The CEO's Unread Signature

My husband, Caleb Montgomery Hayes, the CEO of the Hayes Group, brought our marriage to ruin. It started when I asked him to fire his executive assistant, Brittany Shaw. We had a colossal fight over it, and he gave me the silent treatment for three months.

After three months, he probably thought he’d worn me down. He proposed a trip to Paris for our anniversary—what was supposed to be a gesture of reconciliation.

However, as soon as Brittany found out, she threw a massive tantrum in his office. She screamed, hurled objects, and threatened to quit.

To appease her, Caleb canceled Paris. Under the guise of an "important business dinner," he changed our destination to Monaco and took her with him.

Afterward, he offered me a perfunctory explanation.

"I'm the CEO of the Hayes Group. The company's interests come first. As my wife, you need to understand that."

I saw the photos Brittany flaunted on Instagram—the two of them on the deck of a yacht, locked in an embrace far too intimate for a boss and his assistant.

I knew exactly what they were doing. I said nothing.

I just nodded.

Caleb mistook my silence for submission. He seemed pleased with how "reasonable" I was, even promising he’d make it up to me.

What he didn't know was that my lawyer had already drafted the divorce papers.

And I had just found the one piece of evidence I couldn't ignore—the final proof that extinguished the last glimmer of hope I had for us.

It was time to end this.

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1

The day after Caleb flew to Monaco with his assistant, Brittany, I called my lawyer, Mr. Davies, and told him to file for divorce.

As the long-time legal counsel for the Vance family, Mr. Davies let out a weary sigh on the other end of the line.

"Nora, are you absolutely certain? This is a huge step. Besides, you're the COO. The Hayes Group needs you. Your contributions have been invaluable—"

I cut him off before he could finish.

"I am absolutely certain. Julian Croft offered me a partnership at a West Coast venture capital firm, and becoming a top-tier investor has always been my dream. My mind is made up. There's no talking me out of this."

Mr. Davies was silent for a few seconds, gauging my resolve. Then, he confirmed that the initial divorce papers required my husband's signature to proceed.

Half an hour later, the confirmation email with Caleb's signature landed in my inbox.

Just like that, my departure was a done deal.

News of my resignation spread through the office like wildfire. As I walked through the open-plan office, I could hear the whispers trailing in my wake.

"Did you hear? Nora's out. I bet Caleb's been wanting her gone for ages."

"Totally. She was always holding him back. Now that she's gone, the position of Mrs. Hayes is officially vacant. So who's the next Mrs. Hayes?"

"Is that even a question? Look at how Caleb dotes on Brittany. It has to be her."

I had long grown numb to these rumors.

Everyone in the company knew the extent of Caleb's favoritism toward Brittany. For her, he would completely disregard the fact that I was his wife.

Brittany would make trouble for me, both openly and behind my back, trying every scheme she could think of to embarrass me. Caleb would just turn a blind eye, then lecture me on the importance of being a "magnanimous wife" and not "making a scene over nothing."

This blatant favoritism only fueled the gossip. Employees whispered that my marriage to Caleb was in name only, and it was just a matter of time before Brittany became the new lady of the house.

As a result, some employees, hoping to curry favor with the future "boss's wife," began to actively undermine me in my work.

The whole situation was a farce, but I never took it to heart.

I had just stepped through the company's main entrance when my phone rang.

It was Caleb.

I thought he was calling to confront me about the divorce. Instead, his voice was all business. "I just emailed you the details for the venture capital project. I need that proposal finalized and sent back to me ASAP."

Only then did it dawn on me: he hadn't even glanced at the document's contents. He had approved the divorce filing as casually as he would any routine paperwork.

I opened the attachment he'd sent.

It was the same investment case I had recently assigned to Brittany.

It was always like this.

I made the critical decisions, but the credit always went to Brittany.

If a project succeeded, the bonus was hers; if it failed, the blame was mine.

At first, I tried to refuse Caleb's arrangements, but he always shut me down with the same line.

"You're the COO. The final call is yours, so you bear the ultimate responsibility."

If I persisted, he would give me the silent treatment for days.

Our love hadn't been easy, and I couldn't bear to watch it splinter over something so trivial, so I was always the one to back down.

I once believed my compromises would earn his consideration.

I was wrong.

At the company's annual gala, he awarded Brittany an honor typically reserved for founding partners. It was a blatant slap in the face—a challenge to my authority as COO and a public humiliation.

That time, I refused to back down.

We had a massive fight, followed by a three-month cold war.

Even when I was in a car accident on a business trip and nearly died, he didn't bother to visit me in the hospital. Instead, he forced me to hand over the M&A deal I had painstakingly secured to Brittany for finalization.

In that moment, something inside me shattered.

"I'm not at the office," I replied flatly.

There was a short pause on the other end before his voice turned harsh.

"Where the hell are you? You can't just abandon your post. Do you have any idea how much work is piling up because you're gone?"

"I know, but I've already—"

Before I could tell him I'd filed for divorce, Brittany's cloying, saccharine voice purred through the line.

"Caleb, honey, if Nora's too busy, don't force her. I can take care of it."

"Absolutely not," Caleb retorted instantly. "You've barely slept these past few nights. Your only job today is to relax and enjoy the sea."

His tone was as gentle as if he were coaxing a child, a stark contrast to the man who had just been berating me.

Brittany was still insisting she wasn't tired, that a little work was nothing. Caleb's voice became unyielding.

"I'm the CEO, you listen to me. You're going back to the hotel to rest. Leave the proposal to Nora."