My Husband’s First Love Became My New Boss and Fired Me — She Had No Idea Who Really Owned the Company
Chapter 5
Victoria expected Ethan to fire her.
Instead, he asked:
“Why did you really do it?”
She remained silent.
“Business reason.”
“Restructuring.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“That’s what the documents say.”
Victoria swallowed.
“I thought she was blocking my reforms.”
“She was protecting employees.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Then you should have learned before firing her.”
Victoria looked down.
“I’m sorry.”
Ethan nodded.
“I believe you.”
She looked surprised.
“But that doesn’t fix it.”
“I know.”
Ethan stood.
“You’re staying.”
Victoria stared.
“What?”
“You’ll keep your position.”
“Why?”
“Because the company needs someone who can admit when they’re wrong.”
She felt tears gather.
“And Olivia?”
“She gets her job back.”
“I’ll speak to her.”
“No.”
Victoria looked confused.
“I will.”
Ethan walked away.
Victoria sat alone in the boardroom.
For the first time, she saw the situation clearly.
She hadn’t hated Olivia because of work.
She had hated the version of Olivia in her head.
The woman who had somehow taken the life Victoria thought belonged to her.
But the truth was different.
Olivia hadn’t stolen Ethan.
Ethan had chosen Olivia.
Victoria had never accepted that.
She returned home that night and opened an old box.
Inside was a photograph.
She and Ethan at twenty-two.
She almost threw it away.
Then she noticed something behind it.
A letter.
One she had never opened.
It was from Ethan.
Dated ten years earlier.
Her hands trembled.
She read it.
Victoria,
I didn’t leave because I stopped loving you.
I left because my father threatened to destroy your family if I stayed.
She stopped.
The letter continued.
I chose silence because I believed it would protect you.
Victoria cried.
She had spent ten years believing Ethan had rejected her.
The truth was far more complicated.
Then another thought came.
If Ethan had loved her enough to sacrifice his relationship with her, why had he never told her?
And why had he eventually married Olivia?
She needed answers.
But the answers would force her to confront something she had avoided for a decade.
She had never truly let Ethan go.
