Gina did not even realize it herself. She said Lincoln was being dramatic, but her eyes held nothing but indulgence.

Once, I was the one she worried about.

When I had a simple stomachache, she sat by my hospital bed all day and made me soup herself, burning her hands in the process.

Gina pulled out her phone. The next second, mine chimed.

Two hundred dollars was deposited into my account.

She smiled as she explained. "Lincoln likes to check up on me. If he finds out I gave you too much money privately, he'll get upset. Use this 200 to buy Anna some supplements and cheer her up, okay?"

I gripped my phone tightly. We were supposed to be the real couple, yet now I felt like some kind of criminal.

After a long moment, I laughed bitterly and transferred the money back to her.

She had been about to get out of the car, but her movement paused. She finally realized something was wrong and turned back to pat my hand.

"Nathan, I know you've been hurt, but if we want to destroy Lincoln, we have to let him have everything first. Only when he loses it all will it hurt enough to make things right."

However, the one who lost everything and felt devastated seemed to be me.

Last year, Lincoln joined the company and boldly declared he would reform the workplace. He made an example of me, the VP.

When I asked him to print documents, he said he was there to work, not run errands.

When I asked my assistant to get me coffee, he stepped forward and threw the coffee in my face, telling me to do my own work.

Later, when I was about to close a deal worth over a hundred million, he refused to hand over the company seal no matter what. He claimed I was transferring company assets.

The client got poached, and a month of sleepless nights went down the drain.

I mentioned it to Gina a few times, and she decided to defend me by setting up an elaborate trap. The plan was simple. She would build him up so high that the fall would destroy him.

In the beginning, whenever Gina praised Lincoln with that sarcastic tone, she would always wink at me knowingly.

I could not help but laugh along, playing my part in the act. I pretended to be crushed so Lincoln would feel even more triumphant. However, later, the act became more and more real.

The praise Gina gave Lincoln overflowed with genuine admiration. Her indifference and dismissiveness toward me no longer seemed fake.

A year ago, I lost my VP position.

A week ago, my sister had a heart attack after seeing her future sister-in-law buy a house for another man.

The surgery had a one hundred percent success rate, but because her useless brother could not scrape together the surgery fee, she died a horrible death.

Now, my girlfriend had fallen for someone else, and I had been too blind to see it coming.

Everything felt hollow.

"Gina, we should—"

The words "break up" had not yet left my mouth before her phone rang. The caller ID read "Lincoln Baby."

Gina opened the door and got out of the car, stepping away to answer it.

She used to never avoid me. She would even put it on speaker so I would not misunderstand.

After hanging up, she would mock Lincoln's arrogance and self-importance with me, swearing she would love only me for the rest of her life.

Now, she leaned against the car door, her fingers rubbing the hem of her clothes, her expression full of sweetness.

Then she cried out in surprise. "Your foot's still hurt. Don't come looking for me."

The next second, I saw a tall, thin figure limping toward us from the entrance to the underground garage. Gina rushed over to meet him and caught Lincoln in her arms.

Lincoln spotted me sitting in the passenger seat and flashed a cruel, triumphant smile. He quickened his pace and yanked me out of the car.

"Nathan, who said you could sit in Gina's car? What if you dirty the leather seats? Can you even afford to replace them? Or are you here to borrow more money? Leeching off your ex. Hmph, are you even a man?"

As if marking his territory, he reached into Gina's pocket with practiced ease, pulled out her phone and unlocked it.

Seeing the transfer record, Lincoln threw the phone on the ground.

"Gina! I'm looking out for you, but you're still hung up on your ex. Forget the checkup. I don't need it. I hope my leg just breaks off!"

He stormed away in anger.

Gina, who was decisive and commanding at the company, did not dare argue with him. She moved to pursue him.

Then, as if remembering something, she stopped herself abruptly. She turned back, gently took my hand, and shook it. Her tone was earnest.

"Nathan, just two more days. Please be patient. I'll make it up to you properly after this."

This was her favorite way of acting sweet. In the past, when she showed me this vulnerable side, my heart would melt.

Now, all I felt was disgust.

Before I could pull my hand away, she turned and went after Lincoln. I stood there alone, wiping the back of my hand with my sleeve.

In two days, I would be gone. I was done with her.

…

After leaving the parking garage, I quickly found the buyer, got the money, and had Anna cremated.

By the time I returned home holding Anna's ashes, night had fallen. Gina was not back yet.

For once, she actually told me where she was. She said Lincoln's leg hurt and it was inconvenient for him, so she was staying at the hospital to take care of him.

The last time she checked in with me like this was months ago.

For the first time, I did not get jealous or ask her to make it up to me. I simply opened my work software and submitted my resignation.

It still had not been approved.

I set my phone down and ignored it.

Two days was not much time. I started packing first and decided to go to the office tomorrow to wrap things up in person.

Soon, seven years of my life was condensed into a single twenty-inch suitcase.

The next morning, I was still asleep when Gina's assistant knocked on the door. She saw the suitcase piled up inside and paused.

"Mr. Harper, are you going on a trip?"

"Yes."

She did not press further.

"Ms. Whitmore requests your presence."

I did not want to go, but the bodyguards behind her forced me to leave.

Our destination was a bridal shop. Gina smiled at me and pulled me into the fitting room.

She took out a custom-tailored suit and personally helped me put it on, lowering her head to tie my tie.

Looking down at her, I felt a bit dazed. To fully commit to destroying Lincoln, she had stopped being affectionate with me. She said the act had to fool herself before it could fool anyone else.

As she helped me with my cufflinks, she suddenly stopped.

"Where's your watch?"

Before I could respond, she laughed softly. "You put it back in the box for safekeeping again, huh? My handsome Nathan looks perfect in this kind of outfit. So distinguished.

"I've already had our wedding designed.

"It's the seaside wedding you've always wanted, with the flower arch Anna loves. We'll have her be our flower girl, okay?"

Her words were gentle, but every one of them hurt.

I clenched my fists. I remembered Anna asking me through her tears before she died.

"Nate, why hasn't Gina come to save me?"

I remembered how Gina used to treasure Anna like the apple of her eye, worrying about her condition, telling her bedtime stories night after night without ever seeming tired.

Marrying Gina had once been my ultimate dream, but it could never happen now.

"Gina, the wedding—"

She smiled, placing her finger on my lips.

"Our plan is almost finished. Tomorrow is Lincoln's birthday. I'm going to announce in front of everyone that he's being fired and kicked out of the company.

"The house and car under his name will all be reclaimed through legal action.

"He's gotten used to living lavishly over the years. He won't even eat anywhere that isn't a five-star restaurant. I want to see if he'll still dare to lecture people about workplace reform when he's lost everything and everyone's walking all over him."

The next second, the fitting room curtain was yanked open. Gina was about to scold her assistant, Claire Shaw.

When she saw it was Lincoln, her face went pale instantly.

Lincoln stood in the doorway and gave Gina a bitter smile.

"Gina, I thought you really cared about my injured foot. I thought you were having someone try on my outfit for tomorrow's party.

"If Nathan hadn't tipped me off and told me to come watch the show, I never would've known that this was all just wishful thinking on my part. There’s no need to wait until tomorrow. I'll return everything you gave me right now."

His hands trembling, he stripped off the custom-tailored suit and the million-dollar watch, hurling them at Gina.

When he yanked off the VP badge from his chest, his gaze turned malicious. He deliberately threw it at my face.

The pin on the back of the badge scratched my cheek, drawing a thin line of blood. It stung.

Gina did not look at me for even a second. She only stared at Lincoln, not even flinching when he threw things at her.

The look in her eyes made my whole body tremble.

During the year she loved me most, she used to look at me that way. That was when I had just turned down the offer from the foreign tech giant to stay and help her build her startup from nothing.

To save money, I survived on bread and pickles. Malnourished and overworked from business dinners, I ended up in the hospital with a bleeding stomach ulcer.

In my daze, I saw Gina holding my hand, her eyes full of concern, swearing she would never let me suffer again.

Now, that look belonged to Lincoln.

"Gina, from now on, we're strangers. I wish you and Nathan a lifetime of happiness."

Lincoln's eyes filled with tears, looking utterly resolute. As he turned to leave, he suddenly crouched down, clutching his chest.

Gina panicked. She dropped to her knees and pulled out medicine she carried with her.

"Lincoln, you have asthma. Don't get worked up. Take your medicine."

"Stay away from me. I don't want to see you."

Lincoln gasped for air, playing the role of the wounded martyr perfectly. He forced himself to stand and left.

I instinctively reached out to stop Gina from going after him, trying to explain.

"I didn't tell him. I had no idea you were bringing me here to try on an outfit. I would never—"

Gina jerked away from me like I was diseased. Her eyes were full of disgust.

"Nathan, you couldn't even wait one day? If anything happens to Lincoln, I'll make you wish you were dead."

My hand froze in midair. A mocking smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

The lover I had shared a bed with for seven years was threatening to make me wish I were dead over Lincoln.

I pulled my hand back.

Gina went after him without hesitation.

Claire hurried forward to manage the situation. "Mr. Harper, Ms. Whitmore spoke in haste. Let me take you to the hospital to get your face treated first."

I shook my head and refused. I simply took off the suit I was wearing. Things that did not belong to me looked ridiculous on me anyway.

My phone chimed. My resignation had been approved. It seemed Gina truly hated me now.

That was fine.

I left the bridal shop and went to the office to pick up my files.

As I passed by, people sneered.

"Did you hear? That guy tried to scam money from Ms. Whitmore and got caught by Mr. Morris. Now he's slinking out of here to resign."

"Remember when he used to be Ms. Whitmore's favorite? But the tables have turned. Can't compete with true love, I guess."

I had heard these kinds of taunts so many times they no longer affected me.

After Lincoln rose to power, he made my life miserable at every turn. He sent back proposals ten times over for revisions.

The workplace veterans sensed the shift in power and started dumping their work on me too.

I used to fantasize about the day Gina's plan would be over and I could prove everyone wrong. Now, looking back, it seemed so childish.

The person in the records room could not wait to get rid of me. They shoved the files into my hands carelessly.

As I walked out of the company, I saw that Lincoln had posted something new on social media.