I Stopped Fighting For My Husband and He Panicked Chapter 07

Back then, Tristan had called me crazy, accused me of being pathologically jealous, and said I was a pathetic

woman who couldn’t live without a man.

I’d cried all night. The next morning, I’d tracked down Ivy’s address.

I’d planned to go to her apartment, take pictures of the evidence, and expose her at Tristan’s company so

everyone would know she was the one constantly chasing after my husband.

She wanted him to spend her birthday with her. She asked him to come over and change her lightbulbs.

Whenever there was a thunderstorm, she’d claim she was scared to be home alone and ask him to keep her

company.

But before I could put my plan into action, Tristan found out.

He said I had too much free time on my hands, which was why I kept imagining things. He also claimed I’d been out of touch with the real world for so long that I had no idea how hard it was for women to survive in

the workplace.

In short, I wasn’t half the woman Ivy was.

Then he sent me straight to work at his company.

After all our years of marriage, I understood exactly what he was trying to do.

He wanted a workplace rookie like me to get crushed by the pressure, struggle with office politics, and

eventually give up. He expected me to come crawling back, apologize for being unreasonable, and return

home to play the obedient little trophy wife.

What he didn’t understand was that pressure could make people afraid, but it could also make them

stronger.

And having a job meant having something of my own to stand on.

I didn’t need him anymore.

I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes and turned to Logan.

“Thank you,” I said softly.

He pulled out a chair for me and lit the candles on my cake.

“Make a wish.”

I closed my eyes, clasped my hands together, and made my wish.

[I hope the project kickoff meeting in two days goes smoothly.]

It wasn’t until two days later that I learned a hard lesson: wishes were better kept to yourself. The moment

you said them out loud, the universe seemed determined to make the opposite happen.

Just before the kickoff meeting, Ivy suddenly approached me.

“There’s a problem with one of your expense reports,” she said. “Come with me to Finance so we can get it

sorted out.”

I didn’t suspect a thing.

As the finance secretary, reviewing expense reports was part of Ivy’s job.

Once we got to Finance, she pointed out several invoices that didn’t match my records and asked me to

explain the discrepancy.

After checking them carefully, I realized the invoices weren’t mine at all. Someone must have mixed them up when the paperwork was submitted.

Mistakes like that weren’t supposed to happen, but the workplace was full of surprises. Most people didn’t have the time or energy to hunt down whoever was responsible. They just wanted to fix the problem and

move on.

The finance team and I spent ages sorting through the paperwork before we finally found my actual invoices.

After everything had been checked and verified, they finally let me go.

Ivy had disappeared by then, but I didn’t have time to worry about where she’d gone.

The project kickoff meeting was about to begin.

A lot of important people were attending. After seeing how I’d performed on previous assignments, Hailey

had specifically entrusted me with the project involving several major fashion magazines.

Now, the editors in chief of some of the biggest fashion publications in the country were seated in the

conference room, waiting for my presentation.

I couldn’t afford to let them down. I put on a professional smile and walked to the front.

I was terrified they’d look down on me, so I didn’t dare let my nerves show.

Then I opened the PowerPoint.

And my mind went completely blank.

The proposal I’d spent days working overtime on, the one I’d revised countless times until every detail was

perfect, was gone.

The entire presentation was blank.

All that remained was the original template.

[Presentation 1]

[Click to add title]

I forced myself to react quickly. Drawing on my memory, I managed to explain the key points of the proposal.

But there were no reference images, no product mockups, and no examples of our previous successful campaigns.

Anyone could imagine how badly the kickoff meeting went.

The project I was responsible for had its funding pulled immediately, and I was summoned to explain myself.

After reviewing the situation, the company announced its decision.

The project would be reassigned to Hailey. Since she’d recommended me for the position, she would lose her year-end bonus and be demoted. As for me, I was fired on the spot.

Given the magnitude of the disaster, I couldn’t say I was surprised by my punishment.

What I couldn’t understand was why Hailey had to pay the price for my mistake, too.