Chapter 1

My VP office had suddenly been handed over to the new female intern by my husband Ryker Hampton.

Later, she even posted photos of the office on Ins with the caption:

[Grateful for my dear CEO Mr. Hampton's reward!]

In the attached photos, the entire office layout carefully designed by me had been changed, and even more all my award plaques had mysteriously vanished.

I forwarded it directly to Ryker:

[What exactly are you playing at? Why is an intern occupying MY personal office?]

He sent back a voice message, with a drunken tone: "Babe, it's just an office. You're not using it anyway."

[You have ten minutes to restore my office to its original condition.]

On the other end, Ryker didn't respond.

Two minutes later, Hampton Industries' most critical contract was forcibly terminated.

Since someone wanted to challenge my authority, I didn't mind letting Hampton Industries go BANKRUPT directly.

---

The calls from Ryker kept pouring in, one after another. I didn't answer until the fifth one.

His furious voice erupted through the speaker.

"Mila! Have you lost your damn mind? That was a two hundred million dollar project!"

"You know perfectly well the product launch is next week. Pulling the plug now is practically corporate suicide!"

"All this over only an office? Are you serious?"

Five years of marriage, and this was the first time he'd ever raised his voice at me over another woman.

I took a small sip of my warm coffee, feeling the heat slide down my throat while my heart turned to ice.

"Dead serious," I replied coolly.

"Ryker, restore my office to exactly how it was before. Every single award, every item in its precise location. Otherwise, your company will suffer far greater losses."

On the other end, Ryker fell silent for several seconds.

"You have five minutes. Starting now."

I delivered these words with cold precision before directly hanging up.

Two minutes later, he sent photos of my restored office. Everything had been returned to its original place.

Upon receiving the pictures, I immediately contacted the project manager and rescinded the termination order.

But I sent Ryker a photo in return.

In the image, his study had been completely emptied.

Including his most prized possession—an expensive antique he'd just acquired at auction.

I attached a second photo: the antique shattered into pieces across the floor.

"Ryker, this is your punishment. You know my temperament. Don't let this happen again."

There was no response from his end.

I knew he was furious. But I was even more so.

Our marriage began as a strategic alliance between two corporations.

Five years ago, he needed Sullivan Enterprises' overseas distribution channels, and I needed Hampton Industries' domestic manufacturing facilities. A business marriage was the logical conclusion.

No passionate love story—just a rational choice for mutual benefit.

"Mila, we'll not only support each other in business, but after marriage, I promise to trust and respect you," Ryker had said, holding my hands, his gaze steady and sincere before our wedding.

"I appreciate your honesty, Mr. Hampton. I hope our partnership proves fruitful," I'd responded with a measured smile.

Over five years, we evolved from strangers to confidants, from respect to dependence, then to genuine warmth and affection.

We'd shared countless nights huddled together after exhausting business functions.

This year, we finally welcomed our baby.

It was the perfect testament to our love, making me believe our love bond was unbreakable.

But now, Brianna's appearance had shattered all the trust and understanding we'd built.

Chapter 2

Ryker didn't come home that night.

I knew he was expressing his anger and dissatisfaction through his absence.

The next day, I left our son with the nanny and went straight to the office.

The employees looked surprised when they saw me, quickly lowering their heads and greeting me respectfully.

"Ms. Sullivan! Your postpartum recovery period isn't over yet. Should you be at home and have rest?" the young receptionist asked with concern.

"Just checking on things," I replied with a slight nod before heading straight to the executive floor.

As the elevator doors opened, I heard laughter coming from Ryker's office.

Through the half-open door, I saw Brianna sitting beside him.

Ryker's eyes sparkled with amusement—a stark contrast to the cool demeanor he typically maintained with other assistants.

Usually, except for me, he never allowed anyone to linger in his office, much less with such a tender expression on his face.

But now, he was sitting incredibly close to Brianna, the two of them deep in animated conversation.

Brianna was wearing a high-end designer outfit.

The exact one I had been eyeing—the one Ryker had promised to get for me.

Not just expensive, it was a limited edition—only five sets existed worldwide.

And now it was on an female intern.

I pushed the door open. Their laughter died instantly.

The smile froze on Ryker's face.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Brianna quickly stood up, plastering a respectful expression on her face while greeting me in a honeyed voice.

"Ms. Sullivan! I heard you just had your baby. They say pregnancy changes a woman's figure, but wow, you've bounced back amazingly!"

I scoffed, firing back: "Since when is my figure any of your business? Which blind idiot hired someone with such poor manners?"

Brianna's smile stiffened, her fingers fidgeting nervously.

"Take off that outfit. Now."

The atmosphere in the office plummeted to sub-zero.

Brianna's eyes widened, her lips trembling in disbelief.

She turned to Ryker with a doe-eyed, tearful look of appeal.

I also turned to Ryker, my gaze cold as ice.

"Explain why MY clothes are on HER body."

Heard of that, Ryker's brow furrowed in irritation.

"After yesterday's office incident, Brianna became the subject of office gossip. I was simply compensating her."

"It's just an outfit. I'll get you something better later."

"Compensation?" I let out a cold laugh. "This outfit might not be much to us, but it's still a globally limited edition haute couture piece. Who the hell is Brianna to wear something like this?"

"Besides, yesterday's situation was her own fault for not knowing her place."

"Ryker, have you forgotten your position? Forgotten who I am? Who gave you permission to hand out my things?!"

By the time I finished, Brianna was pale with fear, teary-eyed as she stammered:

"I'm sorry, Ms. Sullivan, I didn't know it was yours..."

"Now you do. Take it off immediately."

Seeing me cut Brianna off and refusing to back down, Ryker lost his patience.

"Mila! Enough! We have a project meeting to get to. Stop making a scene!"

My heart sank.

He had never raised his voice at me in the office before, but now he was breaking that rule for Brianna.

Beside him, Brianna visibly relaxed when she saw Ryker standing up for her.

"Project? Which project?"

"The collaboration with Grant Corp. Brianna and I were just about to leave."

Ryker adjusted his tie, his tone increasingly impatient.

"Ms. Winters has been instrumental in this deal, so I'm taking her along for the negotiation."

I raised an eyebrow, my smile dripping with sarcasm. "Oh? I wasn't aware an intern had such influence that she could sway public company decisions now."

Ryker's face darkened as he grabbed his briefcase and gestured for Brianna to follow.

"Let's go. We're wasting time."

As they brushed past me, Brianna flashed me a smug smile, her eyes full of challenge.

Well, Ryker, you brought this on yourself.

Since you insist on defending Brianna, don't blame me for what comes next.

After they left, I pulled out my phone and dialed the private number of Grant Corp's chairman.

"Chairman Willis? This is Mila."

"About that collaboration Ryker is discussing today..."

Chapter 3

An hour later, Ryker called.

He was absolutely livid, his voice thundering through the phone.

"What the actual fuck, Mila?!"

"Chairman Willis just publicly destroyed Brianna—called her my side piece, accused her of sleeping her way up the corporate ladder!"

"Then he had the nerve to tell everyone that Sullivan Enterprises was built on YOUR back, and that I'm some ungrateful piece of shit taking advantage while you're on maternity leave to chase skirts! Said I forgot who put me where I am!"

"You set this whole thing up, didn't you?!"

I let out a cold laugh. "Listen carefully, Ryker. I don't control what people think or say. The truth has a way of speaking for itself, and clearly others can see what you can't."

"Brianna left a sobbing mess, and the deal's dead. Happy now?"

"Damn right I am. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."

After hanging up, the white-hot rage inside me cooled to a simmer.

Later, my assistant Josh messaged that the Brianna's drama had spread like wildfire through the company.

When she returned to the office, people were openly gossiping, pointing, whispering.

Some colleagues didn't even bother to lower their voices as they called her an ambitious little snake with no talent who was trying to screw her way to the top.

Everything on her desk had been dumped unceremoniously into the trash.

Even as she broke down crying, blubbering "You've got it all wrong" and "This isn't fair"—nobody gave a shit about her excuses.

Who in their right mind would side with an intern over a VP?

Everyone piled on like vultures on roadkill.

I'd seen this scenario play out a thousand times before. Brianna was just reaping the hurricane she'd sown.

A nobody intern with zero connections or remarkable talent, thinking she could leapfrog to the executive floor with a few batted eyelashes? Please.

Completely humiliated, Brianna handed in her resignation.

Since she hadn't even completed proper onboarding, HR didn't waste a second before stamping "APPROVED."

Brianna brought this entirely on herself. That's what happens when she was delusional enough to think she can steal someone else's husband and position.

And Ryker? He managed to smooth things over with Grant Corp after their dinner.

But after he discovered Brianna had left the company, his face turned darker than a thundercloud.

When he came home that night, I was softly humming a lullaby to our son.

Our little boy's chubby face—with Ryker's nose and eyes perfectly copied onto his tiny features—was peaceful in sleep.

Ryker stood in the nursery doorway, his expression murderous despite deliberately keeping his voice down.

"Brianna did absolutely nothing wrong. She was just a hardworking girl, and now because of your jealous power trip, she's lost her job AND her reputation!"

"Jesus Christ, Mila, even your rich-bitch tantrums should have some goddamn limits!"

I shot him a look that could freeze hell and signaled him to shut the fuck up as I gently placed our sleeping child in his crib.

Only after walking out and slamming the door behind us did I unleash.

"Let me make myself crystal clear, Ryker. I didn't order your precious Brianna to be bullied or fired."

Despite telling myself I shouldn't care, the raw distrust in his eyes still cut like a knife.

"Be honest with yourself for once—how many exceptions did you make for that girl? How many rules did you break?"

"It was YOUR permissiveness, YOUR special treatment that gave her the idea she could aim for what's didn't belong to her."

"There is nothing between me and Brianna!" Ryker fired back, veins popping in his neck.

"Bullshit! Then why give her MY clothes? Why let her set up camp in your office like she owns the place?"

"Your last assistant couldn't even bring a fucking chair into your office without you having a conniption fit."

"Yet for Brianna, you break rules left and right. You even glare at me—your wife who just gave birth to your child—all for her sake!"

I lifted my chin slightly, looking directly into Ryker's eyes, each word deliberate.

"Let me spell it out for you, Ryker. Yes, I care about you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have married you or carried your child."

"But you know damn well I don't tolerate even a hint of betrayal or deception. Not now, not ever."

"If you dare cross that line—even just with your eyes or your thoughts—I won't hesitate for a second to find my son a father who knows how to respect his wife!"

Ryker's face turned ashen as he spun around and stormed toward the guest bedroom.

But I knew this storm would passed.

After cooling off in the guest room, we'd reconcile tomorrow. Reset. Move forward.

This had been our pattern throughout five years of marriage.

The difference was that our previous conflicts had always been about business or household matters.

Fighting over another woman? This was the first time.

And I would make damn sure it was the last.