Chapter 5
The bolded subject line of the email gave Nate a sinking feeling.
Just as he was about to open it, Zoe strutted in like she owned the place.
“Nate, here’s the report you asked for.”
She dropped a folder on his desk, then casually walked around to his side and rested a hand on his shoulder.
That used to be their unspoken flirtation.
But now, it suddenly felt… off.
Nate sat up straighter and opened the folder-
One page in, his brow furrowed.
It was a mess.
The formatting was fine, but everything else? Wrong.
She even got the department name wrong.
He slammed the report on the desk, his voice icy.
“Who wrote this?”
“Do they not have any idea what they’re doing?”
“Get Olivia in here.”
“What the hell is HR even doing with their hiring?”
Zoe’s face turned pale in an instant.
“Nate… I did it.”
All that anger?
Gone in a flash.
He looked at Zoe, who looked genuinely startled, and for the first time, he felt exhausted.
Her eyes welled up, her voice small and soft.
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Chapter S
“Nate… are you saying I’m stupid now?”
She wiped a tear and added, in that stubborn little girl voice she always used when playing the victim,
“If you really think I’m too dumb for this job, I’ll quit.”
“You can hire someone smarter, more capable.”
She turned to leave.
Instinctively, Nate reached out to stop her-
But the second he met those teary, pitiful eyes, he froze.
Sophia never looked at him like that.
She had pride.
No matter what she was up against, she figured it out herself.
Never once did she cry to get her way, never once begged.
If Sophia were still here…
His hand tightened at his side, and the thought startled him.
He let go of Zoe like her skin burned.
Pressing his fingers to his temples, he sighed.
“Just… go, Zoe.”
She hesitated.
“Nate-”
“Out.”
He didn’t have the patience anymore.
His tone was cold and final.
Zoe bit her lip, clearly unwilling, but walked out anyway.
Once she was gone, Nate slumped back into his chair.
He stared at the useless report.
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Screw You, Ex! My New Life’s Hotter Than Your Money!
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Chapter 5
And suddenly, memories started flooding back.
Seven years ago, I was just a clueless rookie.
No experience, no fancy degree.
Nothing that made me stand out on paper.
But somehow, I was the only one who made it past the internship.
Back then, I was hungry to prove myself.
I stayed late, worked weekends.
If I didn’t know how to do something. I’d go around begging the senior staff to teach me.
Didn’t understand the workflow?
I carried a notebook everywhere and wrote everything down.
Didn’t matter what time it was-
If Nate needed something, I’d show up with a solution before he even asked.
Even at high–stakes business events, I could memorize every name, every face, every connection.
Back then, the thing I said the most was:
“Nate, I promise I’ll do better next time.”
If being a secretary were graded,
I would’ve gotten a perfect score.
Nate remembered-
Whenever he showed up with Sophia beside him, people were jealous.
Jealous he had a gold–star executive assistant.”
Too bad all of that got ruined that night.
After that one reckless night, everything changed.
To this day, Nate still didn’t understand-
Why did I throw away all that pride, all that dignity, just to climb into his bed?
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hapter 5
All he knew was this:
He woke up that morning, saw Sophia lying next to him…
And every ounce of admiration turned into disgust.
The more he had once admired her, the more he came to hate her.
So even when the baby forced them into marriage,
He couldn’t bring himself to treat her right.
nstead, he deliberately chose someone like Zoe-
The total opposite of Sophia-
As a kind of twisted rebellion against the life he didn’t want.
But now…
Now that Zoe was acting more and more ridiculous,
Nate just felt tired.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the look on Sophia’s face as she walked away,
Leo in her arms, her back straight and sure.
His heart thudded hard in his chest.
Maybe…
Maybe it’s time to grow up.
Maybe she’s not the same Sophia anymore.
Maybe… neither is he.
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