Chapter 1

My CEO boyfriend, Nicholas Roberts, had hooked up with the new intern, Lexi Dawson.

Lexi always put on a sweet face, but behind my back, she mocked me for having no degree and no skills, telling me I should just get lost.

Nicholas totally agreed, and without a second thought, handed over the proposal I wrote to Lexi.

He said, "Why bother helping her anyway?"

At the meeting with the client, Lexi strutted around, flaunting my proposal like it was hers, and even bossed me around, ordering me to fetch coffee and snacks.

I was so pissed I wanted to storm out, but before I could, I glanced at the client.

Hold up, wasn't that the guy I was supposedly engaged to?

When Nicholas slammed the file into my face, the sting on my cheek hit me just as hard as the ache in my chest.

"Maisie, did you do this on purpose?" Nicholas had never blown up at me like this before. His eyes were ice cold. "Lexi just started, and you let her mess up like this. Are you trying to ruin her?"

Lexi kept her head down, tears shimmering in her eyes. Her delicate features and the way her neck was exposed made her look so vulnerable. "Mr. Roberts, please don't blame Maisie. It was my fault.

"Even if Maisie checked the report and said it was fine, I should've looked it over again. It's all my fault. Maisie would never want to hurt the company..."

Nicholas cut her off. "Stop defending her. She's not trying to hurt the company. She's trying to hurt you! She's been here three years. How could she not notice something was wrong with the report?"

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my anger in check.

Lexi screwed up the report and landed us in hot water. Sure, I was the team lead, so part of this was on me, but I never expected Nicholas to think I did it deliberately.

Trying to keep my cool, I said, "I pointed out the mistake in the report, but Lexi didn't fix it."

Lexi's head shot up, her eyes wide with disbelief as tears started to fall. "That's not true, Maisie. I know you don't want Mr. Roberts to blame you, but you can't just accuse me like this... Mr. Roberts, please believe me!"

Her tears were seriously effective. Nicholas looked at me, disappointment written all over his face. "Maisie, I can't believe you'd do this. Not only are you dodging responsibility, but you're blaming Lexi unfairly!"

I wanted to fight back, but with Nicholas looking at me with such contempt, the words just got stuck in my throat.

The guy standing in front of me wasn't just my boss. He was also my boyfriend of three years.

He used to look at me with admiration, always taking my side, no questions asked.

But ever since Lexi joined the company, everything changed. With her pale skin, gorgeous face, and that sad-girl aura, Lexi seemed to cast some kind of spell over Nicholas. The moment he saw her, he was instantly hooked.

He told me, "She's just like how you were three years ago."

Lexi, the girl who reminded him of me, was showered with his favoritism.

Every time she claimed she didn't know something, Nicholas would have me show her the ropes.

Whenever she said she couldn't handle social stuff, Nicholas would remind me to go easy on her.

I did everything I could to help Lexi fit in, but then I overheard her nervously telling Nicholas, "Maisie doesn't seem to like me. She always gives me these super hard tasks..."

I didn't blow up. Later, I just asked Nicholas how he felt about it.

With a smile, Nicholas said, "Of course I trust you."

But after Lexi started crying to him, he began giving me those suspicious looks, like he didn't trust me anymore.

My coworkers were always whispering behind my back, thinking I was just throwing my weight around and picking on Lexi.

Even when Lexi screwed up the data, the blame landed squarely on me.

"It's on you to answer for the messed-up report," Nicholas said.

"Take a few days to think about what you've done. Pass your proposal to Lexi," he added.

His words hit like a judge's gavel, final and unforgiving.

Behind him, Lexi shot me a smug, victorious grin.

Without another word, I turned and walked out.

Alright, let's see if Lexi can actually handle this proposal.

My proposal was for the Francis Group.

The CEO of the Francis Group was a nightmare client, super demanding and impossible to please. Lexi took on the proposal all cocky, but just a few days later, she came crawling back to Nicholas, looking totally crushed and pleading for help.

When Nicholas called, I was at the hospital. The doctor was giving me a shot, muttering with concern, "You've got a fever of 103°F. Why did you come here alone? Isn't anyone with you?"

I thought of Nicholas. He was probably at the office right now, no doubt busy with Lexi, working side by side.

Before I could say a word, my phone started ringing.

I figured Nicholas had noticed I was on sick leave, but instead, he ordered, "Lexi can't handle the proposal. You need to go help her ASAP."

'Why is that my problem if she can't figure it out?' Maisie thought, letting out a bitter laugh.