Fifteen Years Wasted, Now I’m Done Chapter 03

Fifteen Years Wasted, Now I’m Done Chapter 03

I changed clothes and went to the office.

Took several deep breaths before pushing open Tommy’s door.

“I’m sorry…”

“Handled,” Tommy said. Legs crossed. “Ryan paid off every penalty.”

“Don’t let it happen again.”

“Get ready for tonight’s stream. Fix your image. If your numbers don’t hit target, I will ship you to our European branch.”

I pressed my lips together.

After a pause, I said, “Send me to Europe.”

Tommy straightened up.

“Serious?”

Years ago, the company had expanded into Europe.

It required signing a contract. Twenty years away. Most hosts ran from it.

I’d wanted to go.

But Ryan didn’t want a long-distance relationship.

“You have business in Europe too. We could go together.” I’d been so naive back then.

Ryan stammered for a long moment.

Then he said, “Hadley can’t be without me. I can’t just leave her for Europe.”

“Hailey, I can’t be without you either. Don’t go. Please…”

So I let it go.

Looking back, it was laughable.

Back then, his tears trapped me here.

Years later, at our wedding, he let my tears fall. One by one. Onto the ground. Unstopped.

“The moment you go, you’ll be VP of the branch.”

Tommy slid a contract across the desk.

“Sign if you’re sure.”

I didn’t hesitate. Signed my name.

“Good,” he grinned. “You leave next week. Go wrap up your current work first.”

Back in my workspace.

Prepping tonight’s products. Monitoring the online chaos.

The tide had turned.

Someone dug up Hadley’s accounts.

All of it got exposed. Her targeting me. Hooking into Ryan. Her subtle displays of victory.

[So shameless! Dating the guy for fifteen years and she still butts in?]

[Moral of the story: never date someone with a toxic little clique. She got all that attention and wrecked how many couples? Drove off how many innocent girls? Disgusting!]

[Hailey deserved none of this.]

My fans flooded Hadley’s TikTok and Instagram. Thousands of furious comments.

Demanding she apologize.

I hadn’t even scrolled to the bottom when Ryan’s call slammed through.

He attacked first. “Did you do this?!”

“Hailey! How could you send your followers after Haddie!”

A girl’s sobbing leaked through the line.

“Yes. Yesterday she messed around. Cost you some work. But I already paid off your penalties. Why can’t you just let it go!”

I let him rage.

Let him defend Hadley. Over and over. Shrink everything she did. Big things into small things. Small things into nothing. Reduce the damage done to me into one light little phrase. She’s just a kid. She doesn’t know better.

“Hadley spread lies about me. Deliberately steered strangers to attack me,” I said. “What about that?”

“She incited trolls to ambush me offline. In the chaos, someone slapped me. Burst my eardrum.”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Ryan, my right ear still can’t hear anything.”

“Do you feel even a little ache for me?”