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He raised his hand to cover my mouth.
I struggled,shoving him off.
Seeing that he couldn’t silence me and witnessing my defiant anger,he grew desperate.
Fuming with rage,he signaled my mom,brother,and cousin to drag me aside.
With a glance,he gestured for my uncle and aunt to lead Fiona away.
Once we were out of earshot,they all gritted their teeth and hissed at me in low, angry voices:
“Evan White!Stop acting crazy!”
“If you upset your wife and end up getting your brother fired, I’ll never forgive you!”
My cousin’s face was equally grim,his jaw clenched.
“And my job too!”
“You’d better not ruin it!”
Staring at their furious faces,I realized why they were acting this way.
My brother and cousin worked at Fiona’s and my company.
They didn’t dare to go against her—they feared losing their jobs.
Fiona brought me here, so boldly demanding that they persuade me, because she knew full well about this situation.
A deep sorrow surged within me.
Within less than thirty seconds of Fiona announcing her infidelity, without even a single word being exchanged, my family’s thoughts immediately turned to their jobs.
Silently,they chose to belittle me,to force me to grovel.
Fiona saw it—counted on it.
Family.This was my family.
To hell with family!
My voice trembled.
“For the sake of keeping your jobs, you’d twist the truth and gang up on me?”
“Do you even have a shred of conscience left?”
“Don’t forget,when you were jobless,sitting at home,I got you those jobs!”
The economy was rough.My brother graduated into unemployment,with no interview offers.
My cousin was laid off when his company went under, and his resume was just being ignored by potential employers.
Back then,Fiona and I had just succeeded with our startup.
We’d opened a small factory,short on staff.Their skills matched,so I brought them in.
What was supposed to be a kind - hearted gesture had turned into a stab in the back for me!
The more I spoke,the angrier I got,nearly shouting.
But they didn’t see a shred of fault in themselves.
Instead,they sneered at me.
“You think getting us jobs turns you into a hero? Forget it!”
“The company, the factory, everything belongs to Fiona. The paychecks come from her!”
“She’s the one who matters,not you!”
“Yeah,we didn’t call you a gigolo—that’s already being nice. You’re just her lapdog, living off her achievements.”
“You still don’t get it,thinking you’re such a big deal!”
“Enough with the outburst!Don’t you know how tough the job market is?”
“For the sake of your brother and cousin’s jobs, what’s a bit of compromise?”
“Besides,it’s not a real compromise.She’s beautiful and makes a lot of money—your life’s easy!”
“You’re living the good life as her plaything and still want more?Greedy bastard!”
I rasped, my teeth clenched.
“I didn’t rely on her!”
“The company was built by both of us!”
“If we’re splitting the credit, I deserve more…”
My dad scoffed,cutting me off.
“You’re my son—I know what you’re capable of.”
“A useless man with no skills!”
