My Wife Gave My Job to Her First Love, So I Let Her Go Bankrupt

Our company was about to go public. To promote her first love, my wife handed over all the client accounts I had spent months securing to him. Instead of getting angry, I smiled and generously handed him my title of Sales Director too. "What's a few client accounts? With your 'talent,' you deserve to be the Sales Director!" Instantly, my colleagues thought I had lost my mind. But none of them knew that I was the real power behind this company. Without me, the company's products wouldn't sell a single unit. My wife was about to lose everything and ruin herself forever. "Julian, you're the absolute hero behind our company's IPO today!" "Let's all raise a glass to Julian!" My wife, Chloe, raised her glass, looking at Julian with adoration in her eyes. Julian wrapped his arm around Chloe's waist, whispering softly, "Chloe, the accounts don't matter. As long as I can help you, that's all that counts." The colleagues below chimed in immediately. "With Julian on board, our company is going straight to the top." "Honestly, Chloe and Julian look so much better together. With them leading us, we'll be unstoppable." Watching the lively scene, I let out a soft laugh and rubbed my tired, dark-circled eyes. Today was the day the company went public. To make sure I was "well-rested" for the IPO gala, my wife had urged me to sleep early last night. She even spiked my warm milk with sleeping pills. I had trusted Chloe completely. I woke up late, rushed over, and only just realized that she had credited all my hard work to her golden boy ex, Julian. Everything clicked. She "cared" about my rest only to keep me away from the gala, giving her the perfect chance to hand my achievements to her first love. Julian's eyes swept across the entrance. Spotting me, he feigned shock. "Oh, Ethan! You're finally here?" "We tried calling you but couldn't get through, so we had to start without you. I'm so sorry, man." As he spoke, he pulled Chloe closer, throwing a smug, mocking look my way. Chloe looked at me, her face twisting with disgust as she snapped coldly: "Ethan, what's with that look on your face? How could you be late to the most important day in our company's history? Did you expect everyone to wait for you?" "Your incompetence delayed our biggest merger by an entire month. You almost ruined the IPO." "Unlike Julian. He joined us and immediately saved the deal, securing our launch ahead of schedule. He's our lucky charm." Chloe paused, then continued in an icy tone: "Ethan, hand over all your major distributor contacts to Julian. Since you clearly can't handle the pressure, you'll be assisting him from now on." Hearing my wife's freezing-cold words, I felt the blood in my veins turn to ice. Incompetent? Work errors? That delay was entirely Julian's fault. He had offended the investors within five minutes of meeting them and then blamed me for it. Chloe blindly believed him, refusing to hear my side of the story and constantly attacking me. To save that contract, I had worked eighty-hour weeks, flown across the country back-to-back, and gotten severe stomach ulcers before the client finally signed. Yet Julian had only accompanied my wife on a couple of business trips and effortlessly stole all credit for my blood, sweat, and tears. I shook my head in utter disappointment. Ten years of marriage, and I still couldn't compete with the ex who had dumped her years ago. At this point, she had completely drained the last drop of affection I had left for her. I nodded numbly, my voice flat. "Fine. Whatever you say." A flash of triumph crossed Julian's eyes, though he still put on a fake, polite display. "Chloe, let's not do that. Ethan is a veteran here. I still have so much to learn from him." "I only wanted to pitch in because you mentioned the company was struggling before the IPO. I just wanted to help." Chloe looked at him tenderly, her voice filled with admiration. "Julian, you were a Sales Director at a Fortune 500 company. You even secured our biggest contract with Apex Corporation! You're more than qualified!" I almost burst out laughing. Julian was just a low-level, no-name employee at that Fortune 500 company, and he had been fired from there. The Apex Corporation deal was entirely my doing. Julian had simply swooped in at the last minute and taken the credit. Only Chloe treated him like a prize, swallowing his lies hook, line, and sinker, genuinely believing he was some corporate hotshot. Noticing my smirk, Chloe frowned in irritation. "Ethan, what are you laughing at? Have you forgotten who you are?" "With your pathetic pace, it takes months to close a single deal. If it weren't for me, you would never even be Sales Director." My eyes filled with cold disappointment. Chloe seemed to have forgotten how this company started with nothing. I was the one who worked day and night, building it brick by brick. Now that the company was thriving, she treated me like a useless burden. As Chloe kept nagging, I locked eyes with Julian and walked straight toward him. Instantly, every eye in the room turned to us, eager for the drama. Chloe was trying to ruin my career. They expected me to throw a punch or start a massive fight. Instead, I stood in front of Julian with a calm smile. I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out my Sales Director badge. Julian flinched, his body tensing as he raised his hands, thinking I was going to hit him. I simply tossed the badge right in front of him and gave a mocking smile. "What's a few client accounts? With your 'talent,' you deserve to be the Sales Director!"The colleagues in the room stared in stunned silence. They all knew how hard I had worked. I used to stay out until 3 AM closing deals for this company. Without me, the company would have gone under years ago. Julian quickly snatched the badge off the floor, unable to hide his excitement. Chloe's face darkened, and she snapped displeasedly, "Ethan, what is the meaning of this?" "I gave you a little criticism, and now you're throwing a tantrum?" I smiled faintly. "Chloe, I just handed Julian the opportunity of a lifetime. You should be thrilled." "Isn't having your golden boy replace me exactly what you wanted?" Clutching the badge tightly, Julian pretended to be the bigger person. "Ethan, don't let your emotions get the better of you. You shouldn't just give up your position!" "Chloe only did this for the sake of the company. Please don't take it personally." "I'm just the new guy. I still need to learn from you. Why don't you take the badge back?" He said that, but his fingers were practically white from gripping the badge so hard. I smiled warmly and pressed the badge firmly against his chest. "Why would I be angry? You're a Fortune 500 Sales Director. Having you here is the best thing that ever happened to this company!" My wife glanced at me with a suspicious frown, then let out a cold snort, satisfied. "Keep it, Julian. You have the talent. Only you can take this company to the next level." "Since everyone is here, consider this official." Julian thanked me repeatedly, but I could see the smug, mocking triumph in his eyes. I laughed inwardly. All our major clients had only signed with us because of my family's reputation. Now that I had handed my position to Julian, I was effectively no longer a part of this company. They reservation details would be pulled immediately. Julian was still gloating, thinking he had hit the jackpot. Little did he know, my departure would cause the entire company to collapse overnight. Seeing my silence, Chloe spoke to me as if she were handing down charity. "Alright, Ethan. I'm not actually firing you." "There's an open position in the warehouse. You can manage that. Lose the attitude." Looking at her acting like she was doing me a favor, I nearly laughed out loud. Julian chimed in, fake-sympathetic. "Don't worry, Ethan. I'll take good care of you." As Julian smiled his fake smile, several brown-nosed colleagues began cheering, raising their glasses to toast him. Chloe praised Julian's drive and glared at me. "Ethan, go pour Julian a drink." Julian handed me his half-empty glass. "Ethan, don't mind that I already drank from it. We're partners now. Let's work together." His eyes practically beamed with arrogance. I took the glass and immediately let go, letting it shatter right at his feet. The wine soaked his expensive pants. "Oops. My hand slipped. Are you okay?" Julian jumped back in panic. That was his custom-tailored suit. Stunned for a second, Chloe rushed to wipe Julian down while screaming at me, "Ethan, are you insane?!" "Julian was trying to help you! Are you taking your own incompetence out on him?!" I smirked at Chloe. "Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?" Chloe's face turned beet red with rage. I turned on my heel and walked out, leaving her seething. Once I cleared the gala doors, I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. "Dad, I'm ready. I'll take over the family business."As soon as I stepped outside, a cold, drizzling rain began to fall. I waited in the lobby for my driver to pick me up. Staring at the rain, my mind drifted back to the first time I met Chloe. It was a misty night. I was walking past a park and saw her dancing beautifully under the dim streetlights. I stopped and stared. In that exact moment, I learned what love at first sight meant. When the dance ended, she noticed me. Thinking I was just a struggling, unemployed young guy, she approached me with a warm smile. "As long as our hearts are beating, we can always dance through the rain." Her sweet words completely captured my heart. From then on, we talked every day, and my feelings grew deeper. I soon learned that she absolutely detested the wealthy. When she was a child, her younger brother had been killed on a crosswalk by a speeding luxury sports car. The rich driver got away with a slap on the wrist, paying a tiny settlement to make the problem go away. To be with her, I hid my billionaire background, turning down my family's massive business empire. But before me, Julian had already held her heart. He was her golden boy, the one she loved unconditionally. Later, I found out Julian had dumped her the second he got a scholarship to study abroad, deciding she wasn't high-class enough for his new life. Chloe was devastated, and it was only with my constant support that she finally picked up the pieces of her life. Eventually, I poured all my personal savings into starting a business with her from scratch. As the company grew, marrying her seemed like the natural next step. But a few months ago, Julian returned. Since then, Chloe started staying out all night. She even brought him into our company, completely ignoring my protests. It was hilarious how easily she forgave the man who had shattered her heart. What a joke. "Ethan, you sounded pretty tough back there." "But look at you now, standing here like a stray dog in the rain." I turned around. It was Chloe, flanked by Julian and a crowd of our colleagues. Right then, a limited-edition Maybach pulled up to the lobby entrance. Julian tugged Chloe's sleeve, pretending to be helpful. "Look, Ethan must have realized he was wrong. He probably ordered a luxury ride so you wouldn't get wet in the rain, Chloe." "He's probably just too proud to admit it, so he's waiting here for us." Julian took a few steps closer and sneered, "You can sit in the front seat, Ethan. Chloe and I will take the back." Chloe raised an eyebrow arrogantly. "Fine, Ethan. Since you went to all this trouble, I guess I can forgive you." She stood there, waiting for me to open the car door for her. I walked right past them, climbed into the back seat, and rolled down the window. "Stop flattering yourself, Chloe."The Maybach's engine roared as it sped away into the rainy night, leaving Chloe's hysterical screams echoing behind us. "Take me to my apartment first. I need to pack my things," I told my chauffeur. I had barely sat down at the apartment when the front door was kicked open. Chloe stormed in, pointing a finger directly at my face. "Ethan, what the hell is wrong with you?!" "You humiliated Julian in front of the entire company!" "Then you took off in that car and left me standing there! Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was?!" Julian stood behind her, acting like the peacemaker. "Ethan, you crossed the line today. Is this about Chloe and me? Are you upset because I took the Sales Director role?" "If my presence is ruining your marriage, I should probably just leave." I stared at his pathetic acting and let out a cold laugh. Chloe gently grabbed Julian's hand. "Julian, this has absolutely nothing to do with you." She turned back to me, her voice dripping with venom. "Ethan, you've gone too far today. Apologize to Julian right now." "Otherwise, we are getting a divorce!" I blinked. Did she just offer me the best gift ever? I was literally trying to figure out how to bring up divorce, and here she was delivering it on a silver platter. Seeing my silence, Chloe assumed she had won. This wasn't the first time she had threatened divorce. In the past, I would always beg for her forgiveness. I guess she thought she could always walk all over me. She said smugly, "Since you know you're wrong, hurry up and apologize to Julian—" "I agree. Let's divorce," I interrupted. Chloe froze, completely dumbfounded. A smirk played at the corner of Julian's mouth. "Ethan, no matter how angry you are, you shouldn't throw the word 'divorce' around so easily." I didn't waste any time. I grabbed the pre-prepared divorce papers from my desk and threw them onto the coffee table. "Sign it, Chloe. I'm leaving with nothing. Just sign." Chloe stared in shock, but her pride took over. She grabbed a pen, furiously scribbled her name, and yelled: "Fine! You think you're so tough, Ethan?" "Just because Julian cares about this company, you throw this childish tantrum to push him out? Let's see how long you survive without a single penny! I'll be waiting for you to crawl back and beg me!" Julian stared at the signed papers with pure joy, though he quickly masked it. "Chloe, calm down. Ethan is just acting out of anger." He turned to me with a mock-concerned look. "Ethan, you should think about your future. Now that you've left Chloe's company, who else would hire you?" "The only reason you were ever a Sales Director was because Chloe was protecting you." I knew exactly what he was doing—trying to make me look completely useless. He wanted to convince Chloe that I was a parasite who contributed nothing. But I knew the truth. Without me, our clients wouldn't spare this company a single glance. It was as good as dead. I let out a dry laugh. "I built this company. The company didn't build me." Chloe sneered, her disgust deepening. "You're pathetic, Ethan. You truly disappoint me." "Now that Julian has taken over your accounts, our clients are still cooperating with us perfectly. You aren't special." Julian smirked. "Ethan, I know I'm not as experienced as you, but I can handle a few clients. It's really not that hard." "But if you ever regret your decision, you can always come back and handle the minor accounts. We are a public company now, after all." Chloe snorted. "Don't waste your breath on him, Julian. He's all talk." Ring, ring... Chloe's phone rang. Her smug expression grew even more pronounced. "See? A call from a major shareholder. It must be another massive client wanting to partner with us." She picked up and hit the speakerphone, eager to let me hear her "victory." "Chloe! What the hell did you do?! Get back to the office right now!" "Our clients are pulling out one by one! We have over eighty million dollars worth of inventory sitting in the warehouse, and nobody wants it!"