When He Demoted Me, I Left With His Baby

To appease his assistant Yvonne, my husband Sebastian demoted me to cleaning toilets.

From that day on, I avoided him completely.

When he woke up in the morning, I no longer helped him with his tie.

When he worked late into the night, I no longer prepared his reports.

Even when I caught him leaving a love hotel with Yvonne, I didn't say a word.

I just quietly left.

One day, Sebastian swallowed his pride and came to find me, watching as I knelt on the floor scraping off chewing gum.

"River, you don't actually have to degrade yourself like this. Putting you on janitorial duty was just for show. Once Yvonne calms down, I'll move you back to your VP position."

I braced myself on my aching legs and stood up, carrying the dirty water bucket in silence.

Today marked the thousandth day I'd spent chasing after Sebastian, and it would be my last.

He had no idea I'd already accepted a job offer worth millions a year.

Seeing my silence, Sebastian pressed his lips together tightly.

He seemed to be trying to pacify a sulking childgiving a slap followed by candy, thinking everything could just be smoothed over.

"It's your birthday today, so stop being mad at me. I've prepared a surprise for you tonight."

In seven years together, Sebastian had never once remembered my birthday.

Every time I bought a cake, he would look surprised and ask what special occasion it was.

But Yvonne had only been working here for two weeks, and Sebastian could clearly remember her cycle, her birthday, and exactly how many days she'd been on staff.

Now that I'd stopped loving him, he suddenly cared.

Sebastian raised his hand to pat my head, but when he heard a cough, he pulled his hand back in panic.

Yvonne walked up to me, pulled out a bottle of alcohol spray from her bag with disgust, and sprayed it right in my face.

"River, you work in sanitation now. You're absolutely filthy."

"Mr. Harrison is a gentleman. Please disinfect yourself before getting close to him."

She moved too quickly for me to dodge.

The alcohol spray got in my eyes, and the pain made me instinctively rub them.

The water bucket fell to the ground with a crash, accompanied by Yvonne's hysterical screaming.

"Call security to disinfect this area! The dirty water splashed on Mr. Harrison's pants. What if he gets infected and falls ill?"

Sebastian smiled indulgently and teased Yvonne.

"I'm not as delicate as you."

Yvonne pouted in protest, standing on her tiptoes to cup Sebastian's face.

"Who says I'm delicate? Last time you ate spicy noodles and got gastroenteritis, I was the one who carried you to the hospital."

The two of them flirted, completely oblivious to the fact that I'd been tripped by the water bucket.

I sat slumped in the cold, dirty water, remembering the slap I'd given Yvonne.

That day, I'd helped Sebastian secure an international contract. He'd gotten a stomachache from drinking.

I went to the nearest pharmacy to buy medicine. When I rushed back to the restaurant with the medication, gasping for breath, he was already gone.

The news had just reported that a murderer was on the loose in that area.

I panicked and called the police, crying as I searched every street for Sebastian, but I couldn't find him anywhere.

Until the hospital called me.

I ran to the hospital, thinking that if something had really happened to Sebastian, I would die with him.

But when I pushed open the hospital room door, I saw Sebastian holding Yvonne and comforting her.

Yvonne was crying her eyes out, blaming herself for taking Sebastian to eat spicy noodles.

I lost my mind and slapped Yvonne hard across the face.

Sebastian's expression turned frighteningly cold. He immediately contacted HR to transfer me to janitorial services.

At that moment, I demanded like a madwoman whether Sebastian had fallen for someone else.

He was too busy comforting Yvonne to answer.

But I already knew the answer.

Security guards arrived carrying high-concentration disinfectant sprayers on their backs.

Under Yvonne's direction, they aimed the nozzles directly at me.

Sebastian frowned and grabbed Yvonne's hand.

"River is allergic to disinfectant. Just have them spray the floor."

Yvonne blinked playfully.

"Don't worry, I'm using all-natural, non-irritating disinfectant."

"Even if River accidentally gets some on her, she won't have an allergic reaction."

She pressed the switch, and a stream of liquid reeking of disinfectant soaked my collar.

"See? Nothing happened."

Sebastian glanced at me, confirming there was no rash on my neck, then affectionately tapped Yvonne's forehead.

"Clever girl."

I swayed as I stood up, struggling to suppress the urge to scratch my skin raw to stop the itching.

From an angle Sebastian couldn't see, Yvonne smugly made a face at me.

She was certain I wouldn't ask Sebastian for helpor rather, she firmly believed that even if Sebastian knew, he would choose to stand by her side.

After all, last time, Yvonne had accidentally shredded an important data file.

She'd cried and thrown herself into Sebastian's arms, saying I'd told her to do it.

All the employees glared at me with resentment, watching months of their hard work go down the drain.

I couldn't defend myself. I asked Sebastian to check the security footage to prove my innocence.

Instead, he covered Yvonne's ears and called me an idiot who couldn't even keep data safe.

The smell of disinfectant stung my nerves. My throat felt like an invisible hand was choking it, leaving me unable to breathe.

I placed my hand over my belly, praying the baby inside would hang on a little longer.

Sebastian didn't notice anything wrong with me.

But when Yvonne started coughing from the fumes, he quickly led her away.

The security guards watched them leave, then leered at my partially visible clothes.

"Sleep with Mr. Harrison a few times and you think you can be the boss's wife? You're just a used shoe he kicked aside."

"Ms. Sullivan specifically instructed us that you smell like a vixen and need to be thoroughly washed with disinfectant!"

Seeing their malicious expressions, I backed away cautiously.

"What are you trying to do?"

They roughly dragged me toward the stairwell, tearing my clothes.

My lower abdomen felt like hands were viciously twisting inside, filling me with dread.

I bit down hard on the ear of the person closest to me and struggled desperately to break free.

"Ah! You bitch, let go!"

My cheek stung with searing pain as someone kicked me down hard.

I didn't care about the pain and crawled toward the exit using both hands and feet.

"Help! Someone's trying to rape me!"

My screams echoed through the stairwell, loud enough to hurt eardrums.

Seeing things spiral out of control, the guards cursed and kicked me a few more times before fleeing in panic.

I endured the sharp pain in my lower back and slowly climbed up from the floor.

Before I could catch my breath, someone grabbed my wrist forcefully.

Thinking the guards had returned, I reflexively shook off their hand.

"Get away!"

A cold laugh came from above my head.

I looked up to meet Sebastian's icy gaze.

"River, I never thought you could do something so vicious."

I frowned in confusion. Before I could ask, Sebastian dragged me quickly toward the elevator.

Yvonne's aggrieved sobbing came from the executive office.

Sebastian threw me against the wall and pointed at the bloody dead rat in the coffee machine, roaring.

"Stop playing dumb! Apologize to Yvonne right now."

The rat's eyes bulged grotesquely.

When I saw the blood, my head started spinning.

After my parents died, the community sent me to an orphanage.

The girl in the bed across from mine wanted the hairpin in my hair.

It was the only thing my parents had left me. I refused to give it to her no matter what.

She got some thugs from outside to threaten me, saying if I didn't give it to her, they'd kill me.

I trembled with fear, clutching the hairpin tightly to my chest.

Furious, they lunged at me with a knife. Sebastian rushed out and took the blow for me.

Warm blood stained my dress, just like when my parents shielded me during the explosion, coughing up blood.

I screamed and collapsed on top of Sebastian, passing out.

After that, I developed severe hemophobia.

I slid weakly down the wall, images of my parents lying in pools of blood flooding my mind.

"It's all my fault... I shouldn't have wanted to go to the amusement park..."

Sebastian noticed something was wrong and rushed to my side in panic.

But when Yvonne cried out in pain, he immediately returned to her, holding her and gently patting her back.

"Sebastian, I'm scared..."

"Why is River deliberately trying to scare me? Does she resent me for taking her position?"

Yvonne pulled off her work badge, tears streaming down her face pitifully.

"I'll give you back the position by your side. I won't compete with her anymore..."

Sebastian tenderly wiped away Yvonne's tears, his eyes looking like he wanted to tear me to pieces.

He roared at me.

"River Hayes, apologize to Yvonne right now."

I curled up in the corner, forcing out a smile that looked worse than crying.

Sebastian really didn't believe me. His heart had truly shifted to Yvonne's side.

My nails dug painfully into my palm as I closed my eyes in despair.

I'd said I would let go. I'd sworn not to love Sebastian anymore, not to shed another tear for him.

But why couldn't I stop the tears from flowing?

Sebastian's patience ran out. He roughly grabbed my wrist, squeezing so hard it felt like he'd crush my bones.

He dragged me to Yvonne's feet and pulled out a property deed from the drawer, throwing it in my face.

"I bought back your parents' house at a high price. I was planning to give it to you as a birthday gift."

"But since you refuse to apologize to Yvonne, I guess there's no need for that."

Sebastian lifted his foot and stepped on the deed.

The clean document got dirty footprints on it. My breathing stopped as I lunged forward to protect the deed.

"I'm willing to buy it back at equal value! You promised me that when we made money, you'd help me get my parents' house back."

"Sebastian, I want you to keep that promise right now!"

Sebastian froze for a second. Yvonne seized the opportunity to snatch the deed from my arms.

The crisp sound of tearing filled the air as the deed became a pile of scraps.

Yvonne's eyes were red as she vindictively scattered the pieces out the window.

The taut string in my brain snapped. I stared blankly at the paper scraps dancing in the air.

Sebastian rubbed his temples wearily and was about to scold her, but he looked into Yvonne's moist doe eyes.

He couldn't bring himself to blame her and looked at me in compromise.

"You put a dead rat in the coffee machine to scare her, and she tore up your house deed. Consider it even."

Tears streamed down my face as I laughed bitterly.

Sebastian thought Yvonne had only torn up a deed.

No. She hadn't just torn up a deed. She'd torn up Sebastian's promise to me and the last bit of feeling I had for him.

A metallic taste rose in my throat. I said very, very softly.

"Sebastian, I don't love you anymore."

He stepped closer and leaned down.

"What did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly."

Seeing Sebastian's attention drawn back to me, Yvonne clutched her chest and whined that it hurt.

"I'm still dizzy. How am I supposed to receive our important guest later?"

A malicious smile played at the corners of her mouth, as if disaster was about to befall me.

The next second, someone knocked on the office door.

"Mr. Harrison, Ms. Linda has arrived in the VIP room."

A chill ran down my spine. When I heard the visitor's name, I couldn't help trembling.

Linda was the only daughter of the company's largest partner and Sebastian's most obsessive pursuer.

Every time she visited, she'd have her wolfhound sniff Sebastian to track down any woman who'd been near him.

Once, she had the dog bite off the leg of a female employee who'd run into Sebastian in the break room.

Sebastian still needed her father's influence, so he could only swallow his anger.

To keep me safe, whenever Linda visited, he'd give me the day off to stay home.

The click-clack of high heels approached. The glass door reflected the shadow of a woman and a dog.

The office rest room could only fit one person.

Sebastian looked between me and Yvonne hesitantly, unable to choose.

Yvonne suddenly gasped for air and collapsed weakly into Sebastian's arms.

"Mr. Harrison, let me receive the guest."

"I'm your assistant now. Even if the wolfhound tears me to pieces, that's my duty."

Sharp pain shot through my lower abdomen. I clutched the desk, my phone clattering to the floor.

The screen lit up, showing my wallpapera photo of Sebastian and me smiling while hugging a Samoyed.

Sebastian's eyes lit up as he gripped my shoulders tightly.

"River, didn't we used to have a dog?"

"The dog always liked you better. Maybe Linda's dog will like you too."

My pupils constricted. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Wolfhounds were extremely aggressive. Our Samoyed had been mauled to death by a wolfhound while protecting me.

I'd suffered severe psychological trauma from it. Even now, I still had nightmares every night.

Sebastian carefully carried Yvonne into the rest room.

There was extra space insidebarely enough to squeeze in one more person.

I slowly approached, but Sebastian blocked the doorway with a cold expression.

"She needs enough room to breathe. If you force your way in, you'll kill her."

The knocking grew more urgent. I could barely stand from the pain as I frantically searched for somewhere to hide.

But then came a loud crash behind me. Linda kicked the door open furiously, leading a wolfhound with a mouthful of fangs toward me.

I instinctively hid behind Sebastian, protecting my belly.

Murderous intent flashed in Linda's eyes as she patted the wolfhound's head.

"Precious, tear apart this bitch who's seducing Sebastian!"

The wolfhound opened its gaping maw and charged at me viciously.

I ran, but the dog still clawed several bloody gashes in my calf.

Sebastian looked worried, but when I approached the rest room, his expression instantly changed.

He grabbed the glass from the desk and threw it precisely at my feet, blocking my path forward.

Yvonne cracked the door open slightly, smirking triumphantly.

The wolfhound cornered me. My hands trembled as I clenched them into fists.

The office descended into chaos as Linda's phone suddenly rang.

She stamped her foot in frustration and called Precious back to her side.

"You're lucky today. Next time I catch you shamelessly clinging to Sebastian, I'll have Precious bite you to death!"

Watching Linda's retreating figure, my taut nerves slowly relaxed.

Sebastian stepped past my blood-covered body and urgently pulled open the rest room door.

After confirming Yvonne was unharmed, he spared me a glance.

"Go treat your wounds first. I'll come home tonight to celebrate your birthday with you."

I limped out of the office and rushed to the hospital as fast as I could.

The doctor gave me medication to prevent miscarriage and told me I absolutely had to rest well.

I went home to pack my things. Without a second of hesitation, I headed straight to the airport.

Near the end of the workday, Sebastian called HR.

"Starting tomorrow, restore River Hayes to her VP position."

The person on the other end made a confused sound.

"Mr. Harrison, River submitted her resignation after the employee health check revealed she was pregnant."

Sebastian's temple throbbed. He grabbed his car keys in panic and rushed home.

But when he opened the door, the bed was empty except for a dull diamond ring.