When I Quit, My Ungrateful Wife Regretted It

The Grand Bay Bridge project was the talk of the nation.

And my wife was letting the new summer intern swap out high-grade explosives for blue fireworks.

I tried to stop it, but the intern just shoved a termination letter in my face.

Who the hell are you to question me? Just some grunt, he sneered. "Do you have any idea who my girlfriend is?"

With a flick of his lighter, he set fire to the bridge blueprintsthree years of my life's work.

"Blue fireworks are just the start," he bragged. "When this bridge is finished, it's gonna have my name on it!"

My eyes locked onto his left hand, onto the ring he wore on his fourth finger. It was my wedding ring, the one that had vanished without a trace three months ago.

I just smiled and calmly pulled out my phone to call the National Bridge Authority.

"I hear the Grand Bay project has been handed over to a private contractor," I said into the phone. "In that case, you can count me out."

After hanging up, I looked up just in time to see Derek tossing the rest of the architectural plans out the window. He casually lit a cigarette, his eyes raking over me with pure contempt.

"You could call God Almighty himself," he said, blowing smoke in my direction. "You're still getting thrown out of here today."

I watched the papers, my life's work, flutter down into the water below, the ink bleeding as they became useless pulp. My fists clenched. I lunged forward and grabbed him by the collar.

"Do you have any idea what you just threw away? You couldn't pay for that with a hundred lifetimes!"

Before I could do anything else, security guards had me by the arms, hauling me out and dumping me on the floor outside the conference room.

Derek strolled out and flicked his cigarette ash onto my face, his laughter loud and arrogant. "It's just a few pieces of paper. Only a nobody like you would get so worked up."

"I'm the director in charge, hand-picked by Ms. Stone herself. If you know what's good for you, you'll get the hell out of my sight."

His words sent the rest of the team in the conference room into a fit of laughter.

"Derek is a top graduate from a prestigious university. A few blueprints? He could whip those up in his sleep."

"Yeah, and he's Karina Stone's future husband! He's the boss's man. Firing a barking dog like you is nothing!"

Ignoring the sharp pain in my knees, I stared up at the smug face of Derek and spoke, each word deliberate. "Karina's husband?"

"I dare you to have her come here and say that to my face."

I couldn't believe it. The woman who had slept in my bed last night, the woman who had promised we would go public with our secret marriage as soon as the Grand Bay project was officially underway... was now Derek's fiance?

Derek deliberately flashed the ring on his finger, a triumphant smirk on his face.

My eyes widened.

Because the ring on his hand was the one I had custom-designed for my proposal. There wasn't another one like it in the world.

But my ring had gone missing three months ago. At the time, Karina had comforted me, suggesting I might have left it somewhere at my desk during a late night of work. I had searched every inch of my workspace, over and over, but found nothing.

Now I understood.

The ring, along with her heart, had been given to another man. How could I ever have found it?

Dereks cold sneer came from above. "Who do you think you are? You think my girl would waste her time coming down here for you?"

"But hey, if you want to keep your job, I'll give you a chance. Get on your knees, bow three times, and swear you'll never question my decisions again. Then, maybe I'll let you stay."

I remained standing, my gaze sweeping over the sycophants standing behind him.

"The blasting work on the cliffside is no joke. Every ounce of explosive was precisely calculated. Making last-minute changes, let alone using blue fireworks, could jeopardize a national project. Are any of you prepared to take responsibility for that?"

My question silenced the room. Only Derek remained unfazed, scoffing.

"Alex, cut the crap. You're just trying to scare everyone."

"You're just jealous Karina gave me this project, so you're trying to drag my name through the mud."

"Don't forget, I'm her man. Even if something goes wrong, she'll have my back!"

Just then, the office door swung open.

Karina Stone stood in the doorway.

The moment Derek saw her, he immediately put on a victim act.

"Karina, you're finally here! Alex is publicly questioning my plans! He even threatened to have me kicked off the project."

Karinas cold gaze fell on me, her voice devoid of any warmth. "Alex, who gave you the authority to fire my people?"

I tried to explain. "First of all, I didn't try to fire him. He tried to fire me. And second, his material budget is completely unreasonable."

"Karina," I pressed, "are you really going to let your boy-toy turn this into a death trap that will endanger innocent people?"

The words were barely out of my mouth when her hand swung through the air. The sharp crack of her palm against my cheek echoed in the room, leaving a stinging, red imprint.

"A filthy mind sees filth everywhere," she hissed.

"Derek is a top architectural graduate from Yale. He's a genius I personally recruited at great expense. How could there possibly be a problem with his plans?"

"You, on the other hand, are spreading malicious rumors out of sheer jealousy. You owe Derek an apology. Now."

I poked the inside of my cheek with my tongue, a bitter taste flooding my mouth. I couldn't remember the last time Karina had defended me so fiercely.

A top graduate from Yale? Funny. As a visiting professor at Yales School of Architecture, I had never once heard the name Derek.

She had no idea.

The only reason her company, Stone Construction, was even the primary contractor for the Grand Bay Bridge was as a favor to me. The board wanted me on the project, and this was the easiest way to do it.

Shed used my influence to get ahead, and now she was ready to kick me to the curb?

Before I could process it all, Karina had walked over to Derek, her voice soft and doting. "Don't you worry. As long as I'm here, no one gets to question your talent."

Derek put on a deeply wounded expression. "Karina, maybe it's better if we just let Alex take over the project. After all this slander, how am I supposed to build a career in this industry?"

His words only made Karina more protective, and her glare at me intensified. "Alex, if you want to stay at this company, you will apologize to Derek this instant!"

"Otherwise, pack your things and get out!"

Seeing how fiercely Karina was defending Derek, the other employees didn't hesitate to start kissing up to him.

"Ms. Stone, you have no idea. Alex has been throwing his weight around for weeks, acting like he owns the place just because you two are close!"

"Exactly! Derek earned his position with real skill, unlike some people who just like to ride on others' coattails."

Listening to their accusations, Karina's expression grew even colder. "Alex, you're completely out of control! You helped me with one small project, and suddenly you think you can walk all over the experts I hire?"

"If I let you keep this up, you'll run my company into the ground!"

Her eyes narrowed. "From this moment on, you are no longer the chief engineer of this project. You're Derek's assistant. You will report directly to him and follow his orders, and his alone."

I looked at the woman I had spent the last five years of my life with and let out a bitter laugh.

To help her company gain a foothold in the industry, I had turned down countless offers from top firms, both domestic and international. I'd even pulled strings with my family to help her land this massive, high-profile bridge project.

And what did I get in return?

My beloved wife was sleeping with some two-bit intern who had appeared out of nowhere. She'd even given him our wedding ring.

Karina was now whispering intimately with Derek, her eyes filled with admiration and affection. Every so often, Derek would shoot a triumphant glance my way.

Noticing I was still standing there, motionless, Karinas tenderness vanished, replaced by sharp impatience. "Well, Assistant Ryder? Are you just going to stand there? Apologize to Director Collins!"

In that moment, something inside me died.

I met her gaze, my voice flat and steady. "Karina. Let's get a divorce."

Karina froze for a second.

Then, a strange, unreadable emotion flickered in her eyes. "Alex, are you sure about this? You're the one asking for it. I'm not forcing you."

I immediately understood the implication. Shed wanted this all along. She was just waiting for me to be the one to say it. No wonder she'd been so brazenly favoring Derek.

A self-mocking smile touched my lips. "I'm sure."

The next second, she strode into her office and returned with a file, which she tossed onto the table in front of me. "In that case, sign it."

I opened it. Just as I suspected, it was a divorce agreement, already drafted and waiting. Her signature was already at the bottom in neat, confident script.

As I read through the terms, my brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

"Karina, you want me to walk away with nothing?"

She looked at me as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "That's right. You leave with nothing. Alex, those were your own words, on our wedding day."

"Since you seem to have forgotten, allow me to refresh your memory."

She turned on the projector, and a short video played on the wall. There I was, in my wedding tuxedo, holding a bouquet, my face beaming with pure happiness.

A voice from off-camera asked, "Alex, what if one day you do something to hurt Karina, or what if you're the one who asks for a divorce?"

My voice in the video was firm, unwavering. "That will never, ever happen."

"Come on, all men say that!" the voice teased. "You have to make a real promise, on camera!"

I turned to look at Karina, radiant in her white dress, a vision of perfection. Tears of joy were glistening in my eyes.

"If that day ever comes," I declared, "I will walk away with nothing but the clothes on my back."

"Karina Stone, I love you. I will only ever love you."

The video ended, freezing on that final frame.

Karina tapped a manicured finger on the conference table, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "Alex, you're not going to deny something you said yourself, on camera, are you?"

I stared at the frozen image on the wall. The two of us, gazing at each other, with nothing but love in our eyes. But in the room, the real her stood beside another man, backing me into a corner.

When that video was made, I truly believed Karina and I would grow old together.

It turns out, what I thought was a lifetime was only five short years.

The other employees now looked at me with a mixture of pity and scorn. Derek, on the other hand, could barely contain the greedy excitement in his eyes.

"Karina." My voice was eerily calm now. "As you wish. I'll leave with nothing."

"And one more thing. I'm officially withdrawing from the Grand Bay Bridge project."

After signing the papers, I turned to leave, desperate to escape the suffocating atmosphere of that room.

"Stop."

Karina's sharp voice cut through the air.

I paused but didn't turn around.

"Alex, the project has already started. You can't just walk away whenever you feel like it. The personnel list has already been filed with the National Bridge Authority. If you go out there spreading lies and slandering me and Derek, who's going to take responsibility for the fallout?"

"What do you want?"

"You can leave, but only after the NBA officially approves your withdrawal. Until then, you will stay here and do your job as Derek's assistant."

I whipped around, my eyes wide with disbelief.

Taking everything I owned wasn't enough? She wanted me to stay and endure Derek's daily humiliation too?

Derek gave me a malicious, triumphant smile. "Well then, Assistant Ryder. I look forward to working with you."