When Love Went Underground

My boyfriend, Julian, always insisted that romance and work had to be kept strictly separate. Behind closed doors at night, we were inseparable. At the office, though, we acted like total strangers. He was terrified that anyone might find out about us. He even rejected my promotion, handing the position over to a brand-new intern instead. "I just don't want people gossiping about you," he told me. For five whole years, I genuinely believed this was his way of protecting me. Until one evening at a corporate cocktail party, his assistant, Nana, burst into tears over a few passing jokes from an important client. Julian flew into a rage, beating the company’s biggest business partner black and blue right then and there. Afterward, rumors swirled everywhere about him and his assistant, but he never bothered to deny them. From that night on, the way Nana looked at him changed completely. She even boasted in our unofficial company SnapChat group: [Pursuing a guy for the first time! Ladies, wish me luck~] Burning with jealousy, I went to confront Julian. He just looked at me with deep disappointment. "Are you really mad at me just because I don't give you special treatment?" The very next day, he approved my promotion. At the celebration dinner, a drunk male coworker began groping me. Julian completely ignored my desperate pleas for help, staying totally aloof under the pretense of "avoiding suspicion." Sick to my stomach, I scrubbed the patch of skin that man had touched until it was raw and peeling. This time, I decided to take back my special treatment of Julian, too. After the celebration ended, I stood on the curb trying to hail a cab. Julian's car pulled up in front of me. He carefully scanned the street to ensure no one we knew was around before stepping out. He kept his voice low. "Get in." Always this sneaky, secretive bullshit. We had been together for five years, yet we lived like a dirty secret kept in the dark. Whenever he gave me a ride, he made me get out half a mile away from the building, rain or shine. This month, I was late twice because of torrential downpours. Julian used that as an excuse to deny my promotion, handing the role to an intern who hadn't even graduated yet. "Don't bother picking me up or dropping me off anymore," I snapped bitterly. "I can take an Uber." Julian’s tone softened. He opened the passenger door and looked at me helplessly. "Chloe, it's not safe out here at night. Can we please just go home and talk?" Just then, Nana stumbled over and threw herself straight into Julian’s arms. Her voice slurred with drunkenness. "Julian... I twisted my ankle. Could you give me a ride home?" Julian caught her naturally and helped her into the front passenger seat. Once he shut the door, he switched back to his cold, managerial tone with me. "You take the back." I stood there in silence for a few seconds. Nana had been sipping sparkling water all night, and the ankle she supposedly sprained kept switching from left to right. "Julian, can't you tell she's faking? Can't you see she's into you?" He frowned, glancing at Nana, who appeared to be asleep in the passenger seat. "Chloe, when did you become so petty?" "It's late, and she's a drunk girl alone on the street. It's dangerous. You're a woman too—do you really have to make a fuss over something this small?" I let out a cold laugh. "You think letting another woman throw herself into your arms is a small thing?" Julian’s tone turned icy. "Get in the car. Whatever you want to say, say it when we get home." My face hardened as well. "If I say you can only drive one of us home tonight, who do you choose?" I stood there, waiting for his answer. Julian didn't say a word. He simply got behind the wheel and started the engine. The late-night wind was biting, slicing straight through my heart. His car sped past me, and rain began to fall. I couldn't catch a cab, so I walked all the way home in the pouring rain. My phone kept buzzing with notifications from the office SnapChat group. Nana was livestreaming her "pursuit." [The elevator in my building is broken, and Julian actually carried me all the way up to the eighth floor on his back.] [I confessed to him that I didn't really twist my ankle, and he already knew!! He said even if it wasn't sprained, climbing eight flights in heels is impossible...] Several female coworkers swooned in the group: [OMG, Julian is so sweet to you!] [Even knowing your little tricks, he still plays along. My ship is totally sailing!] [Does this mean Julian is staying over at your place tonight?] Nana replied with a shy blushing emoji. So Julian knew all along. He knew the sprained ankle and the drunkenness were acts. Yet he still drove her home, carried her upstairs, and indulged her little games. Tears spilled from my eyes, blending seamlessly with the rain. No one saw. No one cared. Once I got home, I wiped my face dry, picked up my phone, and texted my father overseas: [Dad, you don't need to keep investing in the company I work for anymore.]After sending the message, I started packing my bags. Tucked deep inside the bookshelf, I stumbled upon Nana’s probationary evaluation from three years ago. Out of ten performance metrics, she had failed nine. According to the rules Julian wrote himself, any employee failing more than three metrics was supposed to be terminated immediately. I read through Nana's evaluation carefully. She had misspelled the client's CEO's name on promotional posters. She had booked only half the required venue seating for a major event. Her pricing calculation errors had caused massive financial losses. Julian was notoriously strict at work. Every single one of those mistakes crossed his absolute red lines. Suddenly, I understood why Julian had missed our anniversary three years ago. Nana had just joined the company back then, and Julian had abruptly become swamped. He ran around venues and factories in person every day, delivering gifts to client warehouses under the scorching sun. He was quietly cleaning up the messes Nana left behind. Meanwhile, just last month, I made a typo on a single spreadsheet date. He ripped into me in front of the entire team: "Chloe, if you can't even handle the simplest details, maybe you should just resign." I was mortified back then, spending nights beating myself up over it. Only now did I realize that the strict principles he enforced on me meant nothing when it came to Nana. Click. The front door opened. Julian was home. Seeing my soaked hair, his immediate reflex was to grab a towel and dry it for me. All I saw was the pink lip gloss smeared against his collar. It was Nana's signature shade. "Let's break up, Julian," I said quietly. He didn't take it seriously, continuing to towel my hair dry. "Is this about what happened at the dinner tonight?" "That guy who harassed you, Mike? He won't be setting foot in the office tomorrow." I stared at him, numb. He acted as if our earlier fight had never happened, his eyes filled with apparent concern. "Chloe, I've already pulled the security footage and retained top counsel to sue Mike." "How could I ever let someone get away with hurting you?" He gently applied soothing ointment to the raw skin on the back of my hand, his tone resolute. "Chloe, if anyone makes you suffer even an ounce, I'll make them pay a thousand times over." The burning intensity in his eyes caught me off guard. Back when I helped him build the startup from scratch, he would project his desktop screen to clients. Whenever they saw his wallpaper, he would proudly announce, "This is my future wife. She's the most important person in my life." His eyes literally sparkled whenever he introduced me. Later, as the business stabilized, we were finally ready to get our marriage license and go public with our relationship. Then Nana confessed her feelings to him under the guise of a joke at the annual gala. Julian let her down gently, blurting out an excuse that the company had a strict policy against office romances. And so, to "avoid suspicion," our relationship was forced underground. Getting married was never brought up again. Remembering those days softened my heart for a second. "Julian, maybe we should just go public..." "Stop." His brow furrowed instantly. "Why are you bringing this up again?" "Chloe, I'm trying to protect your professional reputation. Can't you see I'm doing this for your own good?" His phone buzzed repeatedly. Julian glanced at the screen, stood up abruptly, and headed for the door. "An urgent client issue came up. I have to head out." Slam. The door banged shut, shattering the last lingering shreds of hope inside me. A moment later, my father's reply arrived. [Sweetheart, the investment is nothing. Did someone hurt you?] My eyes stung, not knowing how to explain. Meanwhile, Nana was posting in the office group again. [Girls, I told him I wasn't feeling well, and Julian rushed right back.] [I asked him if he had a girlfriend, and he said no!] [I only have one bed in my apartment, so I told him to come sleep beside me. Guess what he said?] The group exploded with squeals of excitement. Holding back a wave of nausea, my trembling fingers tapped the button to leave the chat. Julian didn't come home that night.At two in the morning, someone began violently pounding on the front door. The deafening bangs and vile curses made every hair on my body stand on end. "Open the damn door, you little bitch!" "You should've been honored I touched you, and you dared get a lawyer?!" "Wait till I get my hands on you!" I peered through the peephole. Mike was standing outside with an iron crowbar, his drunken stench practically seeping through the frame. "Mike! My boyfriend is here with me! If you don't leave right now, I'm calling for help!" He spat on the floor and started forcing the lock. With every brutal wrench of the tool, the deadbolt gave way a little more. My palms were slick with sweat as I dialed my emergency contact. "Julian, Mike came to the apartment. He's drunk and trying to pry the door open..." Julian sounded groggy, like I had just woken him up. "If you just want me to come home, say it. Don't make up such pathetic excuses." Seeing the lock on the verge of breaking, I dug my nails into my palms in pure panic. "Julian, I'm telling the truth! Please, come home..." He cut me off bluntly. "Enough. I'm with... with a client. I have to go." Before the line went dead, I heard Nana's playful, coquettish voice in the background. Clang. The metal lock broke off and crashed to the floor. Mike smiled, his bloodshot eyes locked onto me. He advanced step by step, swinging the iron bar hard against my body. By the time building security arrived, I was soaked in cold sweat, curled into a corner, trembling uncontrollably. They rushed me to the hospital. Through the haze of consciousness, I heard Nana speaking softly to Julian. "Julian, setting everything else aside, Mike really is an exceptional sales director. He just had too much to drink." "The doctors said Chloe isn't seriously injured anyway. I really don't think we should press charges—this affects the company's bottom line." "This company is your life's work. I just don't want a petty issue like this to ruin everything you built." Julian paused for a few seconds before answering smoothly. "All right. Whatever you say." Hearing those words, I opened my eyes in a daze, tears tracking silently down my cheeks. A scumbag who had harassed me and nearly beaten me to death was instantly forgiven by my boyfriend. The excruciating pain in my body was nothing compared to the agony in my chest. Seeing me awake, Julian looked at my tear-stained face and slipped right back into his professional boss persona. "Chloe, don't worry. The company will make sure you're properly compensated." There were only three people in the hospital room. Yet he still chose to keep up the charade to "avoid suspicion." I let out a hollow laugh. "Understood, Mr. Vance." I watched them leave. A few minutes later, my phone lit up with a text from Julian. [Chloe, I messed up tonight. Rest up first. I'll take care of everything.] The final thread holding my heart together snapped cleanly. Any lingering attachment vanished into thin air. The next day, I checked myself out against medical advice and went to the office to resign. Nana slammed a folder onto my desk. "Julian says you can only leave after you close this deal. Otherwise, forget it." I glanced at the paperwork. The client listed was notoriously sleazy in the industry—dishonorable, predatory, and well-known for crossing lines. "I'm not taking this project." "Oh, really?" She reached into her bag and pulled out a familiar wooden box. "If you don't, I guess these old scraps of paper are going straight into the shredder." I blinked, staring hard to be sure. Inside that box were the final letters my mother had written to me while dying of terminal cancer. Back then, surgeries had stolen her voice. So during her final months, after every round of IV drips, she sat down and wrote me a long letter. She wrote until her eyes were bloodshot and her joints were swollen, refusing to put the pen down. She wanted to leave me comfort, so I wouldn't feel entirely alone after she was gone. Those letters were my most precious possessions, locked safely in our home safe. Only Julian and I knew the passcode. Nana pulled out one of the letters and fed it into the shredder. My mother's handwriting was chewed into irreversible ribbons. "Chloe, if you can't land this contract, every single one of these goes into the machine." Blinding heartache and a raging sense of betrayal surged through me. My voice shook violently. "Don't touch my things!" "I'll handle the contract."The client, Sean, scheduled the meeting for that evening at a private VIP lounge. After shooting a few quick texts to my father's assistant, I tucked pepper spray into my purse and headed to the venue. I never anticipated how brazen he would be. The second I stepped inside, he locked the private room from the inside. "Well, well, pretty lady. I didn't think Julian would be so heartless as to send you here all by yourself to negotiate." He reached out and squeezed my waist. "Since your boss doesn't know how to appreciate you, maybe I should take care of you instead..." I shoved him back hard. "Mr. Sean, I came here in good faith to discuss business. Please respect yourself!" The greasy man grinned, revealing a row of yellowed teeth. "If we're talking business, sweetie, you need to show a little good faith first." He pushed a glass of hard liquor toward me. I twisted open a bottle of mineral water from the table. "I'll toast you with water instead. I'm sure after reviewing the proposal, you'll see our terms are the most competitive—" Suddenly, a wave of violent dizziness hit me. I looked down at the water bottle in my hand, panic surging. The seal had been tampered with. It had been repackaged. The man chuckled darkly and slowly stepped toward me. My eyelids felt impossibly heavy. I could barely stay on my feet. Desperate, I grabbed a steak knife off the table and slashed it deep across my own palm. The sharp, blinding sting cleared my head just enough. I pointed the blade at him. "I'm Julian Vance's girlfriend! If you lay a finger on me, he will destroy you!" He spat on the floor beside my feet, his expression dripping with contempt. "Oh? You really think I'd believe Julian would send his own girlfriend to deal with me?" He snatched the knife from my weakened grip, his nicotine-stained fingers clamping hard around my jaw. "I hear you've slaved away for him for five years and only made it to junior specialist." "Be my girl. It pays a hell of a lot better than working for Julian." His foul breath washed over my face. He fished the pepper spray from my pocket and tossed it aside like trash. I dug my nails into my bleeding palm with everything I had, but darkness pulled my eyelids shut anyway. Right before I blacked out, Julian's face flashed across my mind. All that remained was the pathetic realization that I was just a lamb led to slaughter. Meanwhile... Across town, Julian received urgent word that the company's primary angel investor had abruptly pulled all funding. He scrambled to implement emergency measures. Panic rippled through the office, and Julian couldn't find his footing either. Stepping out of his executive suite, he noticed Chloe's empty desk. Massaging his temples, he barked at a nearby employee, "Where did Chloe go?" "I heard she went to the Four Seasons Lounge to close the deal with Sean." Sean had a putrid reputation in the industry, infamous for sexually harassing female staffers and clients. Julian's nerves tightened instantly, making him forget all about the funding collapse. "Who authorized her to meet with that scumbag?!" Nana looped her arm around his, her voice dripping with aggrieved innocence. "Julian, she went on her own. Why do we even care about her..." Julian yanked his arm back in irritation. His mind was in shambles; all he cared about right now was confirming Chloe was safe. Just then, his phone rang with an incoming call from the lead investment firm's chairman. Julian answered, and within seconds, every drop of color drained from his face. Grabbing his car keys, he slammed the gas pedal to the floor and sped toward the lounge...