Breakup awakening
Chapter 1
I walked in on Mr. Harrison, the CEO, feeding
Ashley, his secretary, Peking duck. Seriously?
Ashley’s face flushed crimson, and she
shoved a fat envelope into my hand. “Here’s
some hush money.”
“Don’t worry,” she purred, “when I’m Mrs.
Harrison, I’ll make sure you get a raise.”
I slipped off my wedding ring behind her back
and silently wished her all the best.
That night, Mr. Harrison stared at my bare
finger where the ring used to be. “Where’s
your ring?”
Г
I thought fast. “Uh… probably fell into the
toilet.”
01
The day after I caught David Harrison and his
secretary, Ashley, sharing Peking duck, he
skipped our usual carpool.
I figured he went straight to Ashley’s place.
That woman was definitely eye–catching and
knew how to play the game.
He used to have male secretaries.
Buzz cuts, dark suits, looking like they just
got paroled.
Now he’s not even pretending to care about
the promises he made me before we got
married.
Not only did he get a female secretary, but he
also drags her everywhere.
I ran two miles from the gated community
before finding a rental bike.
I made it to work just in time to clock in and
keep my perfect attendance record.
But the atmosphere was off.
I hung up my ID badge, ready to answer
customer service calls, when I saw our
supervisor, Kevin, charging toward the
elevator with a brand–new plunger.
Half the desks were empty. My gossip–loving
coworker leaned over and whispered, “All the
women’s restrooms are out of order today.
Use the one in the next building.”
“Heard the CEO lost his ring and has
everyone plunging toilets to find it!”
A lightbulb went off in my head, flashing back
to last night’s conversation with David.
He had asked, “Which toilet did you drop it
in?”
I blurted out, “Seventh floor, second stall on
the left.”
He scowled, muttered, “Maybe I should have
flushed you down the toilet,” and stormed off.
My coworker snickered. “Ashley’s in a
designer suit, and she’s plunging toilets too!”
I straightened up, instinctively touching the
envelope in my pocket.
Ashley, all flirty and confident, had handed it
to me like I was a peasant.
Her cheeks were flushed, her lips parted.
“Here, hush money.”
She glanced at my ID badge. “Sarah, right?
Don’t worry. When I’m Mrs. Harrison, you’ll
definitely get a raise.”
Yeah, well, even I, the actual Mrs. Harrison,
don’t have that kind of power.
02
Yesterday; Kevin, my supervisor, was being a
real jerk again.
While everyone else was heading home on
time, he told me to compile all the customer
complaints into a report.
It’s all in the database, but he insisted I print
it out and bind it.
Seeing my frustration, he smirked and leaned
close.
“There’s a new bar opening up the day after
tomorrow. Wanna grab a drink with me?”
Remembering the invisible curfew David put
on me, I turned him down again.
His face fell. “Have it ready tonight. I need it
く
Of course, I had the worst luck. The printer
broke down, and I didn’t finish the report until
late.
I took the elevator up to the 22nd floor,
hoping to catch a ride home with David.
His office door was slightly open, with the
lights blazing.
I’m so thankful I didn’t just barge right in.
Through the crack, I saw David sitting with his
back to me.
Ashley was sitting on his desk, her skirt riding
way up her thighs.
She was feeding him a Peking duck roll with a
smile
L
And he was feeding her one back.
I haven’t gotten that kind of treatment in
three years of marriage.
On our wedding night, I offered him some
fruit, but he wrinkled his nose and recoiled.
“I’m a germaphobe,” he said. “Besides, you
don’t need to pretend to love me.”
Since then, I’ve never crossed that line.
Our marriage, naturally, was me marrying up.
When the Harrisons came to ask for my hand,
they brought so many gifts they were stacked
everywhere.
David’s grandmother and my grandmother
く
David’s grandmother and my grandmother
were childhood friends and had arranged a
marriage between us a long time ago.
But they both had sons, so the idea was
forgotten until it landed on me.
I sleepwalked into the wedding, only to learn
on our wedding night that he’d lost the love
of his life.
He glared at me. “So, you’re desperate to
snag a rich guy? I thought you’d refuse.”
I asked, “If you loved someone else, why
didn’t you fight for her?”
It was a genuine question, but he gritted his
teeth and trashed the honeymoon suite.
L
Later, I realized that my feelings for David
were nipped in the bud.
03
Love at first sight is a crazy thing.
The day the Harrisons came to ask for my
hand, I was bringing frozen meat into the
house and saw him outside.
The old oak tree, older than my grandmother,
was full of leaves.
He stood tall, his slender fingers crushing a
fallen leaf.
He looked like every ideal of beauty made
real in the sunlight.
L
It was love at first sight.
