He Exiled Me for Five Years to Make Room for His Mistress Chapter 02

He Exiled Me for Five Years to Make Room for His Mistress Chapter 02

The next day, I went to Shaw Group to complete my return-to-work paperwork.

When Linda Bennett from HR saw me, her expression turned complicated.

“Claire, your position…”

“I know. Emily took over.”

I set my suitcase in the corner.

“It’s fine. Just put me wherever there’s an opening.”

Linda sighed and pulled up my personnel file on her computer.

“Your file describes your five years in Nevada as a voluntary hardship assignment to a remote federal project site. It says you overcame severe conditions and completed the work successfully.”

“That’s what happened.”

“But,” she lowered her voice, “the three projects you led all list Emily as the lead author on the final reports.”

I froze.

“How is that possible? Those were my…”

“You signed off on it.”

Linda opened a file and turned the monitor toward me.

“Look. This is an agreement from five years ago. You signed it, agreeing that the project results would be credited to the team.”

The signature was mine.

But I had no memory of signing anything like that.

“You left in such a rush back then. Mr. Shaw handled a lot of the paperwork for you.”

Linda hesitated, as if there was more she wanted to say.

“Claire, some things… never mind. Go settle in at your desk first.”

My desk was in the corner beside the printer, piled with random office supplies.

Coworkers passed by me. Some pretended not to see me, while others gave me a brief nod as a greeting.

Only Karen Walsh came over and spoke in a low voice.

“Why did you come back?”

“The project ended.”

“Then you…”

She glanced toward Emily’s office.

“Be careful. Emily is your supervisor now, and Mr. Shaw is her husband.”

I set my bag down.

“I know.”

That afternoon, my phone rang.

It was Ethan.

I didn’t answer.

He called again, three times in a row.

On the fourth call, I picked up.

“Claire, we need to talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Emily is pregnant again. The doctor says it’s high-risk, and she can’t handle any stress right now.”

His voice sounded tired.

“Can you just stay away from us for a while?”

A child’s voice came through from his end of the line.

“Dad, Mom’s throwing up!”

“I’m coming.”

Ethan said hurriedly,

“Please, Claire. I’m begging you.”

The call ended.

I stared at the screen and thought back to five years ago.

The day the transfer notice came through, I called him in tears.

He said, “Wait for me. I’ll be right there.”

Then he held me and said, “Go. Think of it as a chance to build experience. I’ll wait for you to come back, and then we’ll get married.”

That day, there had been a faint trace of perfume on him, but it was not his usual cologne.

Now I knew.

It had been Emily’s scent.