I devoted seven years of my life to Cora, pouring all my savings into making her a dazzling business success. Yet the moment her “idealized first love” made a comeback, they rekindled their romance shamelessly before my eyes. Cora handed him the position, stock, and status he desired. She pushed me down to the company’s lowest-paying role, effectively forcing me to quit. But she completely overlooked one thing—I am the pillar of this company. Without me, her business is destined to crumble soon. As I pushed open the conference room door, I saw Cora seated at the head of the table, with Jasper right beside her. They were as cozy as a couple deeply in love, completely disregarding this was a professional environment. Cora had always been against mixing work with personal affairs. Jasper noticed me and smirked with mockery and pride. He was Cora’s unforgettable first love, someone I’d only seen in a video once. The shareholders in the room were eager to witness the unfolding drama. “Declan must be filled with regret, right? Helping build this company from nothing and asking for no shares—do you think he’s so mad he could spit blood?” “Cora doesn’t care about him. He just resembles Jasper a bit, and she only used him as a stand-in.” “…” Wait, Jasper? Just yesterday, Cora was sweet-talking me on SnapChat, and today I’ve been replaced by Jasper? Jasper stood up lazily and sauntered over to me, looking down from above. The overpowering scent of his cologne made my head spin. I frowned. “Mr. Jasper, have you changed professions?” Feigning ignorance of my insinuation, he brandished a stamped document with pride. “Mr. Declan, as of today, you’ve been removed from the vice president position and reassigned as a designer assistant.” “A monthly salary of two thousand.” “From now on, I’m the sole vice president of this company.” He poked my shoulder with his finger and whispered in my ear. “Declan, the company you worked tirelessly for seven years will be mine.” “And your woman, too.” “Yesterday, I met with Cora, and today she convened a shareholders’ meeting, not only giving me the position but also ten percent of the shares. Your beloved woman doesn’t even care about you.” He chuckled disdainfully. “You can either leave willingly or stay and be my lackey.” Then he pulled out his phone and showed me a video. Silent images depicted two bodies intertwined on my marital bed. It was revolting. A subtle pain rose in my heart. The woman I spent seven years with was a mess, and the love I gave was like decaying flesh. Cutting it out would hurt, but pain is temporary. I need to cut my losses. I looked at the smug man before me. He did resemble me a bit. Cora and I were college classmates and each other’s first love. In our second year of dating, I accidentally stumbled upon a file named “One day, you’ll beg me” on her laptop. We had promised each other to keep no secrets. Curiosity got the better of me, and I opened the file. In the video, Cora knelt on the ground, holding flowers, while Jasper looked down at her, mocking. “Aren’t you embarrassed, coming from such a poor place? You think you’re worthy of chasing me?” “Stop disgusting me. Get lost! If you bother me again, you won’t get your diploma!” Jasper grabbed the flowers and slammed them on Cora’s head. The rose thorns left marks on her face, drawing blood. A woman dressed as a socialite slapped Cora, cursing and spitting in her face, then left with Jasper, laughing. Cora stayed kneeling, her head hung low, ignoring the whispers around her. I couldn’t watch the video any longer. I closed it, utterly shocked. She never mentioned Jasper to me. I never knew the woman I loved so dearly had been humiliated like this. But the man who once looked down on her turned around, and she put him on a pedestal.
I looked at the man in front of me and couldn’t help but laugh. Nowadays, professional homewreckers are becoming vice presidents, and these outdated shareholders are cheering them on. It’s time to weed out the useless ones. I reached over and locked his phone screen. “Mr. Jasper, I do admire you.” “As the original, my status and position have been replaced by you.” “The thing is, if I quit out of spite, I won’t get a dime in compensation. If I stay, watching you two flaunt your love every day will be more nauseating than swallowing a fly.” “Mr. Jasper, this must be your most successful time as the other man.” Jasper’s expression was priceless. The shareholders’ eyes were filled with even more intense gossip. “Declan, that’s enough!” Cora slammed her hand on the conference table. Jasper raised his hand to slap me, but I blocked it. “Mr. Jasper, are you following in your dad’s footsteps now?” Back then, after rejecting Cora, he dated several rich women, but none worked out. Later, the Jasper family declined, and his father wanted him to be a gigolo for married women to secure funding. But the woman was no pushover, and Jasper was beaten to the brink of disfigurement. Soon after, the Jasper family went bankrupt, and his father was imprisoned. The last thing a rich woman did for him was cover up these scandals. But I got all the information on him. Jasper, with nowhere else to go, found Cora, who still saw him as the aloof campus heartthrob. Jasper glared at me. The next moment, he went limp, falling into Cora’s arms. He whimpered. “Cora, I know Declan feels wronged, but no matter how angry he is, no matter if he hits or scolds me, I’ll endure it. But he shouldn’t bring up my dad…” “And you need to tell him, was it really me who interfered, or have you always been pursuing me…” Cora looked at me with eyes full of venom. “Declan, if you don’t understand by now, let me be clear: we’ve broken up! If you bully Jasper again, I won’t let it slide!” Then she looked at Jasper with tenderness. “Jasper, I’ve already transferred twenty million this morning to handle your dad’s matters. Don’t worry, your dad’s business is my business.” She looked at me, eyes devoid of warmth. “That’s right. All these years, I’ve been pursuing Jasper. I never liked you.” Jasper wiped his eyes and smiled through his tears. He sneered at me, raising his middle finger discreetly. Suppressing the fire within, I looked at this stranger of a woman. “Cora, when my dad needed heart surgery and asked you for fifty thousand, you didn’t give a penny.” “So what? Your dad didn’t die.” I only found out about this yesterday. Back then, Cora was determined to start a business, refusing to work for anyone else. My family invested five hundred thousand, my parents’ entire savings. Her family contributed one hundred thousand, making six hundred thousand our startup capital. She said I had a talent for design and insisted on starting a fashion design company. I was deeply moved and worked tirelessly, creating designs for the company. But in the second month of our startup, my dad needed heart surgery. I called Cora for fifty thousand, but she said all the money was invested, and there was none left. She even claimed it was my intention. In the end, my mom tearfully borrowed money from relatives, enduring their ridicule for supposedly supporting the man, losing both money and reputation. Thankfully, my dad’s recovery was excellent post-surgery.
I couldn’t hold back any longer and slapped Jasper hard. “Declan, are you crazy?” Jasper screamed, clutching his face. My fingertips brushed against his cheek. He wanted to fight back but ended up retreating into Cora’s arms, crying. Anger burned within me. “Cora, this is what you owe me and my family.” The shareholders, sensing trouble, began to leave. Cora’s face was icy. “Declan, I didn’t expect you to be this kind of man, daring to hit someone. I should have broken up with you long ago!” I laughed in anger. “Should have broken up long ago?” “Cora, you really play a good game. Back then, you insisted on starting a business, betting on whether you’d win. If you did, you’d have a chance to get Jasper back.” “You won.” “You’re full of yourself, giving him ten percent of the shares with a wave of your hand. Meanwhile, your partner who struggled with you from zero, you never once offered extra compensation, yet you kicked me aside without hesitation.” Cora wasn’t fazed by being exposed. She remained calm. “Since you know, I might as well tell you. Thank goodness Jasper came back. If he hadn’t returned, maybe I’d have settled with you.” “Declan, although you are capable at work, you’re not smart enough. You’re easily deceived. I sweet-talk you a little, and you’re willing to sacrifice for me and the company.” Her words pierced my heart like thousands of arrows. At that moment, I made a decision. Cora remained unruffled even after being confronted. She stayed calm and collected. “Since you’re aware, I might as well spell it out. It’s fortunate Mo Chen came back. If he hadn’t, I might have settled with you.” “Declan, you’re quite competent at work, but you’re still a bit naive. You’re easily deceived. I just need to say a few sweet words, and you’re willing to work tirelessly for me and the company.” Her words cut deep, like a knife to the heart. At that moment, I made a firm decision. “Thank you for your honesty, Cora. I want to witness your downfall firsthand.” I turned and exited the conference room. Behind me, I heard Jasper hurling curses. “Nora, do you think this fool will just up and quit like that?” “He definitely will! I provoked him on purpose, so he won’t get a dime in compensation!” On my way back to the office, memories of my seven-year struggle replayed in my mind. In the early days of starting our business, Cora attended endless dinner parties, often drinking herself into the hospital with stomach bleeding, yet she never even got a business card from those partners. We pulled all-nighters almost every day. There was a time when my hair fell out in clumps, and my menstrual cycle went haywire. Our sixty thousand dollars vanished in no time, leaving us deep in debt to the bank. Back then, we pretended to be generous by hosting dinners, only to pack up the leftovers for our meals the next day. To save money, we often took five or six bus transfers, then walked two kilometers back to the company. In the scorching summer, to save on air conditioning, the entire office had just one standing fan. And that moldy ten-square-meter office was our company by day and our tiny home by night. … Those shabby, embarrassing times never received any blessing from above, leaving us heavily in debt. Until one day, when Cora passed out drunk and didn’t wake up for two days, I was thoroughly panicked. I stopped my frantic, day-and-night sketching and stepped outside. Everything started to change for the better. We began to make a profit, gained a bit of fame, and soon enough, partners were knocking down our door to collaborate. We made countless amounts of money, the company grew larger, and Cora appeared more and more on the financial pages. Yet, she never entered into marriage, nor did she let personal feelings interfere, giving me a company share. I, like other colleagues, received a salary matching my position. Crescent Designs Inc. She once said, never forget where you started. Turned out, it was just their two names put together. Fine, it was all calculated. But Cora forgot, after dedicating so much to the company over the years, if I could hand it all to her, I could also take it all back.
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