When Love Is a Lie (Whitney and Damian)

Whitney took a deep breath and argued back, "You have your limits, but what about me? Am I just supposed to put up with this forever?"

She couldn't possibly put up with his cheating, his blatant favoritism toward Rachel, and his endless threats.

Whitney fought to stay calm when she noticed the curious stares from outside.

"I've made up my mind. I'll wrap things up and hand over my remaining work in the next couple of days."

Damian's expression darkened. "I don't approve of this. Let's see which company dares to hire you."

She knew he wouldn't let her go that easily.

"Don't you want me to move back? Approve my resignation, and I'll do it." This was the last card up her sleeve.

"That's a separate issue."

"I won't move back if you don't agree."

Whitney stood firm on this condition no matter what he said.

Damian looked at her coldly. Her beautiful face was filled with determination.

After a moment, he let out a faint smile. "Fine, I approve. Finish the handover by the end of this week, and I'll pick you up next Monday."

As she left Damian's office, everyone quickly looked down. Whitney kept her composure, returning to her desk to organize files on her computer.

"Feeling down? Have something sweet." Sophie set a glass of juice on her desk and gave her a warm smile.

Since Whitney started at the company, Sophie had helped her with work whenever she could.

Whitney picked up a small potted succulent beside her computer. "Take this. Take good care of it for me."

"You're not keeping it?" Sophie asked in surprise.

Whitney smiled. "I'm resigning. Besides, I have a few more at home; this one's yours."

Sophie's eyes widened. Then, she seemed to understand and looked at Whitney with pity.

"Even if it's just rumors, Mr. Howard probably thinks this is the only way to prove himself. He's got a fiancée, after all. She must be difficult to deal with, so he's sacrificing you. Such a shame after everything you've put into this position." Whitney pressed her lips together and ultimately chose not to respond.

At lunchtime, Sophie insisted on taking Whitney out for a meal to mark her upcoming departure. They went to a nearby restaurant. As fate would have it, they ran into Rachel and a group from the architecture department.

Whitney could tell from just their voices that it was the same group gossiping about her in the break room that morning.

"Whitney, what a coincidence," Rachel greeted her with an innocent smile.

Whitney ignored her and focused on eating.

"Why are you acting so arrogant? You're a secretary who hooked up with the boss!" someone said in Rachel's defense.

"Are mistresses that bold these days? It's disgraceful. Rachel, you're too kind."

The group clearly felt emboldened with Rachel backing them up. They treated Whitney, a mere secretary, with complete disdain.

Sophie couldn't listen any longer.

She slammed the table andnoveldrama

snapped, "Mistress? Do you have any proof?" Then, she turned to Rachel and added, "Besides, are they implying you're Mr. Howard's fiancée? Funny, I don't remember hearing that."

"Sophie, even though you're the CEO's chief assistant, there's no way he tells you everything," one of them sneered. "I'd advise you not to get too close to the mistress, or people might start looking down on you too." These days, there was nothing that sparked more resentment than the mention of a mistress. But Whitney refused to carry that label. Even if she was leaving, she wouldn't let them smear her name on the way out. "Didn't you have enough fun gossiping in the break room this morning?" Whitney stood, signaling for Sophie to let her handle it.

They hadn't expected Whitney to have overheard them, but one of them didn't even flinch. She crossed her arms and stared Whitney down.

"So what if we talked behind your back? It's nothing compared to you being a mistress."

Whitney scoffed. "All this from one photo? Care to stand by your words?"

The woman pulled Rachel over. "Rachel is Mr Howard's fiancée, so we're not just accusing you out of thin air. How shameless are you to think you can become the CEO's wife because you're his secretary? Apologize to Rachel now. Promise to stay away from Mr. Howard, and resign on your own."

Whitney almost laughed at the absurdity. She turned to Rachel. "You're the CEO's wife? You expect me to apologize?"

Rachel's eyes fell. She never expected that a photo of Damian and Whitney would suddenly surface in the company group chat.

At first, she felt jealous when she saw the way Damien looked at Whitney. But someone in the group started the rumor that Whitney was Damian's secret lover, and Rachel saw her chance to get revenge.

Many of her colleagues misunderstood her relationship with Damien. So, Rachel allowed the rumors to spread unchecked.

After all, Whitney would never reveal herself as Damian's fiancée to the whole company. There was nothing to worry about.

Rachel looked up and sneered, "Shouldn't the mistress apologize to the actual fiancée?"