After news spread throughout the company that the CEO’s fiancée I had risked my life to save was going to marry her true love and have his child, everyone thought I, as the jilted fiancé, would go mad with anger. But even after their child was born, I never caused any trouble. Instead, I focused all my energy on securing projects for the struggling company. My ex-fiancée thought I had finally accepted my role as merely a tool to manage her company. She smugly promised me: “Seeing as you’re so sensible about earning money for me and the baby, I’ll reluctantly keep you at the company, giving you a chance to continue taking care of us.” But she seemed rather presumptuous. I wasn’t working for her and the child, but preparing to take over the company next week. From now on, I won’t compromise by being her behind-the-scenes supportive partner. Instead, I’ll replace her as the new CEO! I had just finished a meeting with a client when I saw Jack changing his and Olivia’s baby’s diaper at my desk. “Mr. Jack, you really have it tough – working and taking care of the baby. Once Ms. Olivia is back from maternity leave, she’ll definitely give you a big promotion and raise!” one colleague gushed. “That’s right, a baby born in the Year of the Snake is destined for greatness. When he grows up, he’ll be just as outstanding as Mr. Jack – a pillar of the company,” another chimed in. The tiny 50 square foot room, which used to be my office, was now crammed full of my project team colleagues. It had been transformed into Jack’s nursery at the office, stuffed with baby supplies. Even the wall that once displayed the awards I’d won for the company had been stripped bare, replaced with photos documenting every day of the baby’s life from birth to one month old. There were plenty of empty rooms in the company due to recent layoffs. But Jack insisted that only my office had the right feng shui for the baby’s growth, according to some fortune teller he’d consulted. Everyone could tell it was just an excuse for Jack to antagonize me. But Olivia, who had always prided herself on being rational and scientific, actually believed it. She even made me move to a tiny cubicle next to the restrooms, claiming I needed to block some sort of negative energy for her and Jack’s baby. She showed not an ounce of guilt for breaking our long-standing engagement to marry and have a child with Jack. Coming back to my senses, I noticed Jack eyeing the freshly signed contract in my hand. He sauntered over with a smarmy smile. “I’m so sorry for the trouble, Lucas,” he said with fake sincerity. “I’ve been busy with the baby lately, and Olivia still needs a few more days of maternity leave. Thank you for handling all the business trips recently. I’ll be sure to tell Olivia about your contributions!” Though Jack’s words were polite, his right hand was already reaching for the contract I was holding. In the year since Jack joined the company, he had been constantly stealing my projects and achievements, relying on Olivia’s blatant favoritism. In the past, I always compromised and tolerated it for the sake of my relationship with Olivia. But now that she had married him, I had no reason to put up with it anymore. I swatted his hand away firmly. “Jack, you’ve already stolen my fiancée. Are you trying to steal the contract I just negotiated too?” Before Jack could respond, my colleagues rushed to defend him: “What do you mean ‘stolen’? Lucas, that’s so rude of you to say!” “Yeah, Mr. Jack is just too busy taking care of the baby to handle projects himself. He had no choice but to hand them over to you. You got an easy win and now you’re complaining? You’re just a freeloader – what right do you have to make a fuss?” I could only laugh bitterly at the irony. It’s true that Jack was the one who initially brought in this project. But to prove himself, he had gotten drunk with the client and rashly promised to do the project for only 60% of our usual price. He may have landed the deal, but he gave no thought to whether we could actually deliver at that price. In the end, I was the one who worked overtime optimizing the technology and even dipped into my own pocket to negotiate with suppliers just to barely bring the costs down enough to make it feasible. And now it had all become Jack’s accomplishment. Seeing that I remained uncompromising, Jack kept a fake smile plastered on his face, saying as long as the company made money it was all good. But when no one was looking, he deliberately pinched the baby hard. The next moment, amid a burst of loud wailing, I found myself splattered with the baby’s poop and pee. Even the freshly signed contract was ruined. “Oh no, I’m so sorry Lucas! I’m a new dad and don’t have much experience yet. My hand slipped – please forgive me,” Jack said with exaggerated concern. Seeing my darkening expression, my colleagues naturally wouldn’t miss this chance to suck up to Jack: “Lucas, are you really going to hold a grudge against a month-old baby? Have you no shame?” “No wonder Olivia broke off the engagement. With that nasty temper, you can’t hold a candle to the gentleman Mr. Jack is.” Hearing them mention the broken engagement, I couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh. Olivia and I had been together for seven years and were already engaged, about to have our wedding. But a year ago, her ex Jack suddenly reappeared. He was hired into the company as an exception, thanks to Olivia. Not long after, Olivia urgently sent me on an overseas business trip. By the time I returned, I heard the news that they had gotten married due to an unplanned pregnancy. Rather than a gentleman, “wolf in sheep’s clothing” seemed a more fitting description for Jack. But I had urgent matters to attend to and no time to argue with them. I calmly took a document from my drawer and tossed Jack’s discarded diaper back at him. “Sorry, I’ve been working too much overtime lately and my eyes are tired. I meant to throw it in the trash can, but my hand slipped. Hope you understand,” I said flatly. A foul stench immediately wafted from Jack’s expensive suit. His face turned green, but I didn’t give them a chance to berate me. I walked out with the document and drove straight to the business registration office, handing the file to the clerk. “Please help me register this change in shareholder information,” I said. It was a share transfer agreement that Olivia had personally signed six months ago, right before I left for my overseas business trip. It transferred all her shares back to me. The company was originally founded by me alone, with my own funding and technology. Naturally all the shares had been in my name at first. It wasn’t until a few years ago when the business took off that I gifted Olivia 51% of the shares as compensation for the hardships she endured with me in the early days. It fulfilled her dream of being the boss. In recent years, with the tough business environment, the company had been struggling. I had planned to buy back all the shares so I could shoulder the risks myself rather than letting Olivia potentially go into debt. I thought it would be a difficult conversation and had prepared a bunch of excuses to convince Olivia, worried she might misunderstand my intentions. But the day before I left, when I approached Olivia about it, she signed without even looking at the document, urging me to hurry up and leave for my trip. I even asked her then if she wasn’t afraid I might be trying to swindle her. But she just smiled and helped me pack, saying we were about to get married anyway, so what was mine was hers and vice versa. At the time, I thought Olivia loved me deeply. I boarded the plane that very night, vowing to secure the deal and save the company. But when I returned successfully with the contract, Olivia had already married Jack and even given birth to a chubby baby boy. Only then did I realize – she hadn’t signed out of trust in me. She was already pregnant and rushing to marry Jack. She signed and pushed me to leave quickly because she was afraid I’d notice something was off if her belly started to show. But it worked out well enough. At least the company was still in my hands. After verifying that the agreement was in order, the clerk suddenly asked: “Mr. Lucas, for such an important matter as a share transfer, why didn’t Ms. Olivia come with you?” I shook my head calmly. “She’s still on maternity leave.” Hearing this, the clerk was taken aback for a moment before congratulating me on becoming a father. He cheerfully went off to process the public notice for the share transfer. But I couldn’t bring myself to smile. Because I wasn’t the baby’s father. Nor was I her husband. As I waited lost in thought, my phone suddenly rang. It was Olivia calling. I had barely answered when a torrent of angry words came through: “Jack just accidentally got some dirt on a contract. You could have just asked the client to sign a new one. Why did you make such a scene at the office? You scared the baby!” Before Olivia could finish her tirade, the clerk had already returned with the paperwork for me to sign. “Sign?” Olivia’s voice came through the phone. “Lucas, it’s still work hours. Why aren’t you at the office? Where did you run off to?!” After signing, I finally explained: “Signing an agreement.” There was a pause on the other end before Olivia’s tone softened considerably. “Well, that’s more like it. Seeing how hard you’re working to make money for me and the baby, I suppose I can graciously keep you at the company and give you a chance to take care of us.” But I barely registered what she was saying. Looking at the new shareholder list showing me as the 91% majority owner and de facto CEO, I couldn’t help but laugh. Olivia on the other end misunderstood, thinking I was grateful. She continued smugly: “Look at how pleased you are. Keep up the good work. When I’m back from maternity leave, I might consider giving you a promotion and raise.” After a few more instructions, Olivia hung up with a laugh. But she had no idea that in just two days, once the review period was over, I would be the company’s new CEO. I wonder if she’ll still be able to laugh then.
After firmly regaining control of my own company, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. I headed home first, planning to pack up my belongings and make a clean break from Olivia. But as soon as I opened the door, a musty smell assaulted my senses. Olivia had been in the hospital for the latter part of her pregnancy, then went straight to a postpartum care center after giving birth. I had been away on business trips. This home probably hadn’t been tidied in nearly half a year. I was about to open a window to air things out when I suddenly tripped over something in the living room. Looking down, I realized it was a large picture frame that had been tossed on the floor. Picking it up, I saw it was the wedding photo Olivia and I had taken after getting engaged. Come to think of it, it was Olivia who had insisted on going to the photo studio for a pre-wedding shoot back then. She had me try on dozens of suits, never quite satisfied, spending an entire afternoon before finally choosing a white suit she liked. Though it wasn’t really my style, I accepted it happily, touched by how much effort Olivia had put into choosing it for me. The earnestness in her eyes that day was still vivid in my memory. Snapping back to the present, I wiped the dust off the frame, feeling confused. I had always kept our wedding photo hanging in the bedroom. Why was it thrown on the living room floor? It wasn’t until I walked into the bedroom that I understood. Above the headboard now hung a wedding photo of Olivia and Jack. In the picture, a visibly pregnant Olivia was wrapped in Jack’s arms, smiling like she had won the whole world. And they were wearing the exact wedding dress and suit that Olivia had so carefully selected that day. Suddenly it all made sense. No wonder Olivia wasn’t satisfied no matter how many suits I tried on that afternoon. No wonder she ended up choosing a stark white suit that didn’t suit me at all. It was never meant for me in the first place. Over the years, my skin had gotten quite tanned from all the business trips and time spent outdoors. A pure white suit looked odd and out of place on me. But Jack, who had been cooped up in the office as Olivia’s assistant, was pale and delicate. The white suit made him look like a prince charming straight out of a fairytale. I let out a bitter laugh and started to pack up my things, planning to sell the house afterwards. This apartment was originally prepared by my parents as our marital home. Since the marriage wasn’t happening anymore, there was no point keeping it. Might as well sell it to ease the company’s tight cash flow. But when I opened the closet, my fists clenched involuntarily. All my belongings were gone, replaced by Jack’s dress shirts that he often wore. I immediately messaged Olivia, demanding to know what happened to my clothes. It was a good 15 minutes before she replied: “Of course I threw them all out. Jack’s old apartment was too far from the office, so I had him move in here.” “He’s a germaphobe and couldn’t use your things, so I got rid of them.” “Besides, you bought all that stuff with the salary I paid you. It was my money to begin with, so I can do whatever I want with it. I don’t need your permission, do I?” I had to admit, Olivia had always had a talent for twisted logic and self-justification. Seeing I didn’t respond, she sent another message: “What, are you upset about losing your old junk?” “I heard about what happened at the office this morning. If you quietly hand over the project to Jack, I’ll buy you a new set of designer clothes. I’ll even let you keep a storage room to rest in.” “No need,” I replied curtly. Before Olivia could type anything else, I blocked her on all messaging apps and called a junk collector to clear out everything in the apartment. Then I listed the property for sale with a real estate agency and checked into a hotel. Early the next morning, the junk collector transferred me some money. Though he only paid 30 cents per pound as scrap, it still added up to a decent sum. Clearly Olivia had spared no expense in buying things for Jack, as if she wanted to give him the whole world. I was about to get up and wash up when Olivia suddenly called. “Lucas! Who gave you permission to sell our marital home?! Where are Jack and the baby supposed to live now?!” “And what about all his designer suits and gaming consoles? Where did you throw them?!” Olivia was so angry she could barely catch her breath. I found it darkly amusing. My belongings could be tossed out without a second thought, but Jack’s things were suddenly precious treasures. “Oh, so you do remember it was supposed to be our marital home?” I replied calmly. “Since you’ve married Jack now, what’s wrong with me selling it?” “As for the stuff in the house, it’s all been sold for scrap, of course.” There was a moment of stunned silence on the other end. But Olivia quickly recovered, letting out a contemptuous laugh. “Lucas, do you think selling the house means I’m out of options? Don’t tell me you’re trying to play hard to get, using these petty tricks to get my attention.” “Know your place. You’re just a tool I hired to work for me. Don’t go imagining things that will never happen!” With that, Olivia hung up. Almost simultaneously, Jack posted an update on social media. It was a photo of him signing purchase documents at a real estate office. The caption read: “Finally have a place to call my own in this city.” Jack’s assistant position at the company didn’t pay much, and given his extravagant spending habits, there was no way he could afford to buy property on his own. Obviously, Olivia had footed the bill, buying back the house I had just put on the market. Jack’s post was clearly meant to show off and rub it in my face. But far from being upset, I could barely hold back my laughter. Though housing prices had dropped in recent years, I had bought early enough that I still made a profit overall. If anything, Olivia had essentially handed over all the company’s earnings from the past two years to me. And Jack was treating a depreciating asset like some precious treasure. I treated myself to a lavish meal to celebrate for the first time in ages. The business registration office also sent a text notifying me that the change in shareholding had been approved. I was in high spirits as I prepared to go take over the company. But as soon as I walked through the doors, I ran into Olivia. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be—” Before I could finish, Olivia’s palm connected sharply with my cheek.
“Lucas, is this how a senior employee sets an example?” Olivia’s voice dripped with disdain. “Skipping work for two consecutive days – you’re nothing but a bad influence!” “I didn’t build this company so you could slack off and collect a paycheck!” “Starting tomorrow, your performance bonuses for the next year are canceled. And you can forget about being a director anymore. Go be Jack’s assistant and learn how to be a proper employee!” Hearing Olivia’s harsh punishment, my colleagues didn’t even try to hide their mockery. Given the company’s small size and Jack’s embellishments, I had long since become everyone’s scapegoat. But Olivia’s accusation of absenteeism was completely baseless. Last month, I had already applied for and been approved for a week of external business trips that didn’t require clocking in at the office. She had personally signed off on it herself. In reality, this was just an excuse Olivia had concocted to help Jack get revenge. Seeing me lower my head silently, Olivia’s brows furrowed. “Lucas, I’m talking to you. Are you deaf?” “The baby just had an accident. Hurry up and help Jack clean up unless you want the whole office to stink!” But I remained motionless. After all, I was now the true owner of this company. Before I could speak, Jack jumped in, putting on an act of being the good guy. “Olivia, don’t be angry. Lucas must be exhausted from his business trips the past couple days.” “I’m young and energetic. I can handle working and taking care of the baby at the same time.” But before he could make a move, Olivia stopped him worriedly. “No need. You’ve been so busy these past few months with the birth and childcare. You’ve gotten so thin!” “Besides, you just got promoted and took over that big project. Focus on preparing your presentation for the upcoming press conference.” “As for him, if he still wants to keep his job here, let him do some grunt work. It’ll cure his laziness and show him how tough you’ve had it taking care of the baby.” I watched the concern in Olivia’s eyes as she looked at Jack, finding the whole situation absurd. Jack was nothing but a smooth talker. At work, he pawned off both childcare and his actual job responsibilities to suck-up colleagues while he hid in his office eating fried chicken and playing video games. Meanwhile, I had been running all over securing deals these past few years as the company struggled. I even rushed to sign a contract with a client right after a car accident instead of going to the hospital. Even the client was moved by my dedication. But in Olivia’s eyes, I had somehow become a lazy freeloader. The difference in how she treated us couldn’t be more stark. Coming back to my senses, I stared directly at Olivia and spoke evenly: “Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the company handbook explicitly prohibit bringing infants to the office as it disrupts work?” “And I had already applied for and been approved for external business trips that don’t require clocking in. You have no grounds to punish me.” This was probably the first time in seven years that I had openly contradicted Olivia. She was momentarily stunned. But she quickly recovered, letting out a scornful laugh. “Lucas, I’ll admit, you’ve gotten my attention. But you’re going about it all wrong.” “I am the CEO of this company. If I say you were absent without leave, then you were absent without leave!” “As for those projects and client files you’re working on, I’ve already had everything backed up. Did you really think you were irreplaceable?” “HR, draft up his termination papers. And notify all our partner companies to blacklist him from future employment.” As HR was about to comply, I stopped them. “No need. I’ve already prepared the termination papers myself.” Jack’s face lit up with glee, though he still put on a show of reluctance. “Lucas, why are you being so stubborn?” “Why don’t you just apologize to Olivia? She’s so kindhearted, I’m sure she’d let you keep a job cleaning toilets or something, given how you used to take care of her.” Meanwhile, Olivia’s chin lifted even higher seeing me stop HR. “I didn’t expect you to be so self-aware.” “How about this – seeing as you’ve been a useful dog, if you voluntarily give up…” Before Olivia could finish, I cut her off and tossed two termination letters to her and Jack. “Enough with the nonsense. You can both get out now.” Looking at her own termination letter, Olivia froze for a moment before letting out a contemptuous laugh. “What authority do you have as an employee to fire me?” I smiled coldly and pulled out the official notice of shareholding transfer. “Ms. Olivia – no, make that just Olivia – you seem to have a very selective memory.” “Take a good look. I am now the CEO and controlling shareholder of this company.” “As for you and Jack, you’re both fired effective immediately for violating company policies and attempting to steal confidential information. I’ve already given you your termination letters!”
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