Part 2I Became Compliant After We Reconciled, He Still Wanted More

I really should have noticed the rot much earlier.

The cracks in this miserable, twisted relationship showed their ugly faces during our very first year together.

We were fresh out of college back then. His startup was just beginning to find its footing. I wanted to share his burden, so I spent nights studying business management and operations, hoping to surprise him.

I hid my identity and secretly submitted my resume to his HR department. But on the day of my interview, the HR manager apologized to me. They said a new executive assistant had just been appointed directly by the CEO, so the position was closed.

Before leaving the building, I stood at a distance and looked through the glass walls of McDonald's office. A handsome, bright-eyed young man was leaning closely against McDonald's side, his head tilted down, laughing at something McDonald had said. The air inside that office was thick with a rising, undeniable intimacy.

From that day on, the unfamiliar scent of men's cologne on McDonald's clothes never faded.

My hatred probably took root right in that exact moment.

We were all adults. I refused to believe McDonald was completely blind to Silas's deliberate flirting and blatant seduction.

But you can never wake a man who is only pretending to be asleep.

For the next three solid years, I collected everything. Photos of their secret dinners, auction house receipts for jewelry, hotel check-in records. When I threw all the evidence onto the table in front of McDonald, my reward was a stinging, merciless slap across the face.

"You're stalking me?"

I was completely broken. "What exactly is going on between you and Silas! Does a boss and an assistant really need to go to these extremes?"

McDonald was furious. "You're insane. How many times do I have to tell you? It's strictly business. How far are you going to take this psychotic behavior?"

"If you seriously think there's something going on between us, then I have nothing left to say to you."

"Suit yourself."

No comfort. No guilt. No explanations.

He slammed the door and left. That same night, I saw a post on social media from Noah, the HR manager I had added years ago.

[Oh my god. The boss just booked a thousand drones and set off fireworks for Silas's birthday. Talk about dedication!]

I stared numbly out the window. Sure enough, the distant night sky was exploding in a breathtaking shower of silver and gold sparks.

And right there, bathed in that brilliant, distant light, my heart finally and completely died.

I suddenly remembered complaining to my friends back when McDonald and I first started dating. I told them he was just too cold, too pragmatic, completely incapable of romance.

My friends had comforted me, saying it was just his nature and that I needed to be more forgiving.

Looking back on it now, it wasn't that he didn't understand romance.

He just hadn't met the person he wanted to put the effort in for.