"Drop the act, Tania. You think twenty thousand dollars is going to make this go away? Do I look like a beggar to you?"

I stepped closer, my voice sharp as a blade.

"That ten-million-dollar deal comes with a ten percent commission. That's one million dollars.

"When exactly were you planning to pay me back?"

The number hit the room like a shockwave.

Tania's face went white as paper. She stood frozen, trembling, unable to form a single word.

Then her body swayed. Her eyes rolled back, and she crumpled toward the floor.

"Tania!"

Neal rushed forward and caught her in his arms, cradling her like she might shatter.

When he looked at me, his eyes burned with fury.

"Ivy, you've gone too far! You know Tania has a congenital heart condition, and you deliberately pushed her like this? I can't believe I ever trusted you!"

Watching him cradle Tania so carefully, a memory surfaced unbidden:

I'd pulled two consecutive all-nighters to land a major contract. When my blood sugar crashed and I collapsed right in front of Neal, he refused to even help me up—all because of "avoiding suspicion." He just stood there, watching my forehead slam into the corner of the desk.

To this day, a scar hides beneath my bangs.

And now? Now he was putting on this public display of affection because Tania pretended to faint.

My colleagues' sympathy overflowed—straight onto me as accusations:

"Ivy, Tania practically begged you! How can you be so aggressive?"

"Exactly! It's just a little credit. Is it really worth making such a fuss? You're just jealous of her!"

I swept a cold gaze across the crowd, watching them twist right and wrong without a second thought. Contempt filled my chest.

My sharp eyes caught what they'd all missed: Tania's eyelids fluttering ever so slightly, the faint curl at the corner of her lips. She was faking it.

"Don't let her fool you—she's not unconscious. She's acting!"

The words had barely left my mouth when Neal's hand shot up.

Crack.

The slap rang out, sharp and brutal.

Searing pain bloomed across my face. My cheek swelled almost instantly.

I stared at Neal in disbelief. His face was twisted with rage.

"Ivy, shut your mouth! Apologize to Tania right now—or I'll strip you of your VP position on the spot!"

Agony lanced through my chest. I looked at this man I'd loved for five years, and something inside me finally died.

I held his gaze, enunciating each word: