Chapter 1

On the day our massive bid was won, my girlfriend wanted to pad her first love's resume.

She ordered me to put his name on the project I had bled for over the past six months, claiming she was just "lightening my load."

Instead of getting mad, I laughed and handed over the entire proposal to him.

"Why stop at adding your name? From now on, you are the sole lead on this project!"

Everyone in the office thought I had completely lost my mind.

None of them knew that I was the only person who held the actual core technology.

Without me, that multi-million dollar pitch was nothing more than a castle built on sand.

It wouldn't take long before Paige breached the contract, drowning in massive debt and losing everything.

1

"Oh, Luke! Why are you just getting here? The bidding conference is already over."

"We couldn't find you anywhere, so I went up and gave the presentation for you. You're not mad at me, are you, man?"

Inside the convention hall, Brett covered his mouth in mock surprise, blinking at me with innocent, wide eyes.

Beside him stood Paige, the CEO of our company and my girlfriend.

She rolled her eyes at me, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Luke, are you blind or just stupid?"

"Do you have any idea what time it is? How could you be late on such a crucial day?"

"Whatever… Since you're finally here, add Brett's name to the proposal. Let him co-lead the execution with you so your careless ass doesn't screw this up."

Paige tossed my thick proposal binder onto the table like it was a piece of trash.

Looking at her, I could only manage a bitter smirk.

I had actually arrived early at the venue this morning.

Then Paige called me in a panic, claiming there was a critical emergency at the office that required my immediate attention.

Thinking something was genuinely wrong, I rushed back.

When I got there, everything was perfectly fine.

There was no crisis at all.

By the time I sped back to the convention center, Brett was already standing center stage.

He was smoothly presenting my slides and taking all the credit.

Paige had already signed the contract.

She was eagerly introducing Brett to the industry executives, acting like he was the brilliant mastermind behind the whole thing.

That was when it hit me.

The "office emergency" had been a deliberate lie to get me out of the way.

She wanted to share this glory with Brett.

She used my six months of blood, sweat, and tears to pave the way for her pretty-boy intern.

Seeing my silence, Paige grew even more impatient and scoffed.

"What's with the attitude, Luke?"

"If Brett hadn't covered for your late ass, we would've lost this contract, and I would've fired you on the spot!"

"I'm just telling you to add his name. You should be thanking him!"

Paige clung to Brett's arm, preening with arrogance, completely blind to the cold fury in my eyes.

This project was backed by an industry titan with deep pockets.

The expected revenue was over seven million dollars, more than our company's entire profit from last year.

For the past six months, I had braved blistering heatwaves and torrential downpours, scouting every single site.

I had even collapsed from heatstroke twice, only to jump right back into work after waking up.

Meanwhile, Brett had been lounging in the air-conditioned office, playing video games.

A bone-chilling cold crept from the soles of my feet straight to my heart.

Back when Paige decided on a whim to start her own business, I left a high-paying job at a major firm.

I poured my entire life savings into helping her build this company from scratch.

Even though she lacked the skills and connections, I stood by her.

I silently carried the entire weight of the company on my shoulders.

Yet, just because Brett was her first love, everything changed.

He simply read the pitch deck I prepared, and suddenly, he was the heroic genius who deserved all the credit.

Seeing that I hadn't spoken, Brett put on a timid, self-pitying act.

"Please don't be mad, Luke. I'm just an intern. I don't deserve to have my name on something you worked so hard on."

"I only jumped in because you weren't here and I wanted to help. Really, you don't need to add my name."

The humbler Brett acted, the more Paige adored him.

"Don't talk nonsense, Brett! You earned this!"

"Besides, you interned at major firms before. You have way more pedigree than someone with a grassroots background like Luke."

Hearing her reassure him, I almost burst out laughing.

I knew for a fact that Brett was totally incompetent; his resume was nothing but exaggerated fluff.

Only Paige treated him like a fragile prince, terrified he might suffer even the slightest grievance.

Seeing me hold back a laugh, Paige frowned deeply and snapped at me.

"You still have the nerve to laugh, Luke?"

"You get a little taste of success over the years and suddenly think you're hot shit?"

"Add Brett's name right now. Otherwise, I'll find someone more competent to take your place."

Looking at Paige's aggressive face, a wave of bitter irony washed over me.

She seemed to have completely forgotten that during our startup days, I brought in every single client.

Now that the company was thriving and landed a career-defining deal, her only thought was kicking me to the curb to make room for her golden boy.

I took a deep, steady breath and walked straight toward Brett.

Around us, several industry peers pulled out their phones, eager to record the drama and watch me fight over Paige.

Instead, I stopped right in front of Brett, smiled, and took a pen to cross out my own name from the proposal.

"Why stop at adding your name? From today on, you're the sole project director."