Caitlin Wiggins' assistant, Bryan Shepard, complains about a client's bad breath, causing the company's project to be ruined. I do everything I can to help Bryan salvage the situation.

But all I do is remind Bryan to watch his words, and yet he has the audacity to pin the blame on me.

"Zane, your incapability is the reason why the client got mad at us. I used my family's resources to help you salvage the situation out of the kindness of my heart, you know! How could you accuse me like that?"

Despite knowing the truth, Caitlin still chooses to side with Bryan. The punishment she issues me is a one-month suspension from my position. On top of that, I need to transfer the project to Bryan.

Everyone in the meeting room turns to look at me. They think I'll definitely argue with Caitlin and fight for my rights.

But I just hand over the rights of the project to Bryan obediently.

Seeing as I've finally learned my lesson, Caitlin happily promises me that she'll marry me once the project turns out to be a huge success and that she gets promoted to the CEO's position.

But what she doesn't know is that the client isn't Bryan's relative at all, but rather, my own uncle, Donovan Eaton. It all depends on me whether or not he wishes to continue working with Caitlin's company.

In fact, I don't plan on helping Caitlin clean up her mess anymore. When the time comes, not only will she lose her promotion, but she'll also get kicked out of the company.

In the conference room, Bryan Shepard was whining pitifully, "Caitlin, Zane ruined the deal with Mr. Eaton and framed me for it. A suspension is way too light a punishment, don't you think? You can't keep covering for your veteran employees."

Covering for me?

I let out a cold laugh.

When Bryan was badmouthing Uncle Donovan, Caitlin Wiggins was right there and witnessed Uncle Donovan's outburst firsthand.

At the time, she had come to me begging, promising she would punish Bryan severely afterward. She even swore that as long as I could win back Uncle Donovan's favor, she would finally make our relationship public.

I had waited seven whole years for that promise. I really thought she'd finally noticed all the effort I'd put in over the years, and that I was about to get my happy ending.

For that, I staked my dignity and begged Uncle Donovan on my knees to win him back.

But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that instead of making our relationship public, I would be framed, lose the project, and get suspended.

Caitlin waved her hand dismissively, as if trying to smooth things over.

"Zane is a veteran employee who has contributed a great deal to this company, and the mistake he made isn't that serious. We'll just deduct his year-end bonus and cut his salary in half. Bryan, you're a newcomer—you need to respect your seniors. Don't be so aggressive."

Bryan immediately lowered his head and apologized, yet the smug satisfaction of a successful scheme was written all over his face.

As for Caitlin, she might have sounded like she was defending me, but she was really just playing along with Bryan to smear my name and strip me of my power.

I chuckled coldly and set my employee badge down on the table. "No need to go to all that trouble. I'm resigning right now!"

My colleagues were stunned. None of them expected that after spending years at the company and fighting tooth and nail to reach the position of supervisor, I would quit on an impulse like this.

Caitlin raised an eyebrow and said, "Zane, you made a mistake and now you're throwing a tantrum? Anyone can sit in your position. If you weren't a veteran employee, I would have promoted someone else ages ago.

"Enough—stop fooling around. Support Bryan well on this. Once this project is successfully completed, I'll promote you to director."

The others looked at me with envy, one after another growing jealous of Caitlin's apparent favoritism toward me. Little did they know she had dangled this exact carrot in front of me countless times before.

And every single time, I would throw myself into whatever she asked with desperate hope, only for her to hand the promotion and raise to someone else.

Her elegant excuse? I was family, and she needed to win over outsiders to pave her way to becoming the company's CEO.

"Zane, we're a team. My achievements are yours too."

I could almost tolerate it with the others, because they at least possessed some competence. But I had seen the paperwork—Caitlin had already submitted Bryan's name for the exact director position she was promising me now.

What made Bryan so deserving? He couldn't even remember a client's name, and the only reason the projects under his name succeeded was that I was forced to carry them out.

My guess was that his initial application had been rejected, which was why Caitlin was now in such a hurry to steal my project and hand it over to him. It wasn't enough for Bryan to just be involved anymore—he had to be the lead.

Her favoritism toward Bryan had reached the point of being an open secret, yet she still turned around and pinned the blame on me.

How utterly laughable.

I stood up and said coolly, "Why would Bryan need my assistance when he is so outstanding at his job? Besides, didn't you already reserve the director position for him long ago?"

Ignoring my bewildered colleagues and Caitlin's sharp shouts of reprimand, I turned and walked straight out.

Caitlin chased after me the entire way, only catching up when I was downstairs hailing a cab.

Panting, she suppressed her irritation and explained, "What are you so angry about? Mr. Eaton is a relative of Bryan's, so I'm only sucking up to him for the sake of our future."

Seeing that I still wasn't speaking, she grabbed my hand. Then, she pulled a watch from her pocket and put it on my wrist.

"I got you this. Do you like it? Remember back when we'd wince at spending 50 dollars on a single meal? Now we're wearing watches worth thousands of dollars. Zane, trust me—things are only going to get better for us from here on out."

If I hadn't known she had bought Bryan a limited-edition Rolex worth a hundred thousand dollars, I would have been thrilled to receive the most expensive gift in our seven years of dating.

But at this moment, all I could do was let out a cold laugh. It felt utterly meaningless.

Caitlin saw me smiling and thought she had managed to appease me. Playfully, she spread her fingers out in front of me.

"Once I get promoted to CEO, we'll get married. You'd better have the ring ready by then, Mr. Groom."

Watching the delight plastered all over her face, I chose not to tell her that Donovan Eaton was actually my relative, not Bryan's.

That was why, no matter how badly things had blown up this time, I was the only one who could salvage it. Whether the partnership continued or not rested entirely on my say-so.

It was just that this time, I had no intention of cleaning up Caitlin's mess.

When the time came, not only would her dream of becoming CEO go up in smoke, but she would be thrown out on the street as well.

I had always responded to her every need. This time, however, I didn't make a single gesture.

She awkwardly withdrew her hand and patted me on the shoulder, trying to act as if nothing had happened.

"Hey, come on now. As a man, you need to learn to be magnanimous. Don't bother cooking dinner tonight. I've booked us a restaurant. I'm taking you out to eat."

I glanced at her. So, she actually remembered that today was our anniversary.

In the first couple of years, we had been big on rituals. But as we got busier, we stopped celebrating.

I knew she was only doing this to make it up to me. Once, I would have been overjoyed. But belated affection was cheaper than dirt, and I no longer cared for it.

"I'll just pretend you never said anything about wanting to resign," she continued briskly. "Take a good rest this afternoon. During your suspension, I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on the project.

"Bryan's nothing more than a rich playboy. When it comes to the technical side, you're the only one I trust. I've already sent you the address. Don't be late, okay?"

Her phone rang, and she turned to head back inside to answer it.

I didn't bother checking her text. I wasn't going to that restaurant tonight, and I had even less intention of helping her with the project.

I took off the cheap watch and tossed it into a nearby trash can without a second thought. Then, I turned around and called Uncle Donovan.

"Uncle Donovan, I've resigned from my job."

On the other end of the line, Uncle Donovan fell silent. After a few seconds, he asked what I planned to do about my relationship with Caitlin.

"I'm going to break up with her."

Uncle Donovan was delighted and immediately said he would cancel the partnership. He even comforted me, saying, "Good for you for breaking up. I never thought you two would last anyway.

"Caitlin's the type of woman who only takes and never gives. The important thing is that you've come to your senses. Go home and apologize to your parents. Family is family; you don't stay mad at each other forever."

I gave a vague response and chatted for a few more minutes. Then, I hung up and took a cab home.

As the scenery flew past the window, I found myself unconsciously reminiscing about my past with Caitlin.

Back when I was studying abroad, I had been drawn to her resilient, ambitious spirit. We met, got to know each other, and fell in love during college.

But just as I was about to introduce her to my parents, they adamantly opposed the relationship. They pointed out the cracks in our daily life, insisting she wasn't right for me and that love between people from such different backgrounds would never last.

Furious at my parents' surveillance and what I saw as an overwhelming need to control me, I severed ties with them just to be with Caitlin.

All these years, I had stubbornly held on, desperate to prove to my parents that I had made the right choice.

But only now, after Caitlin had hurt me so deeply and left my heart bleeding, did I finally understand that although my parents' actions back then had been extreme, they had only been looking out for me.

It was just that in my youthful arrogance, I had refused to listen.

I had already pulled up my father's number—Morgan Archer—and was struggling with whether to make the call and swallow my pride to apologize when, a second later, his name flashed across the screen. He was calling me.

"Valerie is returning to the country tomorrow evening and will be having dinner at our house," he said icily. "I wasn't planning on inviting you, but I didn't want to be discourteous."

I knew he was just putting on a tough front. Valerie Durham, my childhood friend, had her own family, so why would she randomly come to my house for dinner? She was undoubtedly the reinforcement Dad had brought in to give me an excuse to go home.

I nodded and agreed, saying I would definitely be there. Only then did Dad hang up, satisfied.

I put my phone away. Just as I unlocked the door and stepped into the house, Caitlin called.

"Zane, I have a last-minute business dinner. Go ahead and eat out by yourself tonight," she said apologetically.

However, I could clearly hear the background music of a murder mystery game on her end of the line. Since when did client meetings involve such trendy, youthful activities?

Not long after, Bryan's voice drifted through the speaker.

"Caitlin, stop chatting. The game's about to start. Zane, sorry for cutting into your time together. I'll treat you to a meal next time to make it up to you."

Caitlin laughed. "Why are you apologizing? Zane understands I'm doing all this for our future. Zane, for your sake, I don't mind working a little harder.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to drink tonight. When I get home, I'll buy you a gift to make it up to you."

The people around her laughed, commenting on how lucky I was to have a woman who could earn money and support the family.

I ended the call.

Caitlin was clearly out on a date, yet she still claimed it was all for me. I was sick and tired of hearing excuses like that.

I sat on the couch and looked around our home. It had once held our laughter and joy, but now all that remained was cold emptiness.

I gathered up our photos and all the couple's items we had bought as a pair, then threw them straight into the trash. There seemed to be an endless amount of things to discard, but the warmth between us had vanished long ago.

As I was tidying up, my ex-coworker, Francis Stone, called in a panic.

"Zaane, this is bad. Mr. Eaton says he's canceling the partnership. You need to get to the office right now."

I shook my head and refused. "I've already resigned. Go find Caitlin and Bryan."

I wanted to see how they planned to fix this.

"But we can't get through to either of their phones!"

I laughed. And Caitlin said she was at a business dinner? She and Bryan must have been having so much fun that work had completely slipped their minds.

I told Francis there was nothing I could do and hung up.

Once I finished cleaning up, my friend, Wendell Haywood, messaged me, asking to hang out.

In the past, to give Caitlin a sense of security, I had never once gone to these kinds of drinking parties.

But now, I agreed to go.

Wendell had only invited me as a dare after losing a game; he never actually thought I would take him up on his invitation. Immediately, he sent over the location.

"Bail on me and you're a coward."

"I'll be there soon."

I took a cab to the bar. Just as I paid the fare, a luxury car pulled up right beside me. Caitlin stepped out, laughing and chatting with Bryan, who was in the driver's seat.

When he spotted me, Bryan leaned out of the window and planted a kiss on the back of Caitlin's hand. She turned away shyly, about to say something, when she suddenly came face-to-face with me.

She froze instantly. "What are you doing at a bar?"

Bryan got out of the car and stood beside her, quipping, "Looks like Zane got worried about you and followed you here."

Caitlin instantly frowned with displeasure. "I was just at a business dinner. Calling and texting me every day wasn't enough for you, and now you've taken up stalking me too? Do you really trust me that little?"

I looked at her, speechless.