard a long time ago that you weren't competent enough to be in this company. With our current scale and industry standing, we only keep top talent."

"It's better this way. You should go home, do the laundry, make soup, and work hard at being a full-time wife."

Then, she smirked and added, "After all, you wouldn't want a situation where your work skills aren't good enough, and you can't even keep your husband, would you? That would be a real joke."

Anne's voice dripped with sarcasm, and the people around her eagerly chimed in, jeering along.

I lifted the corners of my lips ever so slightly and looked at her, pretending to be confused.

"What do you mean? So, what you're saying is, the company doesn't need me… and neither does Leonard?"

Anne burst into laughter as if she had just heard the most ridiculous joke.

Her laughter was so exaggerated that even the flowers on the table seemed to tremble.

"In this company, you arrive late, leave early, and show no respect for leadership. You spend your days applying makeup instead of working, and your tasks are never completed."

"At home, you neglect your husband, refuse to bear children, and don't even bother checking on him when he drinks himself sick after socializing!"

"What use do you even have? Do you bring any value at all?"

I curled my lips into a cold smile, my voice indifferent.

"My value? It's ensuring that people like you and Leonard have food to eat."

"If I leave, the Stanford Group will crumble."

My words dropped like stones into a still lake, causing waves of laughter to erupt around the room.

They mocked me and ridiculed me, but none of them understood what I truly meant to Leonard or to the Stanford Family.

Years ago, Leonard's grandfather, Nelson Stanford, had come to my father, holding a bloodstained photo in his hands.

He claimed that he and my grandfather had fought side by side in the same trench and that he had once saved my grandfather's life.

Using that old debt as leverage, he pleaded for a marriage between me and his grandson, Leonard.

At the time, I was still studying abroad. I had never believed in love, and I had long accepted that marriage was inevitable.

Since I had to marry eventually, why not use this chance to repay my grandfather's debt? Besides, back then, Leonard was fair-skinned and well-mannered, and his appearance suited my taste.

Luckily, my father was a veteran in the business world, so he was not one to be easily swayed. Before agreeing to the marriage, he had Nelson sign a prenuptial agreement.

If Leonard ever betrayed me, then everything the Stanford Family gained through me would be forfeit.

With my support, the Stanford Family rose to prominence in just two years.

A ten-year development plan was accomplished in just one.

But looking at things… it seemed I let the Stanford Family grow a little too fast. Having tasted success, Leonard had begun to think he could stand on his own.

Well, if that was the case, then I did not mind settling this score with the Stanford Family once and for all.

Meanwhile, Anne was still laughing, doubling over as she smoothed the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.

"This is the funniest joke I've ever heard!" she sneered.

I could not be bothered to waste another word on them. Without another glance, I picked up my bag and walked out.

However, just as I was about to leave, two employees suddenly got up and locked the conference room door.

They stood in front of it like a pair of stone-faced sentries.

I narrowed my eyes and spoke coldly, "What's the meaning of this?"

Anne finally finished laughing and strutted toward me in her high heels.

She crossed her arms, giving me a slow, condescending once-over. "Nicole, do you really think this company is your home? Coming and going whenever you please? There's a process for dismissal."

I lifted my gaze, unfazed. "I don't need to go through any process."

Anne's sharp nails dragged across my bag, scratching it twice as she smirked.

"Whether you need to or not isn't up to you."

"Open your bag. We need to check if you're taking company property. If you are, that's theft."

Before I could respond, she added with faux concern, "All of our projects involve highly classified information. If anything gets taken or recorded, the company could suffer major losses."

She flashed me a malicious smile. "Just standard procedure. Don't take it personally."

At her signal, two more employees stepped forward, closing in on me. I watched them with an unreadable expression.

At this moment, I was starting to think I'd been far too patient all this time.

My grandfather and father always taught me to be kind and to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Having grown up abroad, the last thing I ever wanted was to wield my status to suppress others. But in reality, all that ever did was give people like Anne the audacity to overstep.

"Anne, have you considered the consequences of this?"

She did not answer. Instead, she grabbed my bag and overturned its contents onto the floor for everyone to see.

"I'm a reliable assistant in this company. I enforce company policies and carry out Mr. Stanford's orders. What consequences could I possibly face?"

Anne nudged my scattered belongings with the tip of her shoe, casually kicking them aside before raising an eyebrow.

"Just because your bag is empty doesn't mean you don't have anything on you."

"Search her."

At her command, the employees in the conference room perked up, watching like they were being treated to a live spectacle.

Someone even let out a low whistle.

I frowned as the two employees guarding the door started moving toward me. So, I slapped their reaching hands away.

Then, I yelled with a cold tone, "Don't cross the line!"

"What right do you have to search me?"

All the tension in my body vanished in an instant.

The composed, soft-spoken version of me was nowhere to be found.

The sudden shift unsettled them. They hesitated, looking unsure of what to do next. Still, Anne scoffed and pushed past them.

"Nicole, who are you trying to intimidate?"