They Voted Me Out After Fifteen Years Together Chapter 01

They Voted Me Out After Fifteen Years Together Chapter 01

On my thirtieth birthday, my boyfriend Dax Vance and my best friend Bree Drexel both went dark.

I waited at the restaurant until midnight, stupidly thinking it was some surprise they’d planned.

Then I found the wedding video from Vireo Island.

Dax was the groom.

And standing beside the bride, as maid of honor, was my best friend.

I called like a lunatic. One went straight to voicemail. The other just rang and rang.

I went home and found Dax’s tablet, still lying on his desk in the study.

The passcode was still my birthday.

I opened the pinned group chat—the one without me.

[Who should Dax actually marry?]

The poll had closed long ago:

[A Sable Holbrook. The one who gave him fifteen years.]

[B Willa Marsh. The one who waited for him for ten.]

B won by a landslide.

The comments below were all from profile pictures I knew.

[Sable’s thirty now. Might have trouble having kids.]

[No parents, no family to back her up. Not marriage material.]

Even my best friend voted for B.

She wrote: [Sable’s too tough. Let her lose for once in her life.]

I stared at the screen. Tears dropped hard onto the glass.

Fifteen years with Dax Vance. And in the end, I was just the option they voted off the table.

—

My fingers shook so bad I could barely hold the tablet.

My chest went tight. Cold sweat crawled down my back.

My phone buzzed.

An email alert.

[Your resignation has been submitted successfully.]

I looked at those words. Then I yanked at my hair, hard.

The resignation. I’d sent it earlier that afternoon.

Dax had sent flowers to my desk that morning.

He’d been pushing me on this for years, actually.

His company just went public. He needed someone he could trust.

He said my job was just me building someone else’s dream.

Bree pushed me too.

“You don’t have parents. Dax is the only person you can lean on.”

“You’re lucky to have him.”

Even Dax’s sister, Daphne Vance, patted my hand once. Smiled. “You will be a Vance one day. Working for family beats working for strangers.”

I could never commit to quitting. My job was the only thing I had that was mine.

You couldn’t hang your whole life on one person.

But today, Dax called me.

“Your thirtieth birthday. I’m finally going to give you what you deserve.”

“I really need you with me. My future is you and only you.”

I believed him.

So I submitted my resignation.

Seven years at that company. The promotion. The last safety net I had.

I threw it all away.

And now, on that tablet, the group chat was still sharing wedding photos from Dax’s ceremony today.

They’d chosen his wife for him. And they’d chosen my ending too.

I bent over and dry-heaved. The taste in my mouth was rust and acid.

That was when I saw Bree’s message in the group.

Bree: [I’ve got Sable under control. She should still be at the restaurant waiting for her surprise.]

Someone replied:

[Getting dumped on her birthday. You think she’ll do something stupid?]

Daphne sent a smiley face:

[She’ll throw a fit for a day or two. Then Dax will sweet-talk her, give her a job, and she’ll come crawling back.]

I read that and couldn’t hold it anymore. I made it to the bathroom and threw up.

I hadn’t eaten all day. I was saving myself for his birthday dinner.

My stomach was empty.

What came up was pure acid. It burned my throat raw.

I gripped the sink. Tears and cold sweat dripped down together.

The woman in the mirror was pale as death. Lipstick smeared. Carefully curled hair coming loose in damp strands. A complete wreck.

I stared at my reflection and didn’t recognize her.

Thirty-year-old Sable. Had I really lost?

Dax’s name lit up my screen.

I looked at it and felt my vision black out from sheer suffocation.

I answered just before it stopped ringing.

“Babe.”

“I’m so sorry. I got pulled into a last-minute overseas project today. Phone died. You’re not mad, are you?”

My voice came out shredded.

“No.”

He laughed low. “That necklace you kept looking at. I remembered.”

“When I’m back, we’ll go get it.”

That tone. God, I used to melt for that tone.

But now his voice overlapped with the wedding video. His back as he kissed Willa Marsh.

My stomach convulsed. My nails dug into my palm.

“Did you submit the resignation?” he asked. “Don’t be scared. Come work for me. I’ll take care of you.”

I bit down on my teeth and forced my voice steady.

“Submitted.”

He exhaled on the other end.

“Good girl. I’ve got you.”

Right then, a woman’s voice sounded in the distance.

“Dax. The photographer said we need to reshoot the toasting gown set.”

Soft. Sweet.

I folded. Slowly. My trembling body curled down toward the floor.

Dax lowered his voice. “Babe, I’ve still got some work here. I’ll call you later.”

I heard myself say, “Okay.”

The call ended. The room was just rain.

I sat on the floor and saved everything. The chat logs. The poll. The wedding video screenshots.

Then I called my boss.

“Mr. Calder. Is it still possible to pull back my resignation?”

I looked at the group chat without me in it. My voice shook. But I bit down on every syllable.

“And that overseas assignment you mentioned before.”

“I want it.”