When the Heart Dies

"But my mom doesn't like wearing this kind of thing, so I thought it would be a waste. That's why I gave it to Scarlett instead."

"I know Ron well enough. He definitely won't mind."

Everything Chase said felt like manipulation. I gave him a cold look and turned to leave.

"Hey, wait. Ron, don't overthink this. It's all a misunderstanding!"

"Forget it, Chase. He's just stubborn. Let him do whatever he wants. Let's go."

…

Over the next few days, Scarlett treated me like I was invisible. She deliberately avoided me and gave me no chance to speak.

Whenever I brought up divorce, she played deaf and dumb.

In our seven years of marriage, we had argued a few times before. When Grandma was around, she would comfort me, persuade me, then cook all of Scarlett's favorite dishes to please her and play peacemaker.

From Grandma's perspective, marriage was not easy, but any fight could be resolved before the night was over.

This time, Grandma was gone, and I had woken up. I knew that being a lapdog would leave me with nothing in the end. I was determined to get divorced.

One afternoon while I was busy with work, my supervisor Derek Palmer came over and told me to help a certain Mr. Morrison replace a few water cooler bottles.

The Mr. Morrison in question was naturally Chase. After that night at the hotel, he had become the general manager. His new office was right across from Scarlett's.

Derek had been brought in by Chase and was a classic bootlicker, a loyal dog at Chase's beck and call. During work hours, I had endured plenty of grief from this lapdog.

Today, I refused. I had been injured before and could not lift heavy objects. Derek's expression darkened instantly.

"Ron, if you still want to work here, get moving. This is an order. It's not up for discussion.

"You're a grown man, yet can't even carry a few bottles of water. Aren't you embarrassed?

"I think you're just trying to slack off."

His voice was already loud, and when he spoke, everyone in the office heard him. They all stared at me and whispered among themselves.

"What's gotten into Ron today? How dare he defy his supervisor?"

"Maybe he's in a bad mood."

"With the job market this bad, isn't he afraid of getting fired?"

"He's been at the company for seven years. He's an old hand. Of course he's not afraid."

Derek's pride took a hit and his expression grew darker.

"Ron, you've got some nerve. Think you can ignore me? Keep this up and you can kiss your performance bonus goodbye."

"Dock whatever you want. Fire me if you have the guts!"

"You think I won't dare?"

I looked at him with contempt, kicked my chair aside, grabbed my bag, and walked away.

Derek froze for a moment. When he came to his senses, his face burned with humiliation. He shoved me.

Caught off guard, my body hit the corner of a desk, exactly where my old injury was. The piercing pain nearly made me pass out.

Just then, Scarlett and Chase walked by together.

"What's all this commotion? Don't any of you have work to do?"

Scarlett stood with her hands on her hips as she said this. From start to finish, she did not glance at me once.

Derek immediately put on a groveling smile and explained apologetically.

"Ms. Hayes, Ron refused to follow orders and disrupted office operations. It's my fault for not managing him properly. I'll make sure to discipline him."

Bootlickers like him just never knew when to quit.

Chase perked up and asked with false concern. "What did you ask him to do that made him so resistant?"

"I only asked him to carry a few water bottles. He refused, and when I called him out on it, he threw a fit."

Scarlett finally looked at me. She asked coldly. "Ron, you argued with your supervisor over something this small?"

I was still enduring the pain and had not yet opened my mouth when Chase jumped in.

"Ms. Hayes, please calm down. Ron probably has his reasons for refusing his supervisor's work assignment."

"There's no need for you to speak up for him. The company has rules and regulations. It's not like we don't pay him. Why shouldn't he follow his supervisor's work arrangements?"

Scarlett's gaze turned ice cold. "I think he's deliberately being disruptive."