During the Labor Day team retreat, I had booked out the entire top floor of the Grand Summit Hotel. Yet, when my fiancee, Serena Wagner, found out, she was enraged.

"Matthew Grant, are you out of your mind? Spending over 800,000 dollars to rent a place for one day? Since you're so rich and have nowhere else to splurge, just let me help you spend it!"

Then, she called over our intern, Dylan Foster. She pointed at him and started yelling at me. "He only makes 6000 a month as an intern. Why don't you give him this money instead?"

I looked at my colleagues standing nearby, their faces clearly uncomfortable.

I replied calmly, "His salary isn't low compared to industry standards. Besides, the team-building budget belongs to everyone. Why should I give it all to him?"

However, the moment those words left my mouth, Serena exploded. "I'm your finance director and your future wife! Of course, I get to control where your money goes. If you don't agree, then let's call off the engagement!"

With that, she stormed off with Dylan.

I silently picked up a bottle from the floor and poured myself three glasses.

The first glass was for her, for being with me through the first half of my life.

The second glass was for me, for having a clear conscience in this relationship.

The third glass was for both of us. I wished us well as we parted ways and moved on with our separate lives.

Just as I reached home, my phone lit up with a flood of credit card notifications. Every charge was from high-end luxury stores.

At first, I thought Serena Wagner was blowing money out of spite. However, when I opened Instagram, I saw her latest post, which consisted of nine photos with a caption that read, [What he won't give, I will!]

Every single photo featured men's luxury items, ranging from cufflinks to ties and suits, as well as wallets, belts, and dress shoes.

I gripped my phone tightly, realizing that all those charges were for things Serena had bought for Dylan Foster. How could she spend my money on gifts for him without a shred of guilt?

I could not even remember the last time Serena had shopped for me so thoughtfully. Whenever I wanted to go shopping with her, she would get impatient and say I had an assistant for that.

"I'm your fiancee, not your nanny. Just have your assistant handle those things, can't you?"

She always brushed me off with similar excuses.

I lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, the nicotine bitter on my tongue. The cigarette burned down to ash, just like my relationship with Serena.

I had once dreamed of marrying her and spending my life with her.

I smoked through the entire night, and Serena did not come home at all.

When I arrived at the office the next day, I realized that I had become the subject of everyone's gossip.

Someone whispered, "Look! Mr. Grant is here."

"Did you see that Instagram post Ms. Wagner made yesterday? So outrageous!"

Another chimed in, "Exactly. They were already having issues, and today, Ms. Wagner even came to work with Dylan..."

I stopped in my tracks, and I glanced at them indifferently. Instantly, everyone quietly went back to their work.

However, I had already heard what they said.

My face darkened. Between the lack of sleep and what I had just overheard, I could barely contain my anger.

Serena actually came to work with Dylan, not caring what that would make me–her fiance–look.

As luck would have it, when I passed the finance office, I heard Serena complaining on Dylan's behalf.

"You're just getting six thousand a month! Who can live on that? You're still an intern anyway, so let's just adjust your salary today. I think twelve thousand dollars sounds good. It's lower than that of our mid-level employees, but it's enough to cover living expenses. What do you think?"

She was actually trying to give an intern a raise on her own authority!

Before Dylan could respond, I pushed the door open with a dark expression and questioned her.

"Who cares about what he thinks?! I think it's ridiculous. Serena, who gave you the right to adjust employee salaries without approval?!"

With that, I shot Dylan a cold look. "Especially for someone who isn't even a full employee, just an intern."

Dylan noticed my gaze and immediately pulled a sad face, apologizing meekly, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Grant. I shouldn't have gotten ahead of myself."

Hearing this, Serena became even more protective and snapped at me unhappily. "Matthew Grant, what's with that attitude? I'm making a reasonable request for an employee, and that's wrong now?"

I scoffed, feeling my anger rise just looking at her. "How is paying over ten thousand dollars a reasonable request? Serena, I've already been more than fair to Dylan. His fellow interns only make four thousand dollars!"

Serena trembled with rage. She raised her chin and argued stubbornly, "But Dylan is the hardest working one among them, isn't he?

"I don't care, Matthew. No matter what, you're giving him a raise today!"

She continued, "Do you even consider me family? Is it really that hard for you to give him a raise?!"

I was so angry that I almost laughed. I could not help but fire back. "Serena, do you even consider me family? Do you have the guts to tell me where you went last night?!"

Serena's expression instantly fell, turning pale with shock and anger. "What do you mean by that, Matthew? Are you accusing me? Do you need me to remind you that we are not married yet?

"Even if I am your fiancee, can I not have my own life? Do you seriously have zero trust in me?"

I shot back mockingly, "Your own life, huh? Serena, you might fool other people with that line, but don't start believing your own lies."

After that, I simply looked at her, noticing a flicker of guilt cross her face.

Serena glared at me viciously and weakly rebutted, "Who are you being sarcastic with? Do I need to report to you when I go out with friends? Matthew, can you stop being so unreasonable?"

"Friends? Which friends? Do I know them? Can these so-called friends of yours vouch for you?"

Faced with my series of questions, Serena pressed her lips tightly together. She could not find the words to reply to me.

Seeing this, I could not help but let out a self-mocking laugh. "Serena, you have the nerve to talk to me about trust? Where were you on my birthday this year, and who were you with? And what about those countless business trips and dinners over these past few years? Can you explain those, too?"

By then, resentment had crept into my voice.

Seeing us in a standoff, Dylan suddenly dropped to his knees in front of me. "Mr. Grant! Please don't be angry. This is all my fault. I'm willing to resign! Just please, don’t turn against each other because of me!"

I watched his performance, completely unmoved.

Embarrassment flickered across Dylan's face as he mumbled, "Since you still won't forgive me, then I'll just leave."

He stumbled to his feet, covering his face as if to leave.

However, Serena pulled him back. "Dylan! What are you doing? What does this have to do with you?"

I almost felt like applauding the two of them and could not help but snap back, "Why don't you–"

Before I could finish, Serena slapped me across the face. "How far are you going to push Dylan? He just graduated, and it's not easy for him. Do you really have to rip away what little support he has?!"

My face burned as I pressed my tongue against my cheek and asked quietly, "I rip away the little support he has?"

Serena nodded matter-of-factly. "If not you, then who? You know perfectly well his family needs money, and he's just an intern, yet you're forcing him to quit! I really misjudged you. I've never seen someone who cares so little about his employees!"

I found it laughable and pointed straight at Dylan. "Before this, he made all kinds of mistakes at work, even lost us a deal worth several million dollars, and I didn't hold him accountable or dock his pay.

"Never mind everything else... Just yesterday at the team retreat, he enjoyed plenty of good food, didn't he? How is it that before I even mention firing him, you're already pinning labels on me?!"

Serena stiffened her neck, showing no intention of apologizing. "What are you pretending for now? Do I need to remind you of all the things you've done behind the scenes?"

Clearly, things had escalated to a point where there was no possibility of salvaging the situation.

I just laughed and spoke directly to her. "Alright then, Serena. At this point, I'm too tired to argue with you.

"You say I'm deliberately targeting him? Then I will own it. Dylan can leave right now and doesn't need to come back!"

Serena's eyes widened. When she came to her senses, she snapped, "You wouldn't dare! Matthew, I'm telling you... If you fire him, I'll call off the engagement!"

After everything that had happened, I was utterly exhausted. Hearing her finally say those words, my chest ached, yet I felt oddly relieved.

"Fine. I'll notify our families and cancel the wedding immediately."

Serena was evidently flabbergasted by my decisiveness and laughed bitterly. "You agreed just like that? You said yes so quickly…

"What, did you have this idea all along or something? Matthew, if you already had that thought, then where did you get the nerve to accuse me just now?"

I closed my eyes and could not help but question why I had ever been with her in the first place.

When I opened my eyes again, there was nothing left but resolve. "Serena, in our entire relationship, you were the only one who threatened me with breaking up or calling off the engagement. Rather than saying I want to call it off, it's simply me fulfilling your wish, isn't it? That way, you can finally be with someone else openly, right?"

Serena's expression grew paler. "I don't know what you're talking about. Since you've agreed to call off the engagement, don't you dare regret it!"

I made a gesture for them to leave, my expression filled with undisguised mockery. "I will return that sentence to you word for word!"

Serena glared at me viciously, grabbed Dylan, and turned to leave.

At that moment, Dylan glanced back at me, his earlier fear completely gone, replaced with pure smugness in his eyes.

I did not even bother sparing him another glance and went straight to Human Resources. The first thing I did was to replace Serena.

I said, "Starting tomorrow, Serena will no longer hold this position."

Although HR staff were taken aback for a moment, seeing that I was serious, they did not dare say much and immediately began contacting replacements.

I continued, "Oh, and have the accountant come to my office. I have something to ask him."

Before long, the accountant, Lionel Bennett, arrived, trembling nervously. When he saw me, his expression turned stiff, and his voice was almost shaking.

"Mr. Grant, did… Did you need me for something?"

I already knew what was going on and got straight to the point. "You don't need to be nervous. I just want all the records of company transactions related to Dylan since he arrived."

The moment Lionel heard that, he became even more frightened. Under my questioning, he finally confessed everything Serena had done over the past year.

It turned out that during this time, Serena had either threatened him or used my name to give Dylan subsidies under various pretenses. The total amount was already close to six figures.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Grant! I'm so sorry... But Ms. Wagner said it was also your instruction, and if I didn't follow it, I'd lose my job and never survive in this city again!

"I-I recorded every transaction, every single one, just in case you'd ask me one day. They're all here!"

Lionel trembled fearfully, apologizing profusely. I looked at the documents in my hand, frowned slightly, then shook my head at him.

"Lionel, I have no intention of punishing you, but I'm only allowing this once. If this happens again, you must report it to me in advance, you hear me?"

Lionel nodded nervously. As soon as he left my office, I slammed those documents onto the desk.

This was beyond ridiculous.

What did Serena think I was, and what did she think this company was?

After the anger faded, all that remained was deep exhaustion. I leaned back in my chair and could not help recalling the years I had spent with Serena.

We had grown up together and even attended the same college. Although we had only been together for three years, I had liked her for far longer than that.

After my startup succeeded, she said she did not want me to work so hard and wanted to help. That was how she became the company's finance director.

At the beginning, she had clearly joined for my sake. How, then, had things ended up like this?

Dylan was an intern she hired. Back then, she had even complained to me that he did not know how to do anything. Somewhere along the way, though, the two of them had crossed a line.

Serena never mentioned Dylan's poor work performance again and started doing everything herself. He managed to get someone in finance to abuse company funds for his benefit.

Thinking of this, I immediately pulled out my phone and called my mother.

"Hello? Mom, could you invite the Wagners over this weekend as well? I have something to announce."