Which Hand Really Feeds

My CEO husband had always been known to be professional, but he somehow handed over three years of my hard work to his childhood friend, Millie Quess. My eyes were red as I demanded, "I fought for this for over three years. How could you simply appoint her as the marketing manager before me?" Steve held my gaze and sighed. "I will make it up to you. But Millie has yet to establish herself in the company. She needs this more than you do. Also, call me Mr. Lahm—at the office, I'm your boss, not your husband." A stalemate ensued, only for Millie to mess up a ledger. She ran crying to Steve, who, despite his professionalism, ignored the millions of dollars lost and tenderly comforted her. Utterly disappointed, I took the wedding ring off my finger and dropped it on his desk. "That's enough. I'm resigning, effective immediately… As for you, we're getting a divorce." He had no idea that my father was the most powerful mafia Don of Sicily, or that his successes were the result of my business acumen and pulling strings behind the scenes. Once I was gone, all he had now would be reduced to nothing. Chapter 1 I returned to my office, ready to submit my resignation, but Steve followed me inside. He was frowning anxiously, reaching for my hand as he said, "Look, Ellen—we've been together for eight years, and you're not a child. Divorce is no joke, alright? And the company's IPO is approaching. Don't throw away everything you've worked so hard to build." So he knew I'd worked so hard to build this company but decided to hand it over to another woman anyway. My heart was filled with bitterness, and I looked up into his eyes and said, "These are working hours, Mr. Lahm. Don't get touchy with an employee, and you can hand over anything you want to Millie since I won't be following up." He was stunned, and his eyes soon flashed with rage and exasperation. "Why can't you learn for once?!" I sighed—he would always think of me as the unreasonable one. Ignoring him, I clicked into my email app and sent my resignation letter to him and HR. "Can you approve my resignation? I'm sure you're not stopping me because of personal reasons, are you?" I knew he hated mixing personal life with work, which was why he had never told anyone else in the company that we were married because it would set a bad precedent. Whenever I suffered from period cramps, he would only send medicine through his assistant. I thought that was fine, until his childhood friend, Millie Quess, returned after studying abroad and started working at our company. He was always gentle with her, telling everyone that she was his best friend and asking them to support her, even buying champagne towers to celebrate her insignificant achievements. Whenever she made a mistake, he would snap at the company executives to bail her out. And now, he was making me hand over my position as marketing manager to Millie after I had worked three years for it. But this time, I was really sick of it. Refusing to budge, I looked Steve in the eye and said coolly, "Please sign my resignation letter, Mr. Lahm." He scowled as he took the physical copy, his fingers trembling as he shook his head. "Ellen, I'm just—" That was when Millie blinked at me innocently. "Oh, please! Just stop it already—you just want Steve to suck up to you! But where can you go without him?" Steve scowled further. After another long look at me, he suddenly signed the resignation letter and growled, "I've really spoiled you too much all these years, but my patience has limits, Ellen." And with those words, he turned to leave with Millie. I was left staring at the resignation letter and suddenly laughed—he really didn't understand that I was honestly refusing to stay with him. My father was Don Jakos, the most powerful godfather in all of Sicily. And I was his only successor. Eight years ago, no one would know who I was without my last name. It left me wondering if anyone could love me as I was, with my family taken out of the equation. That was why I left the family and traveled alone, penniless and anonymous, to find true love on my own strength. But now, I no longer cared about Steve and decided that it was time to go home. As for the company that I had helped build through my business acumen, I had a feeling it would simply fall apart once I was gone. My father texted me just then. [Finally coming home? Everything will be ready for your return, Principessa.] I replied: [Okay.] Then, I looked up at the photo on my desk. It was a photo of Steve and me at the amusement park when we first started dating. I stood up and picked it up, throwing it into the bin. I wouldn't be seeing him ever again after three days anyway. Chapter 2 I arrived home first in the evening, and I looked around as I packed my bags. I had stayed here for five years—the gray sheep wool carpet, hearth decorated with dried flowers, and warm yellow lights were all furniture I had picked with Steve. But now, just seeing this place that used to bring me warmth only left me in tears. - When I first met Steve, I was working at a bar, where I got harassed by drunkards. He showed up, shielding me firmly behind him. We fell in love, moved into a rundown apartment together, and always read up on economic news, even though we would hear drunkards vomiting and causing problems outside. He had sworn back then that he would give me a home. But even though I had lived in it for a while, the place suddenly felt unfamiliar… That was when Steve returned, pausing when he saw me packing before snapping, "Are you done? You've already caused a mess at the office. Are you really going to keep it up?" I caused a mess? I looked at him silently, tears welling up in my eyes before I knew it. Steve was silent right then. His lips trembled, and he reached for me, intending to hug me and comfort me. However, the scent of lilies clinging to him immediately made me sick—it was Millie's perfume! Shoving him off, I snapped, "Don't touch me!" Steve glared at me furiously right then. "What more do you want?!" he bellowed, slamming a pretty gift box on the desk. "Here's a present, and I'm apologizing! Isn't that enough?!" I was actually surprised—he rarely bought me gifts ever since Millie returned to the country, and we always ended up fighting whenever we met. Out of curiosity, I opened the gift box, but my heart grew cold when I saw what was inside. It was a pair of designer earrings, but I recognized the design, which was one that was always sold as a set with a necklace. And I'd seen one of those necklaces around Millie's neck just today… Steve, however, was standing akimbo as if he should be praised for rewarding me. "Millie said that people your age like this design, and you've never had earrings. Can't you see how kind she is? Why do you have to be so petty?" There was a lump in my throat, and I couldn't breathe a word. We needed money for everything back when we lived together in that rundown apartment, and we ate cheap pizza—luxury was discounted butter cakes for my birthday. But with the business acumen inherited from my family, I worked quick and fast to push our company as a new elite on Wall Street. At the time, Steve had bought me an expensive dress and swore that he would make sure I would never have to buy from thrift shops again. But here he was, making me wear earrings Millie didn't want, which he had bought for Millie in the first place. I stayed silent, and he presumed he had tamed me and headed to the bathroom. I wiped away my tears when I heard the shower turn on, and I called my family lawyer to draft a divorce agreement. The next day, I stopped Steve before he left the house. "I need you to sign this." Steve immediately became uneasy, frowning as he prepared to read what I was handing him. However, that was when his phone rang. He answered the call, and we both heard Millie sobbing loudly. "My period cramps hurt so much, Steve! Can you come pick me up?" In a split second, Steve signed the document without even reading it. Pausing as he looked up at me, he suddenly explained, "I'm just taking care of her. Don't get upset." I nodded and said calmly, "I'm not upset. Just go." Steve was stunned, but he soon smiled. "You've finally learned, Ellen." I simply watched him leave while putting away the divorce papers. 'I'm not learning, Steve. I'm just leaving.' Chapter 3 I arrived at the office to see Steve carefully helping Millie out of the car, and she had his coat over her shoulders. Steve soon noticed me and looked away, explaining unnaturally, "Millie's sick. I'm just—" I stopped and nodded. "What you do with her is none of my business." Steve was ready for me to snap, and my calm reaction left him stumped and rubbing his temples. "Still upset, huh? Fine, let's talk." He strode up, grabbed my wrist, and said mildly, "Stop this nonsense right now. Come back to work, and I will tell HR to void your resignation. You've worked for eight years to build the company. Where else can you go?" "Argh!!!" Before I could refuse, Millie collapsed on him, pale as she gasped in pain, "Steve, I'm hurting…" Steve hesitated, but he soon scooped her up in his arms to take her to the hospital. It was the same thing every time—Millie would always interrupt any moment we were going to make peace. - During lunch, Steve arrived with two cakes, handing one to Millie and putting the other on my desk. I picked up the cake on my desk and put it on Millie's desk too. Surprised, Steve snapped, "What's your problem, Ellen?!" I looked him right in the eyes, speaking slowly and clearly. "Millie is the only one around here who likes mangoes, while I'm allergic to them." Steve was stunned, and he pursed his lips as guilt drowned him. "Sorry, I forgot…" I didn't say a word and calmly ate my salad while continuing to finalize my departure. However, Millie was more bothersome than I thought. "Ellen Jakos! This is the wrong format! "Ellen! The font sizes are all wrong! "Ellen! What if you lose the data?! Write down every client phone number by hand!" Everyone could see that she was deliberately provoking me, but I didn't bend over either. Once I was done with everything, I told her coolly, "Sorry, I'll be gone this time tomorrow, so I won't have to deal with your unreasonable demands." "Steve!!!" Millie promptly burst into tears, but she was also smiling at me maliciously. "It's not Ellen's fault… I asked too much of her, even though I'm doing it for the company's sake!" Steve dashed over right then, shielding her behind himself and snapped at me, "Why do you harass Millie every time?! She's your superior—would the others respect her if you insult her while they watch?! And she's so young. Why do you have to keep hurting her?" Behind him, Millie smirked at me provokingly, while I laughed despite my rage. "Like I said, do whatever you like. I'm gone tomorrow anyway." I turned to leave. "Ellen! You've gone too far!" I heard Steve bellow behind me, but I never looked back. Chapter 4 On my last day, I said goodbye to all my colleagues. However, I was ready to leave when Millie and two bodyguards stopped me. "Hold it," she demanded, not hiding the malice in her eyes. "I suspect that you're stealing company secrets. Hand over your computer to IT—you can only leave after they check it." "I can cooperate, but you're not taking my computer!" I growled. It was eight years' worth of hard work, and I wasn't about to let it fall into the hands of anyone else! "But you have the latest market research data in it, don't you?" Millie smirked. I was flabbergasted. I had sent it to my father as proof of my caliber and to no one else. However, Steve knew my computer's password. And while I was stunned, Millie clapped her hands, and the bodyguards promptly grabbed me. Millie leered at me haughtily with bare-naked malice and scoffed. "In that case, I shall check it myself." I struggled, but the bodyguards held me with a vice-like grip. Some of the colleagues were upset and spoke up. "You're out of line, Ms. Quess!" "It's private property, and you have no reason to invade Ms. Jakos' privacy!" "Exactly! She gathered the data herself—why should she hand them over to you?!" Their criticism upset Millie, and she snapped at her cronies, "Quit spacing out and bring her computer over! What, are you going to take responsibility for company losses?!" Then, turning to the upset colleagues, she pointed at them and retorted, "If I hear another word from any of you, you're leaving with Ellen Jakos!" Everyone promptly turned away, pretending to work, while Millie smiled gleefully at me even as she glared angrily. Typing in Steve's birthday and unlocking my computer, she scrolled through it and snorted. "Boring. There's nothing here at all." "Then give it back!" I kept snapping. Millie smiled as she held it out, but I couldn't move with her bodyguards restraining me. Bang! With that, she dropped it loudly, and then shoved her stiletto to crush the screen. "Oh, what a pity. But it's your fault for not catching it…. But it's fine, since we don't have to worry about you stealing our stuff." All my colleagues gasped, and seeing all my hard work destroyed, I mustered strength out of nowhere and freed myself from Millie's bodyguards. But before I could reach her, I felt another hand catching my wrist. It was Steve. Seeing him, Millie promptly burst into tears. "I was just checking to see if she was taking away sensitive data! But she dropped it herself, and she's blaming me!" I stayed silent, because I knew Steve wouldn't listen to a word I said as long as Millie was around—he would always side with her. And to no surprise, he glared at me. "It doesn't matter what happened—Millie did this with the best intentions. Hand over all company data and apologize to her, then this will be over." I found it ridiculous how Steve was siding with her even now. Though Millie was smiling smugly at me, I smiled too. That somehow left Steve flustered, and he moved closer to whisper, "Please just give it a rest already. Millie just needs to establish herself in the company, okay? Let's go on a vacation when it's over, alright? It's our fifth anniversary soon, and I've even prepared—" I simply shook my head and started to walk away, and I avoided him when he reached for my wrist. "We're divorced, Steve. I dumped you."