He Dumped Me at the IPO. I Watched Him Crash

I covered my nose and mouth, unable to resist asking Elias, "We've been together for eight years. Did you not know I'm severely allergic to perfume?"

Elias's face changed, and he abruptly stood up, letting out a cold laugh, "Picky as ever. Take it or leave it."

He slammed the door and left.

Five minutes later, I scrolled through Kara's Instagram:

"Perfume from my darling. He asked me what I liked, and I said just this brand. He bought out the entire counter for me. So domineering!"

There were several comments below.

"Wow! Truly Mr. Huxley!"

"Kara's boyfriend is so good to her!"

"Jealous! How do you pray to find such a powerful boyfriend?"

I developed my allergy to perfume during the years I lived in the basement with Elias. The poor living conditions and excess dust caused it. Since then, even the slightest whiff of something irritating made my body break out in rashes.

During the eight years of running business for the company, I had gone into perfume allergy shock three or four times, yet he never remembered. He even gave me perfume as a reconciliation gift.

And now that Kara was back, he couldn't wait to present everything she liked before her. Thinking about this, I let out a mocking laugh.

"Julia, you are the world's biggest fool!"

I packed up my materials at the company. Eight years’ worth of all my designs, drafts, and finished products, along with the client information I painstakingly expanded—nothing was left behind.

Because yesterday Elias had publicly announced that Kara would be the future mistress of the company, colleagues had been looking at me with derision all day today.

In the afternoon, I overheard several colleagues whispering in the bathroom.

"So, Julia really got dumped by Mr. Huxley?"

"Definitely. She was probably kicked to the curb. I live in the same building as Mr. Huxley's FirstLove. You guys have no idea. Last night, Mr. Huxley rushed over there, and this morning, I saw the two of them leaving together!"

"Oh my god! They're already living together. No wonder Julia looked so distracted today; she got dumped. So pitiful."

The bathroom door opened, and they were met with my thoughtful face. Instantly, they stopped talking and scattered like startled birds.

I took a deep breath to steady my emotions and quietly stared at my haggard reflection in the mirror.

I won’t let Elias hurt me anymore.

Due to the amount of material, packing took time. I was banging away at the documents, working overtime until eleven o'clock at night.

There was no one left in the company but me.

In the silence, a well-defined hand suddenly landed on the desk beside me, knocking heavily.

Then came Elias's voice, full of anger, "Ignoring my messages? Not coming home so late? Julia, what do you want?"

I paused my actions, feeling a familiar chill in my heart. Without looking at him, I lowered my eyes and lit up my phone, seeing the unread message:

"Bring two servings of tomato pasta to the hospital."

Treating me like a servant?

Seeing the unread reminder on the screen, Elias's voice softened, "Oh, you were busy working. Don’t ignore my messages next time."

"I brought you dinner. Eat it while it's hot."

He placed a taco in front of me. Glancing at the packaging, I recognized it from Kara's Instagram. Half-heartedly, I said, “I’m not hungry.”

I sensed his mood drop beside me. Rubbing my temples in frustration, I thought it better not to make a fuss.

I unwrapped the taco, revealing it was drenched in Mexican chili sauce.