“What the hell is the meaning of this!?” Jaxon’s voice crashed through the room like a blade, sharp enough to cut through the silence.
He stormed inside with Candice tailing behind him, pretending to be terrified, her eyes glossy, chin trembling, hands folded together like she was the victim.
I didn’t flinch. Not anymore.
“I asked you a question,” he barked, slamming his palm onto the long mahogany table. “Why did you fire Candice? And why the hell am I being removed from all meetings?”
I rose slowly from my seat, back straight, fingers laced calmly in front of me.
“I fired her,” I said evenly, “because she’s incompetent, unnecessary, and only got hired because you insisted I should give her a chance. And as for the meetings…” I tilted my head. “I simply don’t feel like giving everything to you anymore.”
Jaxon blinked, stunned for half a second—but recovered with anger. “So you make decisions like this without discussing it with me?”
“I don’t need to discuss anything with you,” I answered. “This is my company. I’m the owner.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “That doesn’t mean you get to—”
I cut him off, stepping closer. “You’ve handled enough. And badly.”
Candice whimpered behind him. “Ma’am… if I did something wrong, please let me expla—”
“Stay out of this,” I snapped. Her lips trembled.
Jaxon took a threatening step forward. “Ysobel, you’re being irrational. You can’t just fire people out of spite!”
“Spite?” My laugh came out cold. “You think this is spite? After all the mess you’ve created?”
His nostrils flared. “This is nonsense! I am your husband!”
My voice sharpened. “What’s nonsense is how you still think you can control me just because you are my husband.”
For a moment—just one—fear flickered in his eyes. Because he knew. He knew I was slipping out of his grasp.
“You’re not firing her!” he shouted. “I said NO!”
My voice was icy. “I already did. Effective immediately.”
He slapped the wall beside my head, close enough for the air to sting. “You’re pushing me too far, Ysobel.”
I met his eyes without blinking. “Good.”
His breath hitched. He realized something had changed. Something he couldn’t undo.
Finally, he exhaled sharply and stepped back, forcing his expression into something softer, something resembling resignation.
“Fine,” he muttered. “You win. We’ll… do things your way. For now.”
Candice lowered her head, pretending to wipe tears. “Ma’am… I’ll prepare my things. Thank you for everything and I’m sorry if I ever do something to make you mad.”
I ignored her.
Jaxon placed a hand on my shoulder, voice suddenly gentle—too gentle. “Let’s calm down and deal with this later, okay? For now… I’ll accept your decision.”
But something was off. He was agreeing too quickly. And that terrified me more than his anger.
An hour later, I left my office… only to freeze behind the hallway corner.
I inched closer.
Candice’s voice was sharp. “So what now? I lost my job. You let her win—again? How can you just agree?”
Jaxon sighed. “Calm down. I can’t argue with her knowing I still don’t have full control of the company. I need to be on her good side, so we should just play along until everything is finalized. You know that!”
Candice’s breath hitched. “Play along? How much longer?”
“As long as needed.” His tone dropped into something cold, calculating. “Listen. She’s firing you because she wants to feel in control. So let her. We’ll follow her plan for now.”
A pause.
“Because on her birthday,” he continued, voice dipped in venom, “we end it. No more investors. No more pretending. Her life ends that night, and then everything becomes ours.”
