Goodbye, Secret Boyfriend! Hello, Billionaire Boss

We had been secretly dating for three years. This week, my boyfriend, Julian, and I traveled to the corporate headquarters in Chicago for an annual conference. At the after-party, our regional director, Mr. Sterling, smiled at him and said, "Julian, now that your career is taking off, you should really start thinking about settling down!" "Honestly, I think Mia is a great catch. You two are already the dream team at work. Want me to play matchmaker for you?" I looked over at Julian. His eyes were locked on Mia, the executive assistant, with a remarkably tender smile. I turned around, clinked my glass with Mr. Sterling's, and said calmly, "I think they make a perfect couple too. You have great taste, Mr. Sterling!" Julian's face turned instantly pale when he heard me. He frowned slightly, his voice dropping. "Chloe, you've had too much to drink." I leaned back against my chair. "Mr. Sterling, I'm single too. Why can't you find a nice match for me?" I kept my tone light, joking through the alcohol. Mr. Sterling burst out laughing. "Oh, how could I forget about you, Chloe! Let me take a shot to make it up to you!" I downed my drink, watching Julian and Mia exchange Snapchat handles. A bitter pang hit my chest. The burning liquid slid down my throat, making my stomach churn painfully. Just then, a clean tissue was handed to me. "Stop drinking. It's bad for your stomach." I turned my head. It was Asher Vance, the young vice president of the company. "Thank you, Mr. Vance," I whispered. Next to me, Julian was still eagerly chatting with Mia, completely ignoring how his actual girlfriend was feeling. "So, Julian," someone at the table teased, "you and Mia were classmates in college, right? You never dated back then?" Mia covered her mouth with a soft laugh. "Don't even bring it up! He was the campus heartthrob. So many girls were chasing him!" "Yeah," Julian chimed in, looking directly at her. "But I was always waiting for a certain someone to chase me instead." They locked eyes. Everyone at the table could feel the spark, and the teasing grew louder. I clenched my fists under the table, feeling completely suffocated. Julian, if you don't clear this up right now, I swear I will. Mia's cheeks flushed red. Julian chuckled. "Alright, guys, stop. You're going to embarrass her." The crowd finally let it go, but soon turned their attention to me. "What about you, Chloe? What's your type? Tell us!" I looked at Julian. He was currently leaning over, peeling shrimp from the seafood tower for Mia. I used to love shrimp. But Julian was severely allergic to shellfish, so during our three years together, he never let me order it when we were out. The one time I had asked him to help me peel one, he had looked at me with a cold, serious face. "Chloe, you're an adult. Have some boundaries. What if the juice splashes on my suit?" That night, I had apologized profusely and never asked again. I had even stopped eating shellfish altogether when I was with him. Seeing him now, I realized that his "boundaries" only applied to certain people. Coming back to reality, I smiled faintly. "My type? He has to be handsome, loyal, and absolutely devoted. No wandering eyes allowed." "Basically, I despise wishy-washy men who can't make up their minds." Julian's hand froze. He shot me a warning, displeased look, but said nothing. I ignored him, laughing casually. "If you know anyone who fits the description, make sure to introduce us!" As soon as the words left my mouth, the man sitting next to me spoke up in a deep, steady voice. "I do." Everyone looked over in surprise. Even Julian raised his head, frowning. Asher tilted his head, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Chloe is an exceptional woman. Naturally, the man who deserves her must be just as exceptional." "Here's to you finding the right one soon." He raised his glass with absolute sincerity. Touched, I raised mine to meet his, but just as I was about to drink, his hand gently blocked the rim of my glass. "Drink water instead. Your stomach is already hurting." In that split second, my heart skipped a beat. My stomach had been cramping all night, and I had only frowned once. Julian hadn't noticed at all. But Asher had. I obediently sipped my water, watching Julian smile as he handed another peeled shrimp to Mia. It felt incredibly pathetic. For three years, he told me we couldn't go public because the company's HR policy strictly forbid office dating. But look at him now. A thought struck me, and I asked aloud, "Wait, doesn't dating Mia count as an office romance? Is that allowed? Because if it is, I might actually start looking for a boyfriend within the company!" Julian's face darkened again. "You seem exceptionally desperate to find a boyfriend tonight, Chloe." I set my water glass down. "Well, just like Mr. Sterling said, it's always better to keep the talent in-house."Mr. Sterling laughed heartily. Before he could say anything, Asher intervened in a calm tone. "Dating between HQ and the local branches is perfectly fine. One of you would just need to transfer out of state." I looked at Julian with genuine amusement. I wondered who would be the one transferring---him or Mia? Julian sneered. "What about you, Chloe? Do you have a candidate in mind?" "Actually, yes. I'm putting in my transfer request first thing tomorrow. You can consider this dinner my farewell party!" The table immediately buzzed with questions about where I was going, but I kept it mysterious. "You'll find out soon enough." Julian's expression softened slightly. He wiped his hands with a napkin and pulled out his phone. A second later, my phone buzzed on my lap. It was a Snapchat message from him. "That's enough. Don't push it." "Mr. Sterling was just joking. Did you really have to ruin the mood?" I let out a quiet scoff and didn't bother replying. Once the dinner ended, everyone began to disperse. Julian, who hadn't been drinking, naturally offered to drive Mia home. I was left standing on the curb, shivering in the freezing wind. I watched his taillights vanish into the traffic. I opened my Uber app, only to see that there were ninety people ahead of me in the queue. Damn it. Suddenly, a sharp cramp and a rush of warmth hit my lower abdomen---my period had arrived early in the freezing cold. I clutched my stomach, wincing in pain. Just as I was about to walk toward a nearby coffee shop to wait, a sleek black car pulled up to the curb and honked twice. The window rolled down, revealing Asher's face. "Get in." "It's fine, Mr. Vance. I ordered an Uber." "The wait times around here are brutal. Unless you want to freeze to death out here until midnight, get in the car." I glanced at my app again. He was right. I gave up and climbed into the passenger seat. Once inside, a sudden wave of panic hit me. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Vance... I might need to pay for your car detailing later. I... I think I might have made a mess." I shifted uncomfortably, trying to hover slightly off the leather seat. Sensing my embarrassment, he raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry about the car. If you really feel bad, you can buy me dinner next time to make it up to me." I nodded frantically. The heater in the car was running high, and warmth slowly returned to my frozen fingers and toes. Asher sat quietly next to me, focused on reviewing some reports on his tablet. As expected of executive leadership---always working, even at this hour. I sat there awkwardly until his voice broke the silence. "Did you mean what you said tonight?" "About what?" "Your transfer request. Where do you want to go?" I took a breath and answered honestly. "Yes. I want to transfer back to Miami." I wasn't lying. After three years of this exhausting, secret relationship, I was tired. I wanted to settle down. My parents had been begging me to move back closer to them. I was their only daughter, after all. But every time I brought it up, Julian would make excuses to delay it. Just last week, he had promised to fly down with me to meet my parents. But after I bought the flight tickets, he called me at the last minute to cancel, saying something urgent had come up. And the time before that, it was the exact same excuse. I bought the tickets, and he suddenly had a "critical meeting" he couldn't miss, leaving me to fly back alone. I couldn't even count how many times I had gone home by myself. Every time I saw the disappointment in my parents' eyes, the guilt ate me alive. The truth was, Julian didn't care. If a man really cares, he will make time, no matter how busy he is. Asher didn't say anything more after that. When we arrived at my hotel, I quickly opened the door to get out. Before I closed it, he leaned over and reminded me, "Let me know the day you're flying out. I have some business in Miami anyway. You can give me a status update on the way." I nodded, slightly confused. What did I need to update him on? But since he was my superior, I simply agreed. "Will do." When I got back to my room, Julian wasn't there. I quickly washed my clothes and cleaned up. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. It was a delivery driver holding a bag. But I hadn't ordered anything.I stood there in confusion, wondering who could have sent this. Then, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Asher. "I noticed you weren't feeling well in the car. Keep warm." Inside the bag was a box of pain relievers, and a electric heating pad. It was from Asher. "Thank you," I texted back. He didn't reply. I put on the heating pad, wrapped myself in the duvet, and fell asleep. The next morning, I woke up feeling much better. When I checked my phone, there were two text messages from Julian. The first was from 11:00 PM last night: "Mia wanted to see a movie after I dropped her off. I'm going to watch it with her before heading back." The second was from 7:00 AM this morning: "The movie ended too late. Checked into a hotel near her place to sleep." I let out a cold laugh, didn't reply, and booked the earliest flight back to our branch office. The moment I got back, I submitted my formal transfer request and started packing my things at our shared apartment. Julian didn't show up until the third day. Seeing my suitcases packed in the living room, he finally lost his temper. "Chloe, why have you been ignoring my texts?" I didn't even look up. "I've been busy." I had already shipped most of my clothes and heavy items back to Miami. Only my valuables and a few daily essentials were left. The apartment looked incredibly empty. My indifference was clearly ticking him off. "I already told you, there's nothing going on between Mia and me! Mr. Sterling was just joking at the dinner." "Yeah, I know." He choked on his words, completely caught off guard by my lack of reaction. Only then did he realize how much of my stuff was actually gone. He grabbed my wrist. "Chloe, where is all your stuff? Why are you packing like you're leaving for good?" "Out with the old, in with the new," I said, pulling my hand away. If I didn't clear my space, how would Mia find room to move in? Julian, completely missing the point, sighed. "Right, it's a new season. Time for a style upgrade, I guess." He then puffed out his chest slightly. "By the way, Mr. Sterling mentioned there's a promotion opening up. I might be moving to the Chicago headquarters permanently." "Oh." "That's it? You have nothing else to say to me?" I set down the box I was holding and looked at him. "I'm moving back to Miami, Julian." "When?" "Tomorrow morning." "It's good to visit your parents," he said casually, not thinking twice about it. "I'll fly down and join you when I have some free time. Have a safe flight." He assumed I was just going for a short vacation. He quickly walked into the study to take a phone call. Based on the cheerful, flirtatious tone of his voice, it was Mia. I opened my phone and sent a Snapchat to Asher. "Flying out tomorrow." Ten minutes later, he replied: "Got it. I'll pick you up at 9:00 AM tomorrow." I was about to text back and decline, but then I thought better of it. He was the VP. Rejecting him would be bad for my career. "Sounds good. Thank you, Mr. Vance." By the time I finished packing, half the apartment was completely bare. While Julian was still laughing on the phone in the study, I opened TikTok. Mia's profile popped up on my feed. Her latest video was shot inside a dark movie theater. Two hands were tightly intertwined. The caption read: "The best person at the best time." The comment section was filled with sweet congratulations. I calmly tapped the heart button and liked the video. Not even ten minutes later, Julian stormed out of the study, his face flushed with anger. "Chloe, what is the meaning of this? Why did you like her video? We just watched a movie. It was a horror film, and she got scared, so she grabbed my hand! That's it!" Looking at his defensive, angry face, I felt nothing but disgust. "Why are you so angry? As your colleague, I was just showing some polite social media support." "I..." "Julian, I'm moving back to Miami permanently. We aren't compatible. Let's break up." Julian's anger flared instantly. "I already told you I've been busy! Why do you have to be so unreasonable? Threatening me with a breakup over a stupid movie? It's getting pathetic, Chloe!" "It's not a threat. I'm done." "Fine! Whatever!" He slammed the door and left. He didn't come home that night, and for the first time in three years, I didn't text him to beg him to come back. The next morning, I picked up my suitcases and left my keys on the console table by the door. Taking one last look at the empty apartment, I walked out without looking back. Goodbye, Julian.