Chapter 2

The next morning, I showed up at the office like nothing had happened.

The receptionist did a double take when she saw me. Then, she forced a smile. "Morning, Ms. Payne."

I nodded and walked straight into the conference room. Everyone was already there.

Charles sat at the head of the table, looking as calm as ever, like he hadn't turned me into a joke last night. Julia was there, too.

Once the meeting started, Charles went over the post-IPO plans. I didn't say a word and just listened.

Then, Julia brought out a personnel restructuring proposal. "As part of the internal adjustment, I'll be taking over some of Victoria's responsibilities."

The documents were passed around the table. I only needed a couple of glances to see what was really going on.

They dressed it up as an "internal restructuring." But in reality, they were stripping away my power right in front of everyone.

I looked up and asked, "Who decided this?"

Charles answered coolly, "I did. You haven't been yourself lately. Take some time off. Julia is better suited to handle things internally."

He said it like it was nothing. But he knew better than anyone that what I ever truly cared about in this company was never just some fancy title.

I worked my ass off all these years to stand by his side, to keep everything together with him. Now, he wanted to push me aside, making me watch another woman take over everything I poured my heart into.

After the meeting, I went back to my office. I swiped my access card twice. The door didn't open.

My assistant looked at me nervously. "Ms. Payne, your system permissions have been updated. You can only view the core databases now. No changes allowed."

I stared at the locked door and, honestly, I couldn't help but find it all laughable.

Yesterday, they made a spectacle out of my defeat, and today, they were already locking me out. They didn't even bother to pretend anymore.

The door finally opened. I stood there for a long moment without stepping in.

My office was full of things that didn't belong to me. A pregnancy pillow on the sofa. Prenatal vitamins on the desk. A bouquet of pale pink flowers by the window.

Julia was sitting in the chair where I always met clients. She looked up and gave me a smile.

"Ms. Payne, Mr. Rowe said the lounge in the executive suite is way too small for me to get proper rest while I'm pregnant.

"So he's planning to merge your office with the one next door. I'll be working from here from now on," she said.

She gently rubbed her belly and said softly, "You don't mind, do you?"

I set my bag down on the desk, looked at her, and said two words. "Get out."

She froze. "What?"

"I said, get out of my office," I repeated.

Her face went pale. Her eyes quickly turned red. Her hand instinctively pressed against her stomach, and she took a step back.

The door was pushed open almost immediately. Charles walked in fast. He looked at Julia first, then moved in front of her, shielding her from me. "Victoria, don't lose it on a pregnant woman."

I stood there and didn't even want to explain myself anymore.

Back then, I put everything into winning a project. I worked around the clock, sacrificed sleep, and ended up in the hospital with a stress-induced ulcer. He said I was tough enough to handle it.

I ran myself ragged flying through three countries for the overseas business, burning up with fever until I collapsed. He said the company couldn't run without me.

Now, I just told her to get out of my office, and he said I was losing it.

Turned out, when someone loved you—or didn't—it was painfully obvious.

He looked at me, his voice cold. "Starting today, you're taking some time off. The board meets in three days. We'll restructure then."

I let out a small laugh. "You planned this fast."

He frowned. "Don't make this uglier than it has to be."

I didn't say another word. I turned and walked out.

*****

When I got home and pushed the door open, I stopped cold.

The living room had been rearranged. A prenatal checkup report sat on the dining table. A pregnancy pillow rested by the sofa. Even the framed photo on the wall had been swapped out.

I stood in the middle of the room and suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe. Turned out, even this place wasn't mine anymore.

I heard the door open behind me. Charles walked in. His voice was calm, like he was talking about something trivial. "Julia will be moving in for a while."

I turned and looked at him. At that moment, I didn't even have the energy to get mad anymore.

He really believed he had it all figured out. He was sure that I couldn't leave the company. Sure that I'd never let go of everything I had built. Sure that I would always bend in the end.

He was sure I couldn't live without him. That was why he thought he could treat me like this.

But he seemed to have forgotten one thing. When one was backed into a corner, the first thing they let go of was usually what they thought they couldn't live without.