My five-year marriage, in that single moment, became a bitter mockery. “For tomorrow’s monthly report meeting, I want Caleb to present your brand proposal.” My wife, Sarah, said without even looking up. I put down the files I was sorting, thinking I’d misheard. “What did you say?” “Caleb just joined the company. He needs a chance to prove himself, and your proposal is perfect.” She finally looked up, her eyes showing no room for negotiation. “That’s my submission for the competition.” “You win awards every year anyway. What’s the big deal if you let him have it just this once?” Her tone was casual, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Besides, the company needs to nurture new talent.” I stared at the woman I’d shared a bed with for five years, and suddenly, her face blurred. “Do you know how many all-nighters I pulled for this proposal? You’re giving it to an intern who just started?” “Alex, don’t be so petty. It’s just a proposal, isn’t it?” Her face hardened. “I’ve already decided.” My fists clenched, rage surged through my veins.
I never imagined my wife of five years would give away the creative proposal I’d worked on through the night. Hand it over, completely untouched, to an intern who’d only been with the company for half a month. When I saw Caleb, standing on the stage at the company’s monthly report meeting, confidently presenting the brand proposal I’d spent three sleepless nights on, I felt utterly sick. The icy chill of betrayal drenched me from head to toe. Colleagues in the audience cast admiring glances at Caleb. The department manager nodded repeatedly. Some even whispered about how remarkably talented this newcomer was. I sat in the last row of the conference room, watching the young man, seven years my junior, in a perfectly tailored suit. He gracefully pointed at the projector screen, showcasing my hard work, introducing “his” creative concepts to everyone. Sarah sat at the head table, her eyes filled with pride and satisfaction, as if she’d discovered some extraordinary talent. She even praised Caleb publicly, calling him a rare creative star the company had seen in years, worthy of everyone’s admiration. My fists clenched into tight knots under the table, my nails digging hard into my palms, almost breaking the skin. After the meeting, I blocked Sarah’s office door. When she saw me, her face still glowed with excitement from before, her eyes bright and sparkling. She had absolutely no idea how serious the problem was. “Alex, you saw it, didn’t you? Caleb really is talented. That proposal is just amazing.” I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice calm. “Sarah, that was *my* proposal.” She paused, then waved a dismissive hand, her tone light. “Oh, you mean that. I thought Caleb just joined the company and needed a chance to prove himself, so I let him use your proposal just to cut his teeth on.” Cut his teeth on. My three days and nights of hard work, in her mouth, became a mere tool for an intern to practice with. “Do you know what that proposal means to me? It’s my submission for this year’s International Creative Awards.” A hint of awkwardness finally crossed Sarah’s face, but she quickly reverted to her usual self-righteous demeanor. “You win awards every year anyway. What’s the big deal if you let him have it just this once? Besides, this was just an internal report, not an actual competition entry.” A burning inferno raged in my chest, and my blood boiled with pure fury. “Sarah, what do you take me for?” She seemed startled by my sudden serious tone, a flash of panic in her eyes. “Don’t be like that. Caleb is just a kid, fresh out of college. I was just trying to help him grow quickly.” I turned and walked away, not wanting to hear any more of her explanations. Her voice calling my name echoed behind me, but I didn’t have the strength to turn back.
The next morning, I deliberately avoided leaving at the same time as Sarah. After arriving at work, I went straight to my personal studio. This was a private space Sarah had specially partitioned for me in the company. It housed all my creative works and award certificates from over the years. But the moment I pushed open the door, I froze. All the trophies and certificates that usually sat in the display cabinet were gone. The posters I had personally designed, hanging on the walls, had been taken down, replaced by decorative paintings I’d never seen before. What made me even angrier was finding Caleb sitting in my chair. Design drafts were spread out in front of him, and a cup of coffee sat nearby, making him look like the owner of the place. He saw me enter, a flicker of panic in his eyes, but it quickly morphed into that innocent expression. “Mr. Hayes, you’re here. Ms. Sterling said I could work here temporarily because it’s too noisy outside, and it affects my thinking.” Ms. Sterling. That title grated on my ears. “Where are my things?” Caleb pretended not to understand, his gaze darting away. “What things?” “My trophies, my certificates, my work.” “Oh, those. Ms. Sterling said she put them away for now. She said displaying them might put pressure on me.” I stared at him for a long moment, then turned to find Sarah. She was in a meeting with a few clients. Her brow furrowed when she saw me push the door open. “Sarah, I need to talk to you.” “Wait until I finish my meeting.” “Now.” My tone left no room for refusal. The clients sensed the tension in the air and voluntarily suggested rescheduling. Once only the two of us were left in the conference room, Sarah impatiently spoke. “What’s wrong now? Didn’t I explain everything yesterday?” “Why are all my things gone from my studio?” Her expression flickered with a hint of guilt, but her words remained unyielding, defiant. “Caleb needs a quiet environment to create. And those trophies, they really do put pressure on people when they’re displayed there.” “That’s *my* studio.” “Every space in this company is mine. I can arrange it however I want!” That sentence slapped me hard across the face. Yes, this was her company. Phoenix Creative, which she had built from the ground up. And I, I was merely her nominal Creative Director, in reality, more like a free idea provider. When we first partnered, I contributed my expertise as an investment, but my stake was small. Most of the decision-making power was in her hands. I always thought we had moved beyond that initial purely transactional relationship. I thought we had real love and trust between us. But now, it seemed, in her mind, I was still just a subordinate she could freely command. “Sarah, you’ve changed.” A flicker of something crossed her eyes, but it was quickly masked by stubbornness. “I haven’t changed. You’re just too sensitive. It’s just borrowing a space, why are you making such a fuss?” I turned and left the conference room, a decision hardening in my heart. Since she didn’t care about my feelings, there was no need for me to continue to compromise.
Over the next few days, I consciously distanced myself from Sarah. In the mornings, I left earlier than her. At night, I waited until she was asleep before coming home, minimizing our time alone. But what I didn’t expect was for Caleb to actively seek me out. When he knocked on the door of my temporary office, he wore that seemingly sincere smile. “Mr. Hayes, I know you misunderstand me, but I truly just want to learn.” I kept my eyes on the computer screen, not looking up. “Learning doesn’t require taking over someone else’s studio.” He sat in the chair opposite me, his tone carrying an uncomfortable intimacy. “Actually, I’ve always admired your work. It’s truly an honor to work in the same company as you.” “If you truly admired it, you wouldn’t have used my proposal and passed it off as your own.” Caleb’s face shifted, but he quickly regained that innocent expression. “Mr. Hayes, you’ve misunderstood.” “Ms. Sterling said that proposal was a collective company effort, and she just asked me to present it to train my presentation skills.” I finally looked up at him, studying his expression carefully. The young man was indeed good-looking, with fair skin and delicate features. When he spoke, his eyes would curve into crescent moons, making it easy for people to like him. But in the depths of his eyes, I caught a subtle, almost imperceptible glint of triumph and calculation. “Caleb, how old are you this year?” “Twenty-three.” “Then you should know what honesty means.” His smile stiffened. “Mr. Hayes, I don’t understand what you mean.” “My meaning is very clear. That proposal, from beginning to end, was completed entirely by me.” “You knew that, yet you still had the audacity to present it. That’s called shamelessness.” Caleb’s face instantly flushed red, but he quickly composed himself. “Mr. Hayes, what you’re saying is very hurtful. I truly was just doing what Ms. Sterling asked.” With that, he hurriedly left my office. But I knew, this wouldn’t be the end of it. Sure enough, that same afternoon, Sarah stormed into my office. “Alex, what do you mean by that?! Why did you talk to Caleb like that?!” I put down my pen and calmly looked at her. “What did I say?” “You called him shameless, said he stole your proposal. He’s just a kid who just graduated, what you said will hurt him!” I couldn’t help but laugh, but there was no warmth in that laugh. “He’s hurt? What about me? Who cares about my feelings?” Sarah froze for a moment, apparently not expecting me to retort like that. “You’re an adult. You should be more understanding. Besides, Caleb didn’t mean any harm.” “No harm? Then why did he claim it was his own creative concept during the report?” “He just has poor communication skills, maybe his phrasing was problematic.” I realized that no matter what I said, she would find an excuse for Caleb. This blatant favoritism sent an unprecedented chill through me. “Sarah, do you… do you like him?” The words blurted out before I could stop myself. Her face instantly turned ashen, a flash of panic in her eyes. “What are you talking about? He’s just my subordinate!” “A subordinate needs this much protection from you?” “Can a subordinate casually use my studio? Can a subordinate take credit for my creative ideas?” Sarah bit her lip, silent for a long time. Finally, she just said coldly, “Alex, you’re being too extreme!” Then she left my office.
The next day, I found that several important creative files on my computer had been deleted, and even the recycle bin had been emptied. These files were proposals I had recently prepared for several major clients, each one costing me a great deal of effort. Even worse, one of them was my entry for the Global Advertising Festival, an award that held significant meaning for me. I immediately contacted the IT department and asked them to help me recover the data. The technicians checked and told me that these files were deliberately deleted, and the deletion time was around eleven last night. At eleven last night, I was already home. Only the security guards and employees working overtime were at the company. I reviewed the surveillance footage and found that Caleb had indeed stayed at the company very late last night, and he had also entered my office. When I told Sarah about this discovery, her reaction utterly disappointed me. “Maybe he wanted to learn your creative process and accidentally deleted them. Don’t maliciously speculate about a kid.” “Accidentally deleted? Sarah, even the recycle bin was emptied. Is that an accidental deletion?” “Maybe he was trying to help you clear junk files.” I looked at her defending Caleb, and suddenly, this woman in front of me felt so foreign. “Fine, even if it was an accidental deletion, why didn’t he tell me? Why did he hide it?” “He was probably afraid you’d blame him.” I took a deep breath, trying to control my emotions. “Sarah, I’ll ask you one last time. If it has to be one of us, me or Caleb, who would you choose?” She froze, clearly not expecting such a question. After a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice trembling slightly. “Why are you forcing me to choose? You’re both important to me.” “Answer me!” A flicker of something crossed her eyes, but she finally gritted her teeth and said it. “I won’t fire Caleb. He’s a young man with potential. His future shouldn’t be ruined because of some misunderstanding.” Those words were like a dagger plunged into my heart. I understood then. In her heart, I held less importance than an intern she’d known for less than a month. “Alright, I understand.” I turned and left her office, having made up my mind. That same evening, I contacted my lawyer friend, Marcus. “Marcus, help me draft a divorce agreement.” There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the line. “Alex, are you serious? You and Sarah were always so good together.” “Just prepare it. I want to see the agreement within three days.” “Okay, but you need to think carefully. There’s the issue of company shares between you two.” “I know. I’ll give up all my shares in her company, but I have one condition.” “What condition?” “I want to reclaim the copyrights for all my original works, as well as the copyrights for all the creative proposals I’ve designed for the company over the past five years.” Marcus gasped. “Alex, those are the core assets of her company!” “They were always my work. I’m just taking back what belongs to me.”
Over the next few days, I quietly began gathering evidence to prove that those creative proposals were indeed my original work. I dug out all the creative drafts, organized the evolution of the design concepts. I even found testimony from some clients, proving that they initially chose to work with Phoenix Creative because of my ideas. At the same time, I was secretly contacting some excellent creative talents, preparing to establish my own studio. During this period, Caleb seemed to sense something and started badmouthing me frequently to Sarah. He told Sarah that my work attitude had been very negative recently, and that I had been hostile towards him, affecting his work enthusiasm. Sarah actually believed him and even specifically called me in to talk, saying my recent performance had disappointed her. “Alex, Caleb said you’ve been quite unfriendly to him lately. That’s really bad for the company’s team atmosphere.” I sat opposite her, calmly looking at her. “What else did he say?” “He said you deliberately assigned him unreasonable tasks and even disparaged his abilities in front of other colleagues.” I couldn’t help but laugh. This Caleb really knew how to twist facts. “And you believe him?” Sarah avoided my gaze, a hint of guilt in her eyes. “I just hope you two can get along. After all, you’re colleagues in the same company.” “Alright, I understand.” I stood up to leave, but Sarah called out to me. “Alex, are you upset with me recently?” I turned back to look at her, a bitter pang in my heart. “No, I’m fine.” “That’s good. I thought you were mad at me.” I didn’t say anything more and left her office directly. That same afternoon, I received the first draft of the divorce agreement from Marcus. I read it carefully, confirmed there were no issues, and decided to confront her that night. When I got home, Sarah was busy in the kitchen, seemingly in a good mood. “Why are you home so early today?” “There’s something I want to talk to you about.” She walked out of the kitchen, carrying the freshly cooked dishes, a smile still on her face. “What’s so mysterious?” I took the divorce agreement from my briefcase and placed it on the dining table. Sarah’s plate almost slipped from her hands when she saw the cover of the agreement. “What does this mean?” Her voice trembled, her face instantly turning pale. “I don’t think there’s any need for us to continue.” “Let’s get a divorce.” “Because of Caleb, you want to divorce me?” I shook my head. “It’s not because of Caleb. It’s because of your distrust and disrespect towards me.” “Where did I disrespect you?”
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “296717”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic
Leave a Reply