Love's Convenient Lie

An intern started reforming the workplace and made an example of me. My CEO girlfriend, who claimed to love me more than life itself, said she would defend me by setting up an elaborate trap to destroy him. She demoted me from VP and promoted him instead. She bought the intern a luxury car and a mansion as his dorm. She said it was all part of the trap and begged me to be patient. Then my sister's heart condition worsened and she needed emergency surgery. I asked my girlfriend for a salary advance to cover the costs, and she agreed without hesitation. On the day of the surgery, I waited at the hospital from dawn to dusk. The money never came. All I got was a mocking post from the intern on social media. "My CEO's way too nice. Some employee tried hitting her up for a salary advance today. What if he just takes the money and bails? So I rejected it. "P.S. If you're gonna scam someone, at least make it believable." My sister died without treatment. Only then did my girlfriend finally call. "Don't be upset. Anna's surgery can wait a few more days. I'm playing the long game. "I'm building Lincoln up so high that when he falls, it'll destroy him completely. His birthday's coming up and I'll make sure he loses everything then. After that, we'll have that wedding you've been waiting for. Anna would love that." However, I had figured it out by now. The trap was just an excuse for favoritism. I was done with her. Chapter 1 "Nathan, you're really coming with us? That's wonderful! We leave in two days." On the other end of the line, the HR representative from the foreign tech giant sounded thrilled. They had waited seven years for me. They even built a domestic branch specifically to make it easier to recruit me. "Yes." The morgue was so quiet I could hear the echo of my own voice. I took one last look at my ten-year-old sister, Anna Harper. Her face was pale and tinged blue. I signed the death certificate and sought out the doctor. The doctor said cremation required a two-thousand-dollar advance payment. After Anna's condition turned critical, my savings from years of work were nearly gone. I had spent all these years revolving around my girlfriend, Gina Whitmore. I had no friends. After she removed me from my VP position, my coworkers distanced themselves from me too. Now, I could not find a single person willing to lend me money. Instinctively, I glanced at the watch on my right wrist. It was a token of love Gina had given me years ago. It cost her three months of salary. She said I was worth a fortune to her. Today, I had considered listing it on a resale site, but it appraised at only three thousand dollars, nowhere near enough for the 30,000 dollar surgery. What I had was merely a drop in the bucket. After hesitating repeatedly, I had not sold it. Perhaps fate wanted me to sell it now. I listed it at the low price of two thousand. Soon, a local buyer contacted me. As I hurried out to complete the transaction, a bodyguard in black coming from the opposite direction knocked me to the ground. My phone hit the floor and cracked. When I looked up, Gina was rushing into the hospital, pushing Lincoln Morris in a wheelchair. A crowd of medical staff and bodyguards followed closely behind. She looked anxious, fine beads of sweat dotting her forehead. Our eyes met briefly by accident, but her gaze quickly moved away. A nurse helped me up and could not help but sigh. "The world's not fair, is it? This female CEO's husband just sprained his ankle, and she's got the entire hospital's medical staff attending to him at once. Meanwhile, some poor girl suffers from a heart disease and can't even afford the surgery." I shook my head to indicate I was fine. The next second, Gina strode back with a serious expression. She grabbed me and pulled me down to the underground parking garage. Once we were in the car, she frowned. "Why are you coming here to ask for money?" Realizing her tone was too harsh, her expression softened. "Lincoln sprained his ankle going down the stairs. He's being such a baby about it and absolutely refuses to get examined unless I'm with him. "I know you're still angry about him not approving your salary advance. I'll give you the money. Just go and don't let Lincoln see you. He'll misunderstand." Chapter 2 Gina did not even realize it herself. She said Lincoln was being dramatic, but her eyes held nothing but indulgence. Once, I was the one she worried about. When I had a simple stomachache, she sat by my hospital bed all day and made me soup herself, burning her hands in the process. Gina pulled out her phone. The next second, mine chimed. Two hundred dollars was deposited into my account. She smiled as she explained. "Lincoln likes to check up on me. If he finds out I gave you too much money privately, he'll get upset. Use this 200 to buy Anna some supplements and cheer her up, okay?" I gripped my phone tightly. We were supposed to be the real couple, yet now I felt like some kind of criminal. After a long moment, I laughed bitterly and transferred the money back to her. She had been about to get out of the car, but her movement paused. She finally realized something was wrong and turned back to pat my hand. "Nathan, I know you've been hurt, but if we want to destroy Lincoln, we have to let him have everything first. Only when he loses it all will it hurt enough to make things right." However, the one who lost everything and felt devastated seemed to be me. Last year, Lincoln joined the company and boldly declared he would reform the workplace. He made an example of me, the VP. When I asked him to print documents, he said he was there to work, not run errands. When I asked my assistant to get me coffee, he stepped forward and threw the coffee in my face, telling me to do my own work. Later, when I was about to close a deal worth over a hundred million, he refused to hand over the company seal no matter what. He claimed I was transferring company assets. The client got poached, and a month of sleepless nights went down the drain. I mentioned it to Gina a few times, and she decided to defend me by setting up an elaborate trap. The plan was simple. She would build him up so high that the fall would destroy him. In the beginning, whenever Gina praised Lincoln with that sarcastic tone, she would always wink at me knowingly. I could not help but laugh along, playing my part in the act. I pretended to be crushed so Lincoln would feel even more triumphant. However, later, the act became more and more real. The praise Gina gave Lincoln overflowed with genuine admiration. Her indifference and dismissiveness toward me no longer seemed fake. A year ago, I lost my VP position. A week ago, my sister had a heart attack after seeing her future sister-in-law buy a house for another man. The surgery had a one hundred percent success rate, but because her useless brother could not scrape together the surgery fee, she died a horrible death. Now, my girlfriend had fallen for someone else, and I had been too blind to see it coming. Everything felt hollow. "Gina, we should—" The words "break up" had not yet left my mouth before her phone rang. The caller ID read "Lincoln Baby." Gina opened the door and got out of the car, stepping away to answer it. She used to never avoid me. She would even put it on speaker so I would not misunderstand. After hanging up, she would mock Lincoln's arrogance and self-importance with me, swearing she would love only me for the rest of her life. Now, she leaned against the car door, her fingers rubbing the hem of her clothes, her expression full of sweetness. Then she cried out in surprise. "Your foot's still hurt. Don't come looking for me." The next second, I saw a tall, thin figure limping toward us from the entrance to the underground garage. Gina rushed over to meet him and caught Lincoln in her arms. Lincoln spotted me sitting in the passenger seat and flashed a cruel, triumphant smile. He quickened his pace and yanked me out of the car. "Nathan, who said you could sit in Gina's car? What if you dirty the leather seats? Can you even afford to replace them? Or are you here to borrow more money? Leeching off your ex. Hmph, are you even a man?" As if marking his territory, he reached into Gina's pocket with practiced ease, pulled out her phone and unlocked it. Chapter 3 Seeing the transfer record, Lincoln threw the phone on the ground. "Gina! I'm looking out for you, but you're still hung up on your ex. Forget the checkup. I don't need it. I hope my leg just breaks off!" He stormed away in anger. Gina, who was decisive and commanding at the company, did not dare argue with him. She moved to pursue him. Then, as if remembering something, she stopped herself abruptly. She turned back, gently took my hand, and shook it. Her tone was earnest. "Nathan, just two more days. Please be patient. I'll make it up to you properly after this." This was her favorite way of acting sweet. In the past, when she showed me this vulnerable side, my heart would melt. Now, all I felt was disgust. Before I could pull my hand away, she turned and went after Lincoln. I stood there alone, wiping the back of my hand with my sleeve. In two days, I would be gone. I was done with her. … After leaving the parking garage, I quickly found the buyer, got the money, and had Anna cremated. By the time I returned home holding Anna's ashes, night had fallen. Gina was not back yet. For once, she actually told me where she was. She said Lincoln's leg hurt and it was inconvenient for him, so she was staying at the hospital to take care of him. The last time she checked in with me like this was months ago. For the first time, I did not get jealous or ask her to make it up to me. I simply opened my work software and submitted my resignation. It still had not been approved. I set my phone down and ignored it. Two days was not much time. I started packing first and decided to go to the office tomorrow to wrap things up in person. Soon, seven years of my life was condensed into a single twenty-inch suitcase. The next morning, I was still asleep when Gina's assistant knocked on the door. She saw the suitcase piled up inside and paused. "Mr. Harper, are you going on a trip?" "Yes." She did not press further. "Ms. Whitmore requests your presence." I did not want to go, but the bodyguards behind her forced me to leave. Our destination was a bridal shop. Gina smiled at me and pulled me into the fitting room. She took out a custom-tailored suit and personally helped me put it on, lowering her head to tie my tie. Looking down at her, I felt a bit dazed. To fully commit to destroying Lincoln, she had stopped being affectionate with me. She said the act had to fool herself before it could fool anyone else. As she helped me with my cufflinks, she suddenly stopped. "Where's your watch?" Before I could respond, she laughed softly. "You put it back in the box for safekeeping again, huh? My handsome Nathan looks perfect in this kind of outfit. So distinguished. "I've already had our wedding designed. "It's the seaside wedding you've always wanted, with the flower arch Anna loves. We'll have her be our flower girl, okay?" Her words were gentle, but every one of them hurt. I clenched my fists. I remembered Anna asking me through her tears before she died. "Nate, why hasn't Gina come to save me?" I remembered how Gina used to treasure Anna like the apple of her eye, worrying about her condition, telling her bedtime stories night after night without ever seeming tired. Marrying Gina had once been my ultimate dream, but it could never happen now. "Gina, the wedding—" She smiled, placing her finger on my lips. "Our plan is almost finished. Tomorrow is Lincoln's birthday. I'm going to announce in front of everyone that he's being fired and kicked out of the company. "The house and car under his name will all be reclaimed through legal action. "He's gotten used to living lavishly over the years. He won't even eat anywhere that isn't a five-star restaurant. I want to see if he'll still dare to lecture people about workplace reform when he's lost everything and everyone's walking all over him." Chapter 4 The next second, the fitting room curtain was yanked open. Gina was about to scold her assistant, Claire Shaw. When she saw it was Lincoln, her face went pale instantly. Lincoln stood in the doorway and gave Gina a bitter smile. "Gina, I thought you really cared about my injured foot. I thought you were having someone try on my outfit for tomorrow's party. "If Nathan hadn't tipped me off and told me to come watch the show, I never would've known that this was all just wishful thinking on my part. There’s no need to wait until tomorrow. I'll return everything you gave me right now." His hands trembling, he stripped off the custom-tailored suit and the million-dollar watch, hurling them at Gina. When he yanked off the VP badge from his chest, his gaze turned malicious. He deliberately threw it at my face. The pin on the back of the badge scratched my cheek, drawing a thin line of blood. It stung. Gina did not look at me for even a second. She only stared at Lincoln, not even flinching when he threw things at her. The look in her eyes made my whole body tremble. During the year she loved me most, she used to look at me that way. That was when I had just turned down the offer from the foreign tech giant to stay and help her build her startup from nothing. To save money, I survived on bread and pickles. Malnourished and overworked from business dinners, I ended up in the hospital with a bleeding stomach ulcer. In my daze, I saw Gina holding my hand, her eyes full of concern, swearing she would never let me suffer again. Now, that look belonged to Lincoln. "Gina, from now on, we're strangers. I wish you and Nathan a lifetime of happiness." Lincoln's eyes filled with tears, looking utterly resolute. As he turned to leave, he suddenly crouched down, clutching his chest. Gina panicked. She dropped to her knees and pulled out medicine she carried with her. "Lincoln, you have asthma. Don't get worked up. Take your medicine." "Stay away from me. I don't want to see you." Lincoln gasped for air, playing the role of the wounded martyr perfectly. He forced himself to stand and left. I instinctively reached out to stop Gina from going after him, trying to explain. "I didn't tell him. I had no idea you were bringing me here to try on an outfit. I would never—" Gina jerked away from me like I was diseased. Her eyes were full of disgust. "Nathan, you couldn't even wait one day? If anything happens to Lincoln, I'll make you wish you were dead." My hand froze in midair. A mocking smile tugged at the corner of my lips. The lover I had shared a bed with for seven years was threatening to make me wish I were dead over Lincoln. I pulled my hand back. Gina went after him without hesitation. Claire hurried forward to manage the situation. "Mr. Harper, Ms. Whitmore spoke in haste. Let me take you to the hospital to get your face treated first." I shook my head and refused. I simply took off the suit I was wearing. Things that did not belong to me looked ridiculous on me anyway. My phone chimed. My resignation had been approved. It seemed Gina truly hated me now. That was fine. I left the bridal shop and went to the office to pick up my files. As I passed by, people sneered. "Did you hear? That guy tried to scam money from Ms. Whitmore and got caught by Mr. Morris. Now he's slinking out of here to resign." "Remember when he used to be Ms. Whitmore's favorite? But the tables have turned. Can't compete with true love, I guess." I had heard these kinds of taunts so many times they no longer affected me. After Lincoln rose to power, he made my life miserable at every turn. He sent back proposals ten times over for revisions. The workplace veterans sensed the shift in power and started dumping their work on me too. I used to fantasize about the day Gina's plan would be over and I could prove everyone wrong. Now, looking back, it seemed so childish. The person in the records room could not wait to get rid of me. They shoved the files into my hands carelessly. As I walked out of the company, I saw that Lincoln had posted something new on social media. Chapter 5 The photo showed their hands tightly clasped together at sunset. The Patek Philippe watch Lincoln had thrown away was back on his wrist. The caption read, "She said love comes without warning. I said I'd never stop hoping she'd feel the same." My finger slipped and I accidentally liked the post. I quickly unliked it. Gina showed no reaction. By the time I got home, it was late. I had not eaten all day, so I made myself a bowl of instant noodles. Halfway through eating, Gina came home. She smelled faintly of alcohol. She had low alcohol tolerance. I used to care about her and never allowed her to attend drinking events. In the past, I would have asked her where she had been drinking and made sure she hydrated and took aspirin. Now, I kept my head down and continued eating without looking up. She kicked off her heels. Her nose twitched and her brow furrowed. "Why didn't you wait for me? Didn't I tell you not to eat this kind of junk at home?" Gina hated the smell of instant noodles. She thought it was cheap and disgusting. Now that I thought about it, what she found disgusting were the years we struggled together. She walked over and accidentally bumped into my bag sitting on top of my suitcase. The documents I needed for going abroad scattered on the floor. She picked up my passport. Her expression shifted slightly, then she suddenly smiled. "Nathan, are you upset? Are you throwing a tantrum about going abroad?" She casually tossed the passport back into my bag without a care. Having made up with Lincoln, she was in a good mood. She pressed down on my shoulders with practiced ease. "I got too into character today and was harsh with you. I apologize. "But we've been planning this trap for a year. We can't let it end so sloppily. "I've already convinced Lincoln to come back, but he'll definitely be on guard for a while. You and Anna just need to wait a bit longer. A month at most. Once I find the right opportunity, I'll humiliate him. "But I know you're anxious, so I can—" From two days to one month. At the end of the day, she just could not let him go. Why bother making up excuses to deceive me? "No need." I cut her off, slurped up the last of my noodles, and wiped my mouth with a napkin. "Let's break up." The moment those words left my mouth, I felt relieved. Gina's hand, which had been massaging my shoulders, froze. I brushed her hand away and stood up to clean up the trash. The alcohol had gone to her head. Her patience for coaxing me ran out, and her expression turned cold. "Nathan, I just went to comfort Lincoln for a bit, and now you want to break up with me? "Or is it because I didn't advance you those three months of salary? Your sister is fine. It's not like she'll die without that money. Why are you throwing a fit at me?" At the mention of my sister, my heart twisted painfully. My eyes turned red, but I had cried all my tears the day Anna died. "Yes. It's because of those three months of salary. "Gina, you can drop tens of millions on a mansion for Lincoln without blinking. Is it really that hard to give me 30 thousand dollars?" At the mention of money, Gina's eyes filled with scorn. She kicked over the trash can. "It’s no wonder you kept saying you didn't want to play this game anymore. Turns out you're just vain. Lincoln was right. You're just like everyone else, trying to get money out of me." I knew Gina grew up in foster care without much. She had an obsession with money. I did not bother defending myself. I just said coldly, "Even though you removed me from my VP position, the amount of work I did didn't decrease at all. You should pay me an equivalent salary. I'm not asking for much. Just give me 70 thousand to make up the difference." Seventy thousand was enough to buy out seven years of feelings and wipe the slate clean. I could use that money to buy Anna a burial plot abroad. Gina's gaze turned ice cold. "Nathan, I've endured humiliation for a year, and it was all for you. To be honest, if you weren't my boyfriend, you never would've been VP in the first place. Once we get married, everything will be yours anyway. Why are you in such a hurry?" Chapter 6 "It's just 70 thousand dollars. I'll give it to you. 70 thousand or seven million, what does it matter?" Gina grabbed her phone and threw it at me. I did not dodge and let it hit my cheekbone. The wound the pin had left earlier that day started bleeding again. Gina's pupils contracted. She moved toward me. Meanwhile, I picked up the phone and transferred 70 thousand dollars to myself. "Thanks." Gina bit her lip, swayed, and collapsed onto the couch, curling into a ball with her brow furrowed. I knew she was sulking, but I did not want to comfort her. I went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, put them away, and wiped down the counter until it was dry. She must have thought I was making her something to help with the hangover. Eyes still closed, she murmured softly. "Not too warm." I smiled bitterly to myself, grabbed my suitcase, and left. It turned out leaving for real was a quiet thing. I did not even make enough noise to wake someone who was tipsy. I found a hotel at random and checked in. Lincoln sent me a video to taunt me. From a security camera angle, Lincoln was drowning his sorrows at a bar. Gina arrived right after and snatched the glass from his hand. Gina was utterly humble. She knelt at his feet, begging him to put on the million-dollar Patek Philippe. "Lincoln, I was wrong. At first, I was messing with you because of Nathan. But you're so upright and kind. You refused to accept anything I gave you. The first time you accepted a gift from me, my first reaction wasn't anger. It was happiness. Maybe I've been in love with you all along." All the delays, all the reassurances, were just excuses for favoritism. Lincoln was smug. "Nathan, don't forget to tuck Gina in. And don't get too upset if she calls out my name in her sleep." In the past, I would have lost my mind over this. Now, I just replied. "Take care of your own girlfriend. The key's under the planter by the door." I turned off my phone and slept soundly. The next day, I arrived early at the airport to meet my future colleagues. Then I got a call from Gina. "Why didn't you come to work today?" I found it odd. Did she not know I had resigned? I was about to speak when she muttered. "I got drunk yesterday. Why did you call Lincoln to take care of me? Does torturing yourself like some jealous fool make you happy? "Today's his birthday, but I won't let him steal the spotlight. I've decided to give you back your VP position first. "Get to the office. I sent Claire to bring Anna from the hospital so she can be there with you. "See? I'm thinking of you. We can do the wedding a bit later. I'll make it worth the wait." I knew her well enough to recognize she was trying to give me an out. For her, this was practically generous. "Gina, we're not married." Gina made a small sound of acknowledgment. Her fingers curled the corner of a document, and her lips curved upward. "I know you want to get the license before the wedding. I can agree to that. Want to go today?" My tone was flat. "So there's no need for a wedding. We broke up a long time ago." There was only silence on the other end. Suddenly, Claire's voice broke through. "Ms. Whitmore, something's wrong. Mr. Harper's sister—" Gina frowned, waving her hand irritably. "Forget about bringing Anna. Cancel the VP appointment ceremony too. He's just throwing a tantrum over the breakup. Like I'm going to keep babying him forever." Claire sounded panicked. "That's not it, Ms. Whitmore. The hospital said that Mr. Harper's sister has already passed away, and he bought a plane ticket abroad."