Eric really forgot how feelings work—like a savings account. Keep taking without giving, and yeah, it hits zero real fast.
I'd listed the house cheap, so it sold in under a week. After signing everything at the realtor's and locking in the move-out date, I headed home.
As soon as I opened the door, laughter echoed inside.
***
The couple slippers by the door? Gone.
Instead? A pair of heels—and Eric's favorite leather shoes. The same ones Vivien gave him for his birthday.
That's when it hit me: they were here. Together. Weren't they supposed to be gone for two more days?
I was still processing when Vivien strolled out like she owned the place. Wearing my slippers. My pajamas. Hair slightly messy, all casual and smug, like she lived there now.
"Hayley, why are you back? Isn't it office hours?"
She tossed a grape in her mouth and spit the seed into a cup—my cup. Part of the set Eric gave me back when I actually thought that meant something.
Eric walked out from the living room right then. Saw Vivien using my cup and, of course, acted like he didn't.
When his eyes landed on me, his face twitched—then iced over.
"Skipping work again? Just 'cause you're my wife doesn't mean you get special treatment. The company's not your personal playground. If you can't follow the rules, how am I supposed to make anyone else?"
Rules?
I almost laughed.
If anyone was breaking rules, it was Eric.
A year ago, right when the company was finding its footing, he fast-tracked Vivien—zero experience—straight into management. I had doubts. He swore she had "potential." So, like an idiot, I trained her.
She spent her days napping or doing her makeup. Then she'd hang around after hours, post pics in the group chat like she was burning the midnight oil.
I told Eric. He shrugged. "Maybe she just needs to unwind."
I asked him to keep tabs on her. "Too busy."
Suggested cameras. "Not legal."
Then came the botched projects. The money down the drain. Vivien kept playing dress-up at the office. When I finally said she had to go, Eric pushed back—hard.
He even asked, "Are you just jealous she might outshine you?"
So yeah. She stayed. Took my clients. Hijacked my projects. And Eric? Watched it all happen, said nothing. Worse—he called her the star employee and made me the villain. Just the jealous, petty wife.
I used to feel hurt.
Now? I realized—with the patience I wasted here, I could've crushed it anywhere else. Places where I wouldn't be ignored, sidelined, or treated like I didn't matter.
I said nothing.
Vivien gave Eric this fake-sweet back pat. "Maybe Hayley rushed over 'cause she found out you were back in Bellavaro."
Eric ate it up. Smug lit up his face. "Alright, just don't let it happen again. But hey—how'd you even know I was flying back today?"
Vivien smiled like butter wouldn't melt. "Eric, you forgot? HR booked your flight. Someone on the team probably told her."
