At the time I believed every word. I threw myself into proving I deserved my place.
Now I understand. All of it was just an excuse.
He was stern with me, cold with me, so measured it cut like cruelty—simply because he didn't love me.
My legs gave out and I hit the floor hard.
People in the break room glanced over, one after another. The second they saw it was me, every single one of them turned away and left.
Drew was right about one thing.
The workplace really is that cruel.
Nobody extends a hand to someone who's about to be eliminated.
But at least, over the past eight years,
I'd already learned to face everything alone.
No matter how bitter, no matter how hard, I could clench my teeth and stand back up on my own.
There were no spare clothes at the office.
I put in a leave request with HR and drove myself home.
Maybe it was just getting older.
The whole drive, I couldn't stop my mind from wandering.
Thinking about my past with Drew.
Thinking about how grueling the road here had been.
The more I thought, the less any of it felt worth it.
Over the years, plenty of companies had come knocking.
Salary and benefits ten times what Stellaris Group was giving me, easily.
I couldn't let go of Drew, so I turned them down, again and again.
Stayed stuck at the deputy director level, year after year.
Watching one new hire after another climb right over my head.
Before all this, I could still tell myself it meant something—that Drew had a plan for me.
When we married, he told me half of Stellaris Group would always be mine.
I never saw the need to fight over things like that.
But Shelagh Pruitt's appearance made it impossible to keep lying to myself.
By the time I got home, I was choking on everything I'd swallowed that day.
I picked up my phone and scrolled for a long time, looking for someone—anyone—I could call. There was no one.
Eight years with Drew Henson.
I'd already lost my friends, my life, all of it.
My world had shrunk to nothing but work.
And now work was gone too.
I was driftwood with no roots.
Floating, directionless, with no idea what to do next.
In the end, all I could think was to sleep first and figure it out later.
Somewhere in the blur of half-sleep, a hand brushed the tears from the corner of my eye.
Drew's cool voice reached me from close by.
"Still upset about today?"
"I did it for your sake."
"You've worked so hard all these years. Stay home now. Rest. Get your health back."