Chapter 1My boyfriend was the CEO, but you'd never know he was my boyfriend.
He refused to admit we were together. He even went out of his way to ignore me.
"I keep my personal and professional life separate. No one needs to know about us."
But with my best friend, Riley, he was completely different.
"Riley is your friend. I'm only treating her well because of you. Are you seriously jealous of your own friend?"
Company outings. Business events. Team meetings.
Riley was always by his side.
Everyone thought she was his girlfriend.
Then, at another company party, he asked Riley to sit next to him again.
The whole table cheered.
I just stood there and watched.
I didn't want to be his secret anymore.
...
The company banquet was wrapping up, and only two chairs remained empty.
One sat off in a dim corner by the kitchen doors.
The other? Right next to Marcus Kane—my boyfriend of three years.
A relationship nobody knew existed.
I'd barely moved toward the table when Marcus spoke up.
"Riley, grab that seat."
He was talking to my best friend.
Instantly, the whole table lit up with excitement.
"Wow, don't they just fit together perfectly?"
"I knew something was going on between those two!"
Our work chat exploded at the same time.
[They're both stunning. Honestly, just look at them sitting there.]
[Marcus has literally never done that before. Never invited anyone to sit with him!]
[I'm not imagining it—he acts completely different around Riley. I'm calling it now, they're definitely a thing.]
Throughout the entire meal, Marcus made sure to keep maximum distance from me.
Not a single glance my direction.
A server knocked over a teapot near me, and the scalding liquid splashed across my hand.
Marcus didn't even flinch.
He was too busy running interference so Riley wouldn't have to do another toast.
That's when something in me finally gave way.
A realization settled in, cold and clear.
I was done hiding.
I slipped away to the bathroom to run cold water over the burn.
While I stood there under the faucet, I noticed a message Riley Morgan had sent half an hour ago.
[Melody, don't stress about the group chat. People just like to talk. It's really nothing.]
I dried my hands and typed back.
[yeah.]
Marcus had texted me a couple minutes earlier too.
[I stayed away from you tonight because I didn't want people getting suspicious. Don't overthink it.]
I stared at his message, feeling something tighten in my chest.
I'd been with this company for three years.
I couldn't even count how many times this had happened.
Team lunches. Office parties. Strategy meetings.
The person next to Marcus was always a department head, Riley, or some random colleague.
Never me.
And on the rare occasion I ended up beside him by chance, Marcus would swap seats with someone else under some flimsy excuse.
He was so paranoid about people catching on that he could look right through me.
Pretend I wasn't even speaking.
Everyone at work had picked up on how cold he was toward me.
So naturally, they treated me the same way.
I locked my phone without answering.
When I came back to the table, everyone was still laughing and chatting like nothing had happened.
Only the angry red blister forming on my hand reminded me of what I'd just decided.
I was going to end things with Marcus.
As people started heading out, one of our teammates practically shoved Riley toward Marcus.
"Hey boss, there's a storm rolling in tonight. Riley shouldn't be going home alone in this weather. Mind dropping her off?"
Marcus didn't even pause.
"Yeah, no problem. I'm headed toward Brookhaven anyway. Anyone else going that direction?"
His voice sounded neutral.
But his eyes were locked right on me.
My stomach dropped.
Three years ago, some guy had followed me home after a late shift.
Ever since, I'd been terrified of walking alone after dark.
Marcus knew that.
After that night, he'd picked me up from work every single evening.
I started to speak.
"Actually, I'm heading that way—"
"Don't worry, I'll handle the rest of the rides," another coworker interrupted.
He moved directly into my line of sight before I could finish.
"Marcus, you just take Riley. We've got this."
Marcus held my gaze for a long moment, then finally looked away.
He gave the guy a nod.
"Okay."
Then he walked out with Riley.
The two of them drove off together.
When I told the coworker who'd volunteered to drive people home that I also lived near Brookhaven, his face fell.
"Melody, why didn't you say something earlier? It's past one in the morning. If I take you all the way out there, that's like an extra forty minutes.
Can't you just grab a rideshare? Might take a while, but you'll get one eventually."
I silently opened the app.
[High demand in your area.
Surge pricing in effect.
Estimated wait time: 53 minutes]
The work chat started filling up with messages as people confirmed they'd gotten home safely.
Then someone shifted the conversation.
[Is it just me, or does that one girl constantly try to get near Boss? Does she seriously not realize he wants nothing to do with her?]
[For real. If Marcus hadn't called Riley over, she would've planted herself right next to him.]
[And when Marcus asked if anyone else needed a ride toward Brookhaven? Come on. It was obvious he just wanted alone time with Riley. Some people really can't take a hint.]
Riley chimed in with a carefully vague response.
[Come on guys, don't say that. Marcus was just being nice because I'm still new.]
That only encouraged them.
[Remember when that other new hire got yelled at by her supervisor and dropped all her documents? Marcus walked right past her. Didn't even help pick anything up.]
[And the fact that Marcus hasn't said a word to shut this down? Yeah. That tells you everything.]
I kept reading until I felt absolutely nothing.
When Riley first started at the company, she'd told me it was because she heard people were treating me badly.
She said she wanted to be there so I wouldn't have to deal with it alone.
Now she was everyone's darling.
And all she had for me were empty reassurances to stop overthinking and insisting nobody meant anything by it.
When people started whispering that Riley and Marcus might be together, Marcus had just told me to stop obsessing over meaningless gossip.
Meaningless.
Maybe only someone who didn't care about you at all could dismiss your pain that casually.
The wind was freezing.
I could feel it cutting through my jacket.
I quit the group chat.
Then I opened my laptop and typed up my resignation.
I was done with Marcus. There was no reason to keep working at his company anymore.
Chapter 2
A driver didn't pick up my request until almost two in the morning.
The second I walked in, Marcus jumped off the couch.
"Why didn't you say you needed a ride? I would've taken you home."
His tone was so effortless, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
I almost laughed out loud.
Did he seriously not notice that my coworker had shut me down on purpose?
That everyone was pushing him and Riley together?
Couldn't he have just offered to drive me without being asked?
The words climbed up my throat.
I swallowed them back down.
"I forgot."
As I got closer, something caught my eye.
Matching sleepwear.
My chest tightened.
For years, Marcus had flat-out refused to wear anything that even hinted at being couple's clothing—even when it was just the two of us at home.
He'd always said it was too risky. Too obvious.
For half a second, hope flickered inside me.
"I thought you hated matching stuff."
Marcus opened his mouth to respond.
Before he could, Riley came out of the bathroom.
Wearing the other half of the set.
"Oh, I asked him to try it on," she said cheerfully. "The store sells them cheaper as a pair, but I wasn't sure what size to get for the guy's version. I just needed Marcus to see if it fit."
Oh. Well.
My face went blank.
For one stupid moment, I'd thought Marcus had seen my resignation.
That maybe he was finally ready to stop hiding. That maybe he wanted to fix things.
But no.
This was for Riley.
She tilted her head, looking Marcus over.
"Actually, the men's size might be too loose on me anyway. Forget it. I probably won't get them. I mean, I don't even have a boyfriend, so what's the point of buying a matching set with nobody to match with?"
Her voice dropped with disappointment.
Marcus caught it immediately.
"Just take mine."
Riley's face lit up.
"Seriously?"
Marcus stayed composed, but the faintest smile tugged at his mouth.
"Yeah. Melody never touched hers anyway. They've just been sitting in her closet collecting dust."
I looked down.
My hands curled into fists, then slowly released.
He wasn't wrong.
They had been collecting dust.
What was the point of keeping half of a matching set?
So I'd left the men's pajamas folded in the back of my closet for years, untouched.
I used to think I was saving them. For the day Marcus finally stopped hiding us. For the day we could wear them together without being afraid.
Instead, I'd waited all this time just to watch him hand them over to someone else.
I kept my voice even.
"Take them. I'm never gonna wear them."
Riley did a little spin, grinning.
"You're the best, Melody! Oh, also—the storm's supposed to stick around for a few more days, and I'm honestly kind of freaked out about staying alone. Can I crash here with you guys? Just until it passes?"
I slipped my shoes off and headed toward the bedroom.
"Do whatever."
It didn't matter anymore.
I was leaving soon anyway.
She could stay as long as she wanted.
Once we were in bed, Marcus spoke into the dark.
"How come you didn't say anything tonight? You used to get upset every time I gave away that matching stuff."
I went still.
He remembered.
When Marcus and I first got together, I'd gone overboard buying couple things.
Matching mugs.
Matching umbrellas.
Matching clothes.
If it came as a pair, I bought it.
I wanted everything around us to scream that we were together.
The next day, Marcus handed out his half of every single item to people at work like door prizes.
Eventually, one of my coworkers figured out that the stuff Marcus was giving away matched what I had.
Behind my back, they mocked me for thinking I had a shot at the CEO.
I became the office punchline.
What hurt wasn't that Marcus didn't like couple stuff.
He could've just told me that.
Instead, he picked the one way to reject me that would humiliate me the most.
After that, he got even more paranoid about keeping distance.
He wouldn't even step into the same elevator as me.
I didn't talk to him for days.
Marcus didn't fight back.
Instead, he brought me to his private wine cellar.
He pointed to a wall lined with bottles and told me every single one was priceless.
They'd all been made the year I was born.
And he said they'd stay right there until our wedding day.
That was the moment I convinced myself Marcus loved me.
He just wasn't good at showing it.
I thought his love was hidden in all the things he never said out loud.
But tonight—watching him shield Riley from drinks, help her pick out matching pajamas—I finally got it.
Some things don't need words.
You can see love in the way someone treats you.
And when there's no love, no amount of hiding can cover that up either.
My voice stayed flat.
"Didn't we agree all that couple stuff was pointless? If it's pointless, then giving it away doesn't matter either."
Marcus went quiet.
He didn't say another word.
Chapter 3
The next morning, the break room was buzzing with people crowded around Riley.
"Riley, that photo you posted last night definitely wasn't your apartment. Come on, spill!"
"Wait, did you actually spend the night at Marcus's place?"
"And those pajamas—those are literally a matching set! You two aren't wasting any time, huh?"
"I knew Marcus had a thing for you! He personally recruited you when you joined. Even back then, you could tell he was claiming you."
"Oh, and remember last week when your blood sugar tanked and you almost fainted? The very next day, the company started stocking snacks in the afternoon. That wasn't a coincidence."
My hand stopped halfway to the door handle.
That afternoon, Riley and I had both worked through lunch fixing a dataset.
By mid-afternoon, we were both lightheaded and barely standing in the break room.
Marcus had been there.
He'd seen me.
But he'd walked straight past me to catch Riley before she hit the floor.
The fear in his eyes had looked real.
When I confronted him afterward, he'd said, "You have me to look after you. Riley doesn't have anyone. If something happens to her while she's working here, that's on me.
I was just watching out for her because she's your friend. What, are you seriously jealous of your own best friend?"
I didn't wait to hear the rest of their gossip. I turned and left.
Then Cody Harris from HR came barreling in, practically vibrating with excitement.
"Okay guys, I've got two major updates! Marcus is getting engaged! I literally just heard him on the phone ordering a ring!"
The teasing around Riley exploded.
"Riley, sounds like someone's about to put a ring on it!"
Cody held up a hand.
"And here's the other thing—Marcus just signed off on a new promotion list. I heard someone from Riley's department made it."
Everyone swarmed Riley, voices overlapping.
"Who else would it be?"
"Future Mrs. Kane, everyone!"
Riley gave a small, humble smile.
"It might not be me. Melody's been with the company way longer."
I didn't stick around to hear them speculate.
Rachel Ford, the head of HR, had gotten my resignation and asked me to come in.
"Melody, your campaign results, your metrics, your performance—all of it's been solid. What's going on? Why leave now?"
I kept my eyes down.
"Ms. Ford, that promotion Marcus just approved... was I on the list?"
She went quiet.
I kept going.
"I've been here three years. Everyone who started around the same time as me has moved up to team lead. I'm the only one still in the exact same spot."
Every single year, when HR put together the promotion recommendations, my name had been sent to Marcus.
Every single year, he'd found some tiny reason to block it.
Rachel's frown deepened.
"Melody, did you do something to upset Marcus? Maybe you should talk to him and clear the air."
A bitter smile pulled at my mouth.
I hadn't done anything to upset him.
I'd just been secretly dating him for three years.
Rachel didn't push any further.
"You don't need executive sign-off to resign at your level. If you're sure, I'll get the paperwork started."
After I finished up with HR, Marcus called an emergency company-wide meeting.
His face was stone.
"The report the Content Strategy Team submitted two days ago had errors in the data. The client caught it immediately."
His eyes scanned the room.
"Melody Scott, that's your team, right? If you can't handle being acting team lead, then step aside for someone who can. You'll lose a month's salary. Riley Morgan is taking over as team lead."
A few coworkers immediately lit up and started congratulating Riley.
I didn't move.
I just stared at the data sheet in front of me.
That was the exact report Riley and I had stayed late to finish a few nights ago.
Marcus knew perfectly well I hadn't been in charge of that project.
I dug my nails into my palm, something inside me turning to ice.
Riley made the mistake. I took the fall.
And Marcus stripped my title just to hand it to her.
A cold, bitter laugh bubbled up inside me.
How pathetic.
Marcus caught my expression and his jaw tightened slightly.
After the meeting, he called me into his office.
"The data error was Riley's, yeah. But when someone on your team screws up, that's a management failure. I'm demoting you and docking your pay. You got a problem with that?"
My face stayed blank.
I answered in a perfectly professional tone.
"No. You're the CEO. I'm sure you have your reasons."
His frown deepened, but he didn't say anything. He just waved me out.
When I stepped out of his office, Riley came up to me holding a coffee cup with both hands.
"Melody, want some coffee?"
I gently pushed her hands away.
"I'm good."
