Serena, all to make her young lover a VP, faked amnesia after a car crash and tried to fire me from my position. As I walked by, I overheard her boy toy whisper to Serena: “Let me play with the VP position for seven days. Can I have you for seven days too, Serena?” Serena smiled, kissing his lips. “Of course, I’ll make sure you have all the fun you can handle.” My steps faltered. I didn’t expose her lie. The next day, at the conference table, Serena slammed her hand down, declared her boy toy was her real husband, and demanded I get out of the company, handing over all my projects. All the employees stared at me, waiting for me to stop Serena’s outrageous behavior. Serena, all to make her young lover a VP, faked amnesia after a car crash and tried to fire me from my position. As I walked by, I overheard her boy toy whisper to Serena: “Let me play with the VP position for seven days. Can I have you for seven days too, Serena?” Serena smiled, kissing his lips. “Of course, I’ll make sure you have all the fun you can handle. My steps faltered. I didn’t expose her lie. The next day, at the conference table, Serena slammed her hand down, declared her boy toy was her real husband, and demanded I get out of the company, handing over all my projects. All the employees stared at me, waiting for me to stop Serena’s outrageous behavior. But I didn’t resist. I just quietly signed the resignation papers. What she didn’t know was that the deadline for the key project submission was just seven days away, and the client would only work with me, the core team member. “You can leave, but you must delete all contacts for clients and colleagues. These are company resources; you have no right to take them!” Just as I was about to leave, Leo, Serena’s boy toy, blocked my way. Having managed the company for years, I knew there was no such rule. He was clearly trying to mess with me. I turned to look at Serena. “Is this your idea too?” Serena stared at me, lost in thought for a moment, then gave a cold, indifferent nod. If I actually deleted those resources, there would be no going back. She was so sure I couldn’t let go, that’s why her attitude was so aggressive. It wasn’t surprising that she thought that. We’d been married for seven years, with no children. The company was like our baby, our life’s work, and I’d always protected it more than she ever did. I woke up early and stayed late every day, hustling for business, meticulous and never daring to waste a second. Last week, in a meeting, she proposed promoting Leo to Head of Tech. The older employees, eager to stay on her good side, reluctantly praised Leo a few times, and her proposal was rubber-stamped. Only I, seeing Leo’s utterly inadequate business skills, flat-out rejected her proposal, completely disregarding Serena’s pride. She knew I’d never allow her to mess around with the company. So, to get Leo what he wanted this time, she even pulled this cheesy amnesia stunt, all to force my hand. Our colleagues, seeing us argue, rushed to mediate: “Michael, calm down. Serena’s just sick. As her husband, she needs your understanding and patience right now, when she’s so vulnerable.” Serena seemed buoyed by the words. She said sternly: “Michael is everything! Anyone who goes against my husband in this company goes against me!” The colleagues laughed, pulling me aside and joking: “See, Michael? Serena still loves you. She’s just sick right now and confused you with someone else.” Feeling their envious glances, I couldn’t bring myself to smile. The reality was the complete opposite of what they saw and said. Serena and I, we always maintained a polite distance, almost like strangers sharing a home, despite being married. But whenever a problem arose, she always pushed me to compromise and back down. Right or wrong, no matter the situation, she always took the opposite side. I’d argued with her countless times over it. But she always said I was her family, and no matter how bad things got outside, we could always make up at home. Outsiders were different; once you truly upset them, there was no fixing it. Even though I felt uneasy, after hearing it so many times, I started to believe she had a point. But now, seeing her abandon all principles and boundaries for Leo. I finally understood that when you truly love someone, your first instinct when they’re wronged is to defend them, not coldly calculate pros and cons. While I was lost in thought, Leo suddenly kicked over the chair in front of me. “Michael, you disgusting, shameless old man! Serena’s husband is me! If you spout any more nonsense, I’ll rip your mouth open!” He pointed at me, cursing, as if I were the one destroying someone else’s family. Serena watched it all, saying nothing to explain, just standing silently behind Leo, his unwavering support. I forced a smile. “Fine. I’ll delete them.” With that, I pulled out my phone, posted a ‘resigned’ update on Ins, and was about to deactivate my work account. Serena, realizing I was serious, suddenly panicked and quickly stopped me. “Never mind! Given that you’re a long-time employee, you don’t have to delete anything. Just go!” All the colleagues breathed a sigh of relief. But Leo stomped his foot in frustration. “Serena, as a Vice President, don’t I even have that much power?” Serena, who usually indulged Leo, now gave him a warning look, signaling him not to act up. Then, Serena softened her expression and PayPal-ed me fifty thousand dollars, promising: “Don’t worry, the company won’t let its contributors down. Even if you’ve resigned, you’ll get every penny you’re owed. It just needs a little time.” “Regarding your severance package, I’ll give you a definitive answer in seven days. You should go home and rest for now!” She still thought I didn’t know her amnesia was fake, and she naively believed that in seven days, she could use her ‘illness’ as an excuse, apologize, beg me, and everything would go back to normal. But my hands-off wife had no idea that the deadline for the most crucial project was only seven days away. This project involved a huge sum of money. If it wasn’t submitted on time, or if anything went wrong, she’d have to pay massive penalties. In the past, for the sake of the company’s stability and her future, I would have swallowed my pride, endured all the hardship alone. But I was exhausted. I wanted neither the company nor her. Serena instinctively reached out to straighten my tie, but suddenly remembered her act and awkwardly dropped her hand. I glanced at my phone and refunded the transfer. Then, I deleted “My Dearest Serena Baby” from my contacts in one swift motion. After doing all that, I calmly looked at her and said: “Serena, let’s get a divorce.”
Serena froze, blurting out: “You want to divorce me? Why?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized her mistake and quickly corrected herself: “Divorce? You’re hilarious. My husband is Leo. How could I possibly have been married to you?” Watching her clumsy performance, I couldn’t be bothered to expose her lies or waste my breath arguing with her. So I played along with her act. “I tricked you into getting the marriage license. Now, let’s go get divorced.” Leo, hearing this, beamed with delight and urged us on: “It’s about time! Let’s go.” Serena hesitated, frowning. She ignored the loopholes in my words, just wanting to gloss over it. “Oh, forget it. This is all a bit strange. I’ll decide later.” I was puzzled. Didn’t she like Leo? I was proactively offering a divorce, making way for them, so why wasn’t she happy? Before, I would have pressed her for an answer, even ridiculously asking if she had ever loved me. Now, I couldn’t care less about her thoughts. I just wanted the divorce done. I raised an eyebrow at her, fanning the flames. “Are you saying you don’t want to divorce me because you’re still hung up on me?” Leo immediately tugged at Serena’s sleeve, looking hurt. “Serena, aren’t I your favorite husband? How could you have married someone else?” Under our combined pressure, Serena had no choice but to agree. When the three of us arrived at City Hall, just before we entered, Serena suddenly shook her head, pretending her memory was triggered by a familiar sight. She proactively took my hand. “This place looks so familiar… I remember now.” “On New Year’s Eve, I stood in a long line with you, to get our marriage license.” She knew that day was the happiest day of my life. So she thought if she brought up our happy memories, I wouldn’t want to divorce. After all, that’s how she’d always won me back whenever she angered me. But that day, not only did I overhear her faking amnesia, I also heard Serena talk about our marriage. “What’s so romantic about it? The only reason I chose to get married on the last day of the year was because I had promised to marry him.” “But I really wasn’t willing to spend the rest of my life with someone I didn’t love, so I kept delaying it until the very last day before making up my mind.” “Anyway, no matter who I married, it would just be getting by. He had good connections, he could help me.” “He’s a good person too, a very suitable husband.” I stood outside, listening to her compliments, my heart sinking to rock bottom. I thought what we had was love, but for her, it was all about utility. No wonder after the company started doing well, she valued money and power so much, never letting me touch a single bit. She was always guarding against me. I was distracted. Serena tugged my hand, asking if I remembered. This kind of suspicious marriage had exhausted me. Cutting my losses now was the best option. I shook my head, brushing her off. “No, you probably hit your head in the car crash and are having delusions.” Serena’s smile instantly froze. Seeing her trying so hard to please me, and my indifference, she then thought of herself as a ‘patient’ and how I wasn’t being understanding. The more she thought, the angrier she got. She immediately linked arms with Leo, their fingers intertwined. “Yes, those are all fake. My only husband is Leo.” “After we’re divorced, I’m going to marry my husband, Leo!” She stomped her foot, then walked in happily with Leo, as if she was specifically there to get married. I couldn’t be bothered to play along with her charade anymore. I stepped inside. As soon as we registered, we were ushered into a mediation room. Serena immediately sat on Leo’s lap, took out some grapes she’d bought on the way, peeled them, and fed them to Leo one by one. She thought her actions would make me jealous. But it was the opposite. It only reminded me of the cold, reserved Serena I used to know. In public, she wouldn’t even hold my hand, saying it was undignified to be so affectionate in front of everyone. Now, she was a completely different person, so openly affectionate it was almost embarrassing to watch. Even the mediation staff looked uncomfortable. With my firm stance, we quickly moved into the divorce proceedings. My expression remained cold throughout, which clearly annoyed Serena. She gave me the silent treatment, huffily speeding through the process. Stepping out with the divorce papers, I let out a long breath. The dark cloud hanging over me had finally lifted. I called an Uber to go home. Leo leaned over from behind, saw my home address on the ride app, and immediately fumed: “Home? You’re divorced. That’s not your home anymore.” “Pack your stuff and get out now!” Serena stood nearby, smiling. “That’s right. Kick the outsider out, and you can move in, husband.” She was kicking me out to make room for Leo. No normal man would accept that, and the old me wouldn’t have either. But now, I just nodded indifferently. “Alright. I’ll move out.” I booked a hotel on my phone. After getting home, I started packing my belongings seriously. Things had spiraled far beyond Serena’s control. She softened her tone for once, pretending to have recovered some memory. She held up our wedding pictures and asked me: “Michael, when did we take these photos?” I didn’t even look up, just stuffing clothes into my suitcase, and replied dismissively: “Fake. I Photoshopped them.” My words completely enraged Serena. She snatched my suitcase, tossing my clothes out the door one by one. “Get out! Get out now!” She slammed the door shut with a bang. I shook my head silently, picking up my clothes from the ground, dusting them off, and putting them back in my bag. Inside the house, Leo anxiously asked: “Serena, this whole mess is my fault. I shouldn’t have insisted on being VP.” “Watching you two divorce, I feel so bad. Maybe I should go clarify things with Michael.” Serena composed herself and comforted him. “It has nothing to do with you. Michael is just too petty, arguing with a sick person.” “We’ll ignore him. I’ll spend these seven days with you, then I’ll deal with him.” “Michael is easy to coax. I just have to snap my fingers, and he’ll come crawling back.” I picked up my bags and walked into the elevator. She was deluding herself. This time, it was truly over. There was no going back.
The days since I left Serena had been pleasant, except for my former colleague constantly messaging me. Today, perhaps in a panic, David called me directly: “Michael, you need to come back now. The project deadline is today!” I was about to refuse when I heard a struggle and shouting over the phone. A moment later, Leo’s angry voice came through: “Michael, you’ve been fired! Stop meddling in company business!” David was furious: “Leo, what are you doing? Do you have any idea how much money the company will lose if this project fails?!” Leo sounded unconcerned: “What’s the panic? I’ll finish the draft soon, we can submit it in a few days.” David’s shocked voice came again: “Are you crazy?! We can’t trust your skills! Besides, the client specifically requested Michael for the design. You’re just lying! Where’s Serena? I need to talk to Serena!” Leo’s threatening voice interjected: “Serena is still sick. If any of you dare to badmouth me, don’t think I won’t fire you all!” Just as I heard that, the call ended. But I could guess the outcome. With my fate as a precedent, they wouldn’t dare to act rashly; they’d just endure it. I shook my head, pushing it out of my mind. I truly let go of the company. Before, I was always busy with work, but now I finally had time to hang out with friends. Every day was filled with drinks and fun, forgetting all my worries. On the seventh day, I was wearing a suit, holding a groom’s boutonnière, heading to Mark’s wedding. I texted him as I entered: “The boutonnière fell in the car. Found it, bringing it to you now.” As soon as I sent it, I suddenly heard a familiar voice. “Thank you all for coming to my and Leo’s wedding!” I turned around and saw Serena, in a wedding dress, arm-in-arm with Leo, greeting guests. Outside the banquet hall, their wedding pictures were displayed. Leo spotted me first. He grabbed Serena’s chin and kissed her lips. The guests around them cheered excitedly, and Serena shyly buried her face in his embrace. She suddenly looked up, and her eyes met mine. She froze. After a moment, she straightened up abruptly, deliberately putting some distance between herself and Leo. Leo frowned, annoyed that Serena seemed to be siding with me. He thought I was there to crash the wedding. Seeing the crowd, he tearfully lunged at me, clutching my arm and pleading: “Michael, I truly love Serena! Please, let us be! Don’t try to steal her away!” Serena raised an eyebrow, about to step forward to defend him, but then she noticed the groom’s boutonnière in my hand. She instantly assumed I was there to get married. Her eyes suddenly reddened. “Michael, how could you get married to someone else behind my back?” I knew she was misunderstanding, but I didn’t feel like explaining. I said coldly: “Ms. Serena, we are divorced. Please mind your own business.” Serena looked at me, utterly lost. She no longer had the energy for her act. She put on an exaggerated show of remembering everything, then grabbed my hand and asked: “Michael, why am I wearing a wedding dress? Are you here to marry me again?” As she spoke, she tried to take the boutonnière from my hand to pin it on me. I held her hand, saying calmly: “Stop pretending. I overheard everything about you and Leo plotting your ‘amnesia.’” Meeting the icy gaze in my eyes, Serena knew she couldn’t hide it anymore. She dropped her act, her face falling. “I only did this because you were prejudiced against Leo and constantly suppressed him! I had no other choice!” “You have no idea how well Leo managed the company while you were gone.” I scoffed. “Managed it well, or hid it well? Do you even know the deadline for the Zenith Corp project was today?” Serena froze, turning to look at Leo. Leo smiled, explaining: “Don’t worry, Serena, I’ve handled everything. No need for you to trouble yourself with such a small matter.” Then he looked at me provocatively. “Michael, you don’t know this, but I submitted the design draft ages ago. The client has already started mass production.” “My apologies, I’m just so competent, I’m sure it’s disappointing for you.” Hearing this, Serena nodded with satisfaction. Just as she was about to say something, her phone rang. She smiled, showing me the phone. “The client is calling to praise Leo! You really need to reflect and apologize to Leo now.” She pressed ‘answer’ triumphantly, putting it on speaker. But then, the client’s voice boomed through the phone: “You idiot! We wanted Michael’s design draft! How dare you submit a worthless draft from an intern, passing it off as the real thing?!” “This is a serious breach of contract, causing us huge losses. Prepare for a hundred million dollars in penalties. We’ll see you in court! If you can’t pay, prepare for prison time!”
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