Chapter 4: Severance

The day I left Rachel, I resigned from my job.

Not that it mattered much—at Silverline Tech, the company Rachel and I built together, I’d been sidelined for a long time.

When Tanya, the HR director, saw my resignation in the system, she called me immediately.

“Mr. Miller, did you talk to Ms. Miller before resigning?”

She sounded genuinely surprised, like she thought I was kidding.

Of course. Tanya was Rachel’s college classmate and always thought I was a schemer who married up. Over the years, she’d often warned Rachel about me.

I first learned about this in the company’s third year. That year, we landed a huge investment. Rachel was so thrilled she threw a lavish year-end party. After covering for her and drinking too much, I crashed on a sofa in the lounge.

Rachel came in to fix her makeup, Tanya trailing behind. Neither noticed me. They chatted while I pretended to nap.

Then I heard Tanya mention my name:

“...Ms. Miller, you need to keep an eye on Caleb. Now, even his team only listens to him, not you.”

Rachel didn’t care. “Caleb’s also the boss. Isn’t it good if people listen to him?”

Tanya tried to persuade her, “Rachel, you’re the real boss.”

Rachel laughed and told Tanya not to overthink it. She said, everyone in the world might betray her, but Caleb never would.

I was touched then. But I never expected that in just two years, my power in the company would be chipped away until I became a background figure.

It was strange—hearing your loyalty declared so publicly, then watching your influence get cut, piece by piece. Tanya’s voice could freeze a meeting. Rachel stopped inviting me to strategy sessions, and junior staff checked with Tanya before running anything by me.

Tanya’s voice on the phone pulled me back to reality.

“Just process the resignation. Rachel and I broke up.”

Tanya went silent.

After a while, she asked, “Mr. Miller... are you joking? You two are engaged. I was waiting for your wedding favors.”

I sneered.

Tanya was a master at reading the room. To my face, she’d joke about wedding cake, but behind my back, she advised Rachel on how to control me. After Derek showed up, she even arranged for him and Rachel to meet.

“Isn’t this what you wanted? Now you can openly play matchmaker for Rachel and Derek.”