Chapter 3
The day Tessa came in for her interview, she bombed it. Caspian looked disgusted by her.
I didn’t think twice about this underqualified candidate.
But somehow, she still got hired.
And somehow, she went from being a nobody to becoming Caspian’s executive assistant.
I first noticed something was off when I saw our matching ring-the one that was supposed to be just between us-on Tessa’s finger.
At first, when I confronted him, Caspian would patiently explain and try to reassure me.
But over time, all that patience turned into irritation.
My constant forgiveness, my compromises, my desperate attempts to please him-they only made him more brazen about favoring Tessa.
At company dinners, he’d only order dishes Tessa liked.
Tessa worked half a day a week. The rest of the time, she spent eating, drinking, and hanging out with Caspian.
Meanwhile, all of her assistant duties got dumped on me.
He started bringing her up more and more.
At first, it was just casual praise and admiration.
Then it turned into comparisons.
He’d complain that I wasn’t as thoughtful as her, not as considerate.
The breaking point came during a company coffee break.
Caspian said his coffee was really good.
Tessa said she wanted to try it.
Without hesitation, he handed her his cup.
She didn’t even switch out the straw-she just put her lips right where his had been and took a big sip.
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‘You’ll Regret Leaving Me!’-Poor Thing. You Still Think You Matter? I Already Married Better!
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Chapter 3
And then Caspian took the cup back and kept drinking from the same straw, right over her lipstick stain.
In that moment, my heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible hand. It ached so bad I could barely breathe.
After that. Tessa’s boundary-crossing only got worse.
Worried he’d get sunburned? She’d rub sunscreen all over his body herself.
I’d make him lunch? She’d make him lunch too.
She’d eat mine and say it was because I was such a good cook, then make him eat hers instead.
Even my birthday celebration with Caspian got canceled because Tessa caught a cold.
But every time I complained, Caspian would snap at me:
“Lydia, you’ve got such a dirty mind. Tessa and I are just friends. Stop projecting your twisted thoughts onto her.”
Over time, though, even he started sounding less convinced.
The worst part? A major industry event required attendees to bring a plus-one. Caspian never told me about it-he just took Tessa.
I only found out after multiple people asked if we’d broken up.
When I confronted him, he got even angrier than I was.
“I was just helping Tessa network and develop talent for the company. Why are you being so petty?”
That time, we had a cold war that lasted so long I genuinely thought we were done.
Until late one night, he texted me: [Babe, my stomach really hurts.]
All my forced coldness crumbled in an instant.
And just like that, the toxic cycle started again: I’d question him, he’d get mad, I’d beg for forgiveness, he’d “forgive”
I closed the ring box and tossed it in the trash.
Deep in my drawer, I found an apology letter Caspian had written me when we were 18, after he’d missed replying to one of my messages,
Back then, he really cared about me,
Now, the only person he cared about was Tessa.
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‘You’ll Regret Leaving Me!’-Poor Thing. You Still Think You Matter? I Already Married Better!
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Chapter 3
I pulled out the letter, tore it into pieces, and threw it in the trash.
After clearing out decades of memories, the house felt emptier.
So did my heart.
The company group chat was still blowing up with photos of Tessa celebrating Caspian’s birthday, making him laugh.
Knowing how much Caspian favored her, everyone was kissing up to them:
“OMG, Mr. Lancaster and Tessa are such a perfect match.”
“If you’re gonna date someone, date someone like Tessa. Not someone like Lydia who’s jealous and always sulking.”
“Lydia only got where she is because of her family. Tessa earned her spot on her own. There’s no comparison.”
I didn’t bother reading anymore.
I called my lawyer and told him to pull all my investments from Lancaster Corp.
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