In a company chat group, my supervisor suddenly shared a news link and tagged me, saying, "President Hunter splurges thirty million on an antique perfume for his fiancée! Talk about flaunting love!"

Curious, I clicked the link and discovered that the unique perfume Ethan Hunter purchased was the very one I had been desperately searching for.

I had only mentioned it once, so I was surprised he had actually paid attention.

I replied in the group with a smile, "I was trying to keep it low-key, but I guess I couldn't hide it."

Just then, someone jumped in, "What are you talking about? I'm Ethan's fiancée! That perfume is my engagement gift!"

"Get your eyes checked and stop spreading nonsense. Do you want me to get you fired?"

The group erupted in chaos, and my supervisor quickly apologized.

Confused, I asked if she had mistaken me for someone else.

To my shock, she sent a photo from their engagement party.

"Look closely; Ethan and I are engaged. You're not still clinging to false hopes, are you?"

Staring at the familiar face in the photo, I froze for a moment before dialing Ethan overseas.

"Ethan! How could you cheat on me? Get ready to sleep on the couch when you come home!"

——

While on a business trip, my supervisor suddenly posted a news link in our company group chat and tagged me.

The headline read, "Big news! We never expected our Emma to be the fiancée of Mr. Hunter!"

The article detailed how Ethan had spent thirty million on an antique perfume just to see his beloved smile, showcasing his extravagant way of expressing love.

Curious, I clicked on the link and discovered that the antique perfume was the very bottle I had been searching for.

I had only mentioned it once, and yet he had remembered.

My cheeks flushed, and I jokingly replied in the chat, "I was trying to keep it low-key, but I guess I couldn't hide it. Sorry for the embarrassment!"

The group erupted with comments:

"No wonder Emma has such a lucky aura; she's Mr. Hunter's fiancée! So humble!"

"That explains why Hunter's company is so supportive of ours—Emma's got some serious influence!"

My supervisor Shawn chimed in, "Emma, you're too modest! By the way, I remember you wanted to learn at the headquarters? A spot just opened up; I'll sign you up."

I quickly replied, "Thank you, Shawn!"

I had applied several times for this opportunity without success.

If only I had known Ethan's name would open doors like this.

Just then, a familiar account jumped into the conversation, "What nonsense are you spouting? I'm the real fiancée of Mr. Hunter!"

The user claimed that the antique perfume was a gift for her engagement and accused me of being shameless.

"Get your eyes checked and stop spreading nonsense. Do you want me to get you fired?"

Confused, I clicked on her profile and realized it was Sophie, a new intern from another department with whom I hadn't interacted much.

Thinking there might be a misunderstanding, I calmly asked, "You're Sophie from the secretarial department, right? Did you mix us up? I really am Ethan's fiancée."

To my surprise, Sophie snapped back angrily, "You won't believe it until it's too late! I'll make sure you understand today!"

She then posted photos from her engagement party in the group chat, taunting, "Look closely, I'm already engaged to Ethan!"

"You must be just a backup option he keeps on the side, right? You don't even have a title, yet you shamelessly shout out in the chat, thinking a few words can make you the CEO's wife. It's honestly laughable!"

Stunned, I saw that the couple in her photos was indeed Ethan and another woman.

Was it possible that Ethan was engaged to two people at once?

As I processed this shocking revelation, my colleagues who had previously praised me suddenly changed their tone.

"Turns out Sophie is the real fiancée of the CEO; I almost got fooled by that imposter!"

"Seriously, with her shabby demeanor, she dares to come out and make a fuss? She clearly doesn't know her place!"

"Sophie is just too soft-hearted, giving her the benefit of the doubt by calling her a backup. With her attitude, she doesn't even qualify for that!"

I ignored their comments and stared at the photos Sophie had posted.

Something felt off about Ethan's face in those pictures; it looked almost unreal, possibly due to filters.

Curious, I asked Sophie in the group chat, "Which photography studio took these? They look like AI-generated images."

Sophie immediately snapped back, "Emma, spreading rumors can have legal consequences!"

She then shared a short film from their engagement and the auction contract for the antique perfume.

"I was going to let it slide since you're an older colleague, but I didn't expect you to push your luck!"

I opened the video; it was crystal clear with no signs of editing—it certainly looked like Ethan.

The auction contract also had an official stamp from the auction house, so it seemed legitimate.

But how did Sophie get a copy of that contract?

At that moment, Shawn messaged me privately, "Emma, maybe you should apologize to Sophie. After all, this is your fault."

"I'm just being honest here. You're a backup option; how can you stand up to his fiancée? It's just asking for trouble."

"How about I request a transfer for you to a branch office out of state?"

I felt a surge of anger. Why should I be punished? I hadn't done anything wrong!

So I replied in the group chat, "How do you have that auction contract? Do you know someone at the auction house? You realize sharing that contract is illegal, right?"

That contract was only accessible to Ethan and the auction house; no one else should have seen it.

To my surprise, Sophie sent a sixty-second voice message in the group, "Still trying to play tough when you're already cornered, huh?"

"Shawn, if you want to keep your job here, figure out how to get her out. If I see her around again, there will be consequences for more than just her!"

"Oh, by the way, tomorrow's my birthday! We're having a party at my new place; everyone's invited!"

I had never faced such slander before and was eager to explain myself.

But when I tried to send my message, it failed—I had been kicked from the group.

I quickly contacted Shawn for clarification.

His response was cold, "Emma, didn't I tell you to apologize to Sophie? Why won't you listen? If I had known your character was questionable, I wouldn't have hired you. Don't forget to handle your transfer paperwork with HR tomorrow!"

Before I could respond, he deleted me from his contacts.

I felt utterly confused but was still on my business trip and unable to confront anyone directly.

I looked again at Sophie's photos.

They showed her and Ethan getting engaged on National Day this year.

But on that day, Ethan had been with me in Singapore—there was no way he could have rushed back to get engaged to Sophie!

Yet the person in those photos was undeniably Ethan; even his small scar on his hand matched perfectly.

Could it be that Ethan was cheating on me?

Frustrated and desperate for answers, I decided to call Ethan's secretary to see if she could provide any clues.

My friend's cousin was Ethan's secretary, and we had a decent relationship.

She assured me that if Ethan were cheating, then there wouldn't be any good men left in the world, so I shouldn't be suspicious.

Moreover, she had checked Ethan's schedule for the past six months and found nothing unusual.

I felt an urge to call Ethan immediately to get to the bottom of things.

However, considering he had just returned from abroad, he was likely resting and adjusting to the time difference.

Plus, with the weekend ahead and our new home finally ready for a visit, my future mother-in-law Clara had invited me over to check it out.

The next day, when I returned from my business trip with Clara, we arrived at the house only to find Sophie throwing a party on the lawn with seven or eight colleagues.

Upon seeing me, Sophie sneered, "I was wondering when you'd show up to handle your transfer paperwork. Did you follow me here to apologize?"

Confused, I replied, "Apologize for what?"

Just then, Shawn pulled me aside and whispered, "Emma, Sophie has already shown everyone her villa. She even has wedding photos of her and Mr. Hunter inside. You should just back off."

"If I were you, I'd transfer out of town to avoid further embarrassment."

I felt exasperated.

"I haven't done anything wrong! Why should I be the one to leave?"

"I have things to do today and don't want to argue with you. Just stay out of my way."

With that, I tried to enter the villa with Clara.

The reason for our visit was to try on her custom wedding dress that had just been completed.

However, as we approached the door, a colleague blocked my path.

"Emma, can you have some dignity? This is Sophie's villa; she didn't invite you. Why are you trying to barge in?"

I was irritated.

"This villa is supposed to be mine and Ethan's new home! When did it become Sophie's?"

Sophie overheard and scoffed, "Emma, you really know how to stretch the truth! Yesterday you claimed that my fiancé and an antique perfume worth a house were yours; now you're saying this villa is yours too? How shameless can you get?"

People started pointing fingers at me in disbelief.

Clara looked bewildered and asked what was happening.

Just as I was about to explain, Shawn handed me a phone that was already in use.

It turned out to be a call from Lewis, the company's general manager.

"Emma," he said coldly, "after discussions among company leadership, we've decided to terminate your employment. HR has processed your termination paperwork and will send your personal belongings home. You don't need to come back."

I was left speechless with anger and disbelief.

If I remember correctly, most of our company's business comes from Hunter Industries.

Ethan had even mentioned wanting to hand over the advertising work for the overseas branch to us.

Now, it seems the company is trying to fire me on baseless charges.

I scoffed and asked, "Are you really going to fire me? Aren't you worried I might report this to the labor bureau?"

On the other end, Lewis sounded increasingly impatient.

"Emma, can you stop making a scene? You've offended the fiancée of our biggest client, Mr. Hunter! If she's unhappy, we could lose that overseas advertising deal!"

I was taken aback. The only people who knew about that potential deal were Ethan and me.

How did Lewis find out?

Could it be that Ethan really was cheating on me with Sophie, and she spilled the beans to Lewis?

I needed answers immediately—there was no time to waste!

Just as I reached for my phone, I noticed a short, plump middle-aged woman approaching in a wine-red gown.

Wasn't that the wedding dress I had custom-made for Clara?

Clara is slender, and I had commissioned a top designer to create this gown specifically for her.

Now, this beautifully crafted dress was being worn by that woman, and the zipper was torn open while the lace was distorted.

Clara's face turned to disbelief.

"Emma, is that... the wedding dress?"

Seeing the gown in such disarray made my blood boil.

I rushed up and shouted, "That's Clara's wedding dress! Who gave you permission to wear it?"

The woman jumped in shock and quickly slapped me.

"You must be that shameless girl pretending to be my daughter! How rude!"

"I can wear whatever I want! It's my daughter's gift!" she shot back.

Stunned by the slap, I stood there in disbelief as colleagues began whispering around us.

"Seriously? It's her own dress; why does it concern you? Mind your own business!" one colleague chimed in.

"Looks like someone is trying to climb the social ladder but doesn't realize she's just a backup option. No matter how much she tries to show off, she'll never be anything more!" another added.

"I say employees like her should be fired sooner rather than later; we don't need anyone tarnishing the company's reputation."

Clara trembled with anger at the sight of me being slapped.

"You dare hit someone? I'm calling the police!"

But as she reached for her phone, someone snatched it away and smashed it on the ground.

"Too busy punishing that little brat to remember about you, the old hag, huh?"

"Why would you call the cops? Even if they come, they'll take you two shameless liars first!"

Sophie smirked at this.

"Exactly! You wanted your brother to join Hunter Industries? I can make that happen!"

The woman's face lit up with excitement.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hunter!"

Watching Sophie gloat made me want to laugh.

Hiring at Hunter Industries is strictly managed by HR; she couldn't just promise that without consequences—didn't she worry about Ethan's reputation?

Seeing me frown in silence, Sophie taunted, "Weren't you saying this villa was yours? Your fingerprints should unlock the door."

This villa only had my and Ethan's fingerprints registered.

But when I confidently placed my finger on the fingerprint scanner, an error beeped sounded.

I tried again several times but failed each time.

I stood there dumbfounded.

What was going wrong?