Chapter 4

When I got home, my mood had been bad all day because of what happened at the company, and my expression showed it.

Stuart was sitting on the couch looking at documents. He turned and saw my expression, frowned, and asked: "Chloe, what's wrong? You look terrible."

I rarely complained to him about work issues. Whenever I encountered difficulties, I always solved them on my own.

Today, I'd originally wanted to tell him it was nothing as usual, not to worry,

But when I opened my mouth, I ultimately felt a bit powerless.

So I told him exactly what had happened at the company today—

How my boss deliberately made things difficult for me because of my wedding leave, trying to cut my pay,

Letting a new hire step all over me and take my position,

Having company colleagues isolate me so no one would come to my wedding,

And making me postpone the wedding to come in for overtime on Saturday.

I laid it all out, one thing after another.

The more I spoke, the angrier I became.

"He also said that weddings are just a formality anyway, and changing the date was no big deal—couldn't interfere with company work."

My voice grew quieter:

"He also said that when I come back from wedding leave, my salary will be cut again, and once I have a family and kids, I'll be at his mercy and won't dare to quit."

Stuart's expression darkened with each word of my account.

When I finished my last sentence, he stood up abruptly, his phone already out.

"Paul, right?" His voice was cold as ice. "Your boss—I've had my eye on him for a while."

"Just wait. I'm calling him right now to tell him the partnership is cancelled."

"Wait!" I quickly grabbed his arm.

But he'd already pulled up Paul's number in his contacts.

Over the years, most of the company's business had been developed by me,

But Paul didn't know that the company's most important partner, Stuart, CEO of SKY, was my fiancé.

"Don't call yet!" I grabbed his phone.

Stuart looked at me, the fury still in his eyes, but he stopped what he was doing.

He'd always been indulgent with me.

We'd met three years ago at a project coordination meeting.

At the time, I happened to be in charge of a collaboration between our company and SKY.

Stuart, as SKY's CEO, represented them at the meeting.

The meeting ran from two in the afternoon until eight at night, with both sides deadlocked on several key terms.

Everyone else was exhausted, but I was still going over data and revising proposals again and again.

After the meeting, Stuart walked over and said to me: "Miss Chloe, you're the most meticulous person I've ever met."

I didn't know who he was then, assuming he was some SKY executive,

So I replied politely: "It's my job. This project is very important to our company."

Later he told me that it was that evening,

Watching me repeatedly verify details and data with my team, my eyes shining, that he'd suddenly felt his heart move.

He'd proactively asked for my contact information and started asking me to dinner.

At first I thought it was work-related, but later I realized he was pursuing me.

I asked him why he liked me, and he said: "I like the way you look when you're working seriously."

So we secretly started dating, and now, it's been almost three years.

This renewal of the contract between SKY and my company had originally been shelved for two months due to terms issues.

It was Stuart who, after learning that I was mainly responsible for this project, actively pushed the renewal process forward.

Paul had even specially praised me for it, saying I "had connections."

But he didn't know that these "connections" were my fiancé giving face on my behalf.

All these years, I'd worked diligently and conscientiously for the company,

But they treated me this way. It was time I got my revenge.

I gripped his hand tightly: "Listen to me. Paul and the others sent out invitations they haven't responded to, right? Call them now as my fiancé and personally invite them to our wedding."

Stuart paused for a moment, then understood what I meant.

The fury in his eyes gradually transformed into a playful smile: "You want them to see you at the wedding?"

I nodded, feeling the suffocating anger in my chest finally find an outlet: "I want to see what expression Paul and John have when they discover that the bride of their biggest business partner is the subordinate they docked bonuses from and workplace bullied."

Stuart laughed.

He picked up his phone again, called Paul, and personally invited them to our wedding.

He put it on speakerphone.

I heard Paul on the other end,

Nodding and bowing, saying he'd definitely be there on Saturday. A cold smile curved my lips.

After hanging up, Stuart raised an eyebrow at me:

"Alright, now we just wait for Saturday's show."

I looked up at him:

"Aren't you afraid they'll hold a grudge and it'll affect future cooperation?"

"Cooperation is important, but more important is the character of the partner," Stuart said lightly. "If they can't even respect their company's veteran employees, how can I trust them to be responsible for our cooperation?"

I smiled and said nothing more.

Night deepened outside the window, but my heart felt bright.

I suddenly felt even more anticipation for Saturday's wedding.