Chapter 1

I’ve been with Logan for five years. He always said that if I wanted to be his doormat, I had to act like one.

For five years, that’s exactly what I did.

One call from him, and I’d rush home in the middle of the night, even if I was a hundred miles away.

Just because he suddenly felt like seeing me.

But once, just because I didn’t wear the coat he picked out for me, he locked me out of the bedroom. I had to curl up on the freezing couch with no heating.

For five years, Logan was my entire world.

He always said a man should keep himself pure, and that he’d treat me right once we got married.

I actually believed he was some honorable gentleman. That was until I saw him in our bed with my best friend, Ashley.

"What are you looking at? She’s hot and has a great body. Posting videos with her gets tons of views on TikTok. You think anyone wants to watch a flat-chested board like you?"

"Chloe, I want a strawberry tower cake right now! If you aren't home with it in thirty minutes, I'm moving out!"

I was hiding in the office restroom just to take his call.

My boss had made it crystal clear today: everyone had to work overtime until 10 PM.

If I left early, my bonus for this month would be gone.

But on the other end of the line, Logan was throwing a tantrum: "I don't care! Everyone on SnapChat is posting about the strawberry towers their girlfriends bought them. I’m not losing to them!"

Helpless, I had to sneak downstairs, buy the damn strawberry tower cake, rush it home, and then race back to the office.

If I was lucky, my boss wouldn't notice.

Once I agreed, Logan finally cheered up. He even blew me a kiss through the phone.

I ran to the mall and bought the strawberry tower.

Riding my electric scooter home in the freezing wind, I held the towering cake upright. My hands went completely numb.

I forgot my keys. I rang the doorbell for ages before Logan finally opened the door.

Shaking, I handed him the cake. "Babe, I got it for you."

The next second, Logan slapped the back of my hand. "It's tilted! How am I supposed to post this on SnapChat?!"

The strawberry tower crashed to the ground. Those strawberries cost me half a day's salary.

I rubbed my red, freezing nose. "Babe, I have to get back to the office. We're working overtime tonight. I sneaked out. Don't wait up for me."

Logan glared at me with cold eyes. "Chloe, you really are pathetic. Born to be a corporate slave. Get lost!"

I sighed, knelt to pick up the ruined cake, and tossed it into the trash can.

But the moment I got back to the office, I realized the atmosphere was off.

A colleague I was close with kept coughing and winking at me.

By the time I walked over, it was too late.

Everything on my desk had been swept onto the floor.

My boss, Mr. Miller, turned around, furious. "Leaving during work hours? Chloe, it looks like you don't need this job. You're fired!"

It felt like a dark cloud had settled over my head. I packed up my things and held out my hand. "Pay me my salary for this month."

Mr. Miller's face contorted with rage. He poked my forehead with his finger. "Chloe, you're in your mid-twenties and still so pathetic. The people who started with you are all managers now. How do you have the face to ask for money? You're not getting a single dime!"

I suppressed the bitterness in my chest. "You have to pay me. Otherwise, I’ll report you to the Labor Bureau. I have plenty of free time now anyway."

Mr. Miller scoffed. He pulled a wad of bills from his wallet and threw them on the floor. "Pick it up then! People like you are born to be cheap labor!"

My coworkers watched the whole thing.

They looked angry and sympathetic, but to protect their own jobs, none of them dared to speak up for me.