He Dumped Me at the IPO. I Watched Him Crash

After eight years of building a startup with my boyfriend, Elias Huxley, the company was finally publicly listed.

At the shareholders' meeting, his first love, who had abandoned him for being poor, came back. Elias held the woman cuddled in his arms and announced in front of the entire company that Kara Merrick was to be the future mistress of the company. The employees whispered and sneered, their laughter feeling like needles stabbing at the dark circles under my eyes from sleepless nights spent revising proposals. Everyone assumed I would surely cling to him, but he seemed to have forgotten who was truly responsible for the company's success.

"Damn, are you really coming to help me?" Nolan Prescott's excited voice boomed through the phone. "Last week, the client said we had money but no creativity. Let's see who dare say that crap now!"

Nolan giggled foolishly, "My designer god has finally manifested! Now, with you on board, the board will stop riding my ass!"

I chuckled and teased, "Stop talking nonsense and prepare to welcome me."

"An honor, Your Majesty! Don't worry, money isn't an issue, you go ahead and do your thing!"

The moment I hung up, Elias walked through the door. The pungent smell of perfume on him made me frown.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked, coldly glancing at me. Before I could reply, he snorted, "Forget it, it's probably a colleague. As if you know anyone worthwhile."

He never cared about who I was associating with. Whether I was running business alone day and night, it was always like this. Even now, it was the same. This time, I didn't bother to explain. I simply picked up my phone and started booking a ticket to Rithar City.

When Elias emerged from the bathroom, he didn't find me, as usual, eagerly waiting to help him dry his hair. Finally, his gaze fell on me, as though he was bestowing some sort of favor. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around me, his tone teasing:

"Julia, getting jealous now?" he murmured, sweetly coaxing, "You know Kara's father passed away; she's all alone. I said that to have an excuse to give her some shares later."

My fingers hovered over the phone screen, and I smiled, faintly saying, "Just do as you planned."

That afternoon, I transferred all my shares and submitted my resignation. Elias noticed my unusually cold demeanor and furrowed his brows, trying to see what I was doing. Just then, his phone rang.

Seeing the name on the screen, his stern expression melted immediately and he rushed out.

Half an hour later, an unnamed call came through. I answered it.

From the other side came a woman's coquettish voice, "Elias, as soon as I mentioned my stomach ache, you hurried over to be with me. It's late, Julia won't misunderstand, right?”

Then came Elias’s pampering voice, “Silly girl, your health is more important than anything. I'll stay with you tonight; I’m not going anywhere.”

The woman giggled, "Elias, you're the best."

A loud kiss sound followed by a faint “naughty” came through, then the call ended.

If it had been before today, hearing about Elias’ affair would have stabbed my heart like needles. But now, on the brink of leaving, it just seemed ridiculous. At that moment, the booking page finally loaded. Without hesitation, I booked a ticket to leave in three days.

The next morning, Elias was surprisingly home. He handed me a beautifully packaged gift box. Seeing my puzzled expression, he smiled nervously.

"Especially got you a gift last night. Open it and take a look."

I unwrapped the package to find a bottle of perfume. Surprised, I quickly realized that the perfume was meant for Kara. It was her usual brand.