Chapter 2

"You can leave, but you must delete all the clients' and colleagues' contact information. These are company assets, and you have no right to take them with you!"

Just as I was about to leave, Ruby's lover, Jack, blocked my path.

Having managed the company for years, I knew full well there had never been such a rule. He was just deliberately making things difficult for me.

I turned to Ruby.

"Is this your wish too?"

Ruby paused for a moment, then coldly nodded.

If I really deleted these contacts, there would be no turning back.

She was sure I wouldn't leave, so she acted so harshly.

It wasn't surprising she thought this way.

We had been married for seven years and had no children.

The company was like our child, and I cared for it more than she did.

I worked tirelessly, getting up early and staying late, always focused on the business, and never slacking off.

Last week, she proposed promoting Jack to head of the tech department.

The senior employees flattered Jack to help her out, but I was the only one who stood firm and vetoed her proposal when I saw Jack didn't have the skills.

Ruby knew that I wouldn't let her make random decisions in the company.

So, to get Jack's promotion, she even went as far as pretending to have amnesia. She was forcing me to give in.

Seeing us argue, some colleagues came to try to mediate.

"Mr. Jacobs, calm down. Ms. Hayes is just sick. As her husband, you should be more understanding and compassionate during her fragile time."

Ruby was encouraged by this and solemnly declared, "My husband is my everything. Anyone who goes against him is going against me!"

The colleagues laughed and teased me, "Mr. Jacobs, look, your wife still loves you. She's just sick, mistaking someone else for you."

As I felt their envious gazes, I couldn't bring myself to smile.

The truth was the exact opposite of what they thought.

Ruby and I were married, and we treated each other with respect. But whenever things got tough, she always pressured me to compromise.

No matter who was right or wrong, no matter the situation, she would always stand against me.

Because of this, we argued often.

But she would always say, "You're my family. No matter what happens outside, we can always make up at home."

It was different from others. Once she got truly angry, there was no chance of reconciliation.

Although I felt uncomfortable deep down, after hearing it so many times, I started to think there was some truth in what she said.

But now, seeing her throw away all her principles and bottom lines for Jack, I finally understood that when he truly loved someone, his first instinct when they were hurt was to protect them, not coldly calculate the pros and cons.

While I was thinking, Jack suddenly kicked over the chair in front of me.

"Matthew, you shameless old man! Ruby's husband is me! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tear your mouth off!"

He pointed at me, cursing as if I were the one destroying someone's family. Ruby watched the whole scene, but she didn't speak a word to explain. She just silently stood behind Jack, acting as his support.

I smiled.

"Alright, I'll delete it."

With that, I pulled out my phone and posted an update on Instagram that I had resigned, then raised my hand to deactivate my work account.

Ruby saw that I was serious and suddenly panicked. She quickly stopped me.

"Forget it, since you've been with the company for so long, you don't need to delete it. Just go ahead and leave!"

Everyone else let out a relieved sigh.

But Jack wasn't happy. He stomped his foot.

"Dear, am I not even allowed to have this little bit of authority as Vice President?"

Ruby, who usually indulged Jack, gave him a warning look this time, signaling him to stop causing trouble.

Then, she softened her tone, transferred fifty thousand dollars to me, and promised, "Don't worry. The company won't let its loyal employees feel unappreciated. Even though you're leaving, you'll still get everything that's rightfully yours. It'll just take a little time.

"As for your severance, we'll give you an answer in seven days. You can go rest for now."

She thought I still didn't know she was pretending to be sick and naively believed that in seven days, she would use her illness as an excuse to apologize and beg for forgiveness, thinking everything would go back to normal.

But what she didn't realize was that the most crucial project she was responsible for had only seven days left to submit.

This project involved a significant amount of money. If it wasn't delivered on time or faced any issues, she would have to pay a huge penalty.

If this were before, for the sake of the company's stability and her future, I would have swallowed my frustration and quietly endured everything.

But I was already exhausted.

I didn't want the company, and I didn't want her.

Right in front of me, Ruby subconsciously reached out to fix my tie but suddenly remembered she was just pretending to be sweet and awkwardly pulled her hand back.

I glanced at my phone and reversed the transfer.

I deleted the note [Dear Ruby Baby] in one go.

After everything was done, I calmly looked at her and said, "Ruby, let's get a divorce."