From Secret Lover To Shining Star

l the burning behind my eyes, but the tears kept coming. Ten years. Ten years of giving my all, only to be dismissed, dehumanized, and ultimately,

ror, my body shaking with silent sobs. The injustice of it all

troom door. My colleagues. Their voices, usually chee

cited. "Brenda's leaving! And guess what? Alyssa wa

insane! She's brilliant. Arthur himself used to praise her w

d hollow. Arthur's empty praises, his f

My blood ran cold. "Alyssa is simply not management material. She's too emotional, too

ched. My enti

is company. Her campaigns are legendary. And she's bee

mach for the real cutthroat world of corporate advancement. That's why I've ensured she stayed exactly where she is for the past ten years. And w

ll these years. The blocked promotions, the stagnant career, the bafflingly low bonuses that made it impossible f

ne's insidious machinations. My mind raced, connecting the dots of a decade-long conspiracy. My mot

clipsing everything else. I pushed off the sink, my eyes blazing, and burst out of the restroom, ignoring t

face registering a fleeting moment of shock before hardening into a mask of composur

. "Alyssa, you're being irrational. I was merely d

use I didn't have the money for her surgery! Money you deliberately kept from me! Why? Why me? If you wanted

g sound echoed through the silent office as my palm connected squarely with Deanne's cheek

quickly dissolved into disbelief as Deanne, with a dramatic gasp, collapsed to h

e, pathetic. "I know I messed up! I'm so sorry! I'll resign! I

r to terrified victim, was jarring. I stared, m

he hall. Arthur. My head snapped around. He was striding tow

s shaking with feigned sobs. He rushed to her side, his expensive suit jacket flappin

, something I hadn't heard directed at me in years. "D

denied her promotion, but she just... she just attacked me!" She pulled her head back, her eyes still teary, and looked up at him, her voice trembling. "I know I shouldn't have done

e. "Who do you think you are? You're a junior marketing coordinator, for God's sake! You're nothing! You've always been nothing! Do you honestly believe I'd ever marry someone like you? Someone so common, so impulsive, so... poor? You' re just a gold digger who thought you could ride my coattails." He scoffed, his lip curling in contempt. "I

. He called me a slut. He called me a gold digger. He mocked my poverty, my origins, my entire be

He was right. He had never loved me. He had used me, controlled me, diminished

My eyes, dry now, fixed on his arrogant face. "Fired?" I repeated, my voice calm, almost detached. "You don't need to fire