Chapter 2

I gently placed the termination notice on the desk.

"Mr. Anderson, I need an explanation for this."

"I made this decision."

Lauren took over, her tone displeased.

"The company needs transformation now, fresh blood. You've worked hard and achieved much. You should rest."

Adrian leaned back, his gaze lewdly sweeping across my chest.

"That's right, Lauren is thinking of you. Administrative positions are easy, low-pressure. Women at a certain age always have to think about family."

"Thinking of me? Lauren, do you remember what you said to me eight years ago? You said we would together..."

A flash of struggle crossed Lauren's eyes, but she quickly regained composure.

"Jade, people can't keep living off past achievements. I'm grateful you saved Max, so I gave you opportunities, but you can't keep using that favor to extort, can you?"

She pushed another document toward me.

"I've already reserved an administrative position for you. Think it over carefully. With your background, where else could you go if you left the company?"

I reached out, grabbed the transfer notice, and tore it to shreds.

"I appreciate Ms. Anderson's kind intentions."

"But although I'm from the countryside, I still have self-respect. I can't learn to serve people."

Ignoring their roars behind me, I turned and left the office.

The glass on both sides of the corridor reflected my straight-backed silhouette, and also reflected this city I had once given everything for.

Lauren hadn't always been like this. In those first few years, she would often tell me that women should have their own careers.

But I don't know when it started changing.

Her social media began sharing posts like "A woman's true wisdom is making her husband shine."

The company atmosphere gradually changed too.

Susan from Finance was transferred to manage archives after refusing to sign off on Adrian's messy accounts.

Mr. Quinn from Marketing was sent to the warehouse after questioning Adrian's hole-riddled proposal.

When I went to confront Lauren about it, she was learning to make soup from a video.

After hearing me out, she put down the ladle and looked up at me with terribly unfamiliar eyes.

"Jade, the company belongs to Adrian and me. You need to remember your place."

I stood frozen, taking a long time to find my voice. "Lauren, but didn't we together..."

She cut me off with a cold laugh. "Together what? I'm the boss, you're the employee. You can only have what I give you. Including... the right to point fingers."

At that moment, I felt like I'd fallen into an ice cave.

I said nothing more and just turned and walked out.

But what chilled my heart even more was how she treated female employees.

She promoted "women's workplace skills" in the company, even bringing in a sex expert to preach that "a woman's main battlefield isn't the workplace, it's the bedroom."

A promising new female intern liked to follow me around asking about sales techniques.

Three days later, Lauren transferred her to receptionist.

The intern felt wronged, but Lauren gently patted her shoulder.

"Young girls shouldn't always think about learning money-making skills. Finding a capable man—that's the real skill."

The intern timidly glanced at me, but I couldn't say anything.

Because I knew that if I spoke up for her, she would probably be fired outright.

And I wasn't ready to leave at that time.

I couldn't let go of this empire she and I had built together. I even foolishly hoped she might return to being the old Lauren.

But my silence seemed to fuel her suspicions.

After I'd close a major deal, Lauren would praise me in a seemingly casual way.