The Ex Who Became His Obsession - Chapter 37: Chapter 37

A woman with flawless makeup let out a mocking laugh. "Archer's career will be ruined in three days? For real? She really thinks Charlie would go after Archer just for her?
"Please. The investors finally managed to build up a cash cow, and she thinks they'd let her mess it all up?"
Someone replied, "But Brianna, I mean, everyone's saying she's Charlie's—"
Brianna flipped her long, wavy hair over her shoulder and said, "They don't know jack. Back at Ravendale University, Alyssia was already glued to Charlie.
"Charlie was just being nice to younger schoolfellows. Alyssia never stops causing Charlie trouble. When she couldn't land a job, she asked Charlie for help."
"Exactly. The lower-level folks love to gossip." Diana, head of the entertainment division, chuckled in agreement. "Everyone in management knows you're the one with Charlie. That's why I get pissed whenever I hear that kind of trash talk."
"Charlie was just being sentimental about old ties. He didn't even make a fuss over Archer's case. Now, Alyssia even thinks she's hot shit." Brianna twirled a lock of hair tightly around her finger.
Brianna's father was one of Vanguard Media's founding partners. After graduating, she walked straight into a cushy exec role as the head of the finance division.
Back in university, she'd been in the same program, same year as Charlie. They were seen as a perfect couple back then.
Both their parents and even Brianna herself had always assumed the two of them would end up together.
But then in junior year, Alyssia showed up as a freshman. From that moment on, Charlie started acting differently.
Sure, he was always polite and gentle with girls, but when Alyssia came around, he got softer and more patient. He smiled more and listened more.
Brianna hated it. She couldn't help digging around, trying to figure out what was going on between Charlie and Alyssia.
But Charlie always answered calmly, "Alyssia and I grew up together. She's just a childhood friend I look out for."
Charlie didn't lie at all. After college, Charlie went to Vanguard, then moved abroad, and just like that, Alyssia disappeared from the picture.
Brianna stayed close, always dropping hints, trying to move things forward. However, Charlie never gave her any response.
A few years back, Vanguard was under siege from Clairivera Group and other corporate giants. Things got ugly. Charlie flew back home and pulled off a miracle. He saved the company from total collapse.
They threw a victory party that night. But Charlie vanished halfway through, completely wasted.
When Brianna finally found him, he was sitting on the edge of a hotel balcony with dozens of floors. His legs dangling, he was staring down at the city lights with empty eyes.
He asked, "Do you think maybe only the dead really matter? If I die, will she remember me forever?"
Brianna's heart dropped. She rushed forward, yanked him back, and clutched his arms tightly.
Charlie collapsed onto the floor, and to Brianna's shock, the tears just started pouring down his face.
"I was so stupid," he choked out. "So fucking stupid. Why did I leave her alone at that café? Why did I lie to her? She trusted me so much."
He hugged his knees, trembling. "I was the one who ended it. I dumped her. Thought I was doing the right thing. Then she left with someone else, and I regretted it. I tried to go back. Am I just a jerk?"
Brianna whispered, "Who is she?"
Panic flickered inside her, some deep, primal fear she couldn't name.
But Charlie said nothing more. He just sat there, curled up, and remained silent.
It was the first time Brianna had ever seen him fall apart like that. And all she could do was sit next to him, hold space, and offer comfort.
By the middle of the night, the alcohol wore off. Charlie stood up and straightened his shirt. The composed Charlie was back, just like nothing had happened.
He never mentioned that night again, and Brianna never asked about the girl. She actually didn't dare to ask.
Something in her gut told her that was the reason Charlie had never chosen her.
She didn't want the truth. As long as she didn't know for sure, she could keep lying to herself that someday, Charlie would accept her.
But now, Alyssia was back.
Brianna kept her poker face, but the unease inside her was crawling back fast, especially after what Diana said—Alyssia was brought in by Charlie himself.
When Alyssia ticked off Leonard with one article, Charlie stood up to the board to protect her.
When she screwed up a major interview, Charlie personally told everyone not to blame her.
Brianna knew Charlie. He might've seemed soft on the surface, but he never played favorites. If an employee screwed things up, he never left them off the hook.
But with Alyssia, he was rolling out the red carpet.
Diana muttered, leaning toward Brianna, "Technically, she's still in her probation period. After a screw-up like that, she should've been fired on the spot. But I can't make any obvious moves either."
Brianna had a good background, and Diana, whether she admitted it or not, knew how to play nice.
Diana said, "I'll keep pushing her, make it so she quits on her own."
"No need." Brianna raised a hand, cutting her off. "Pressure's fine, but don't run her out."
She narrowed her eyes and added, "I want you to get her transferred to my division."
Back at Ravendale University, Charlie had always shielded Alyssia. Brianna never got the chance to go after her directly.
But the finance division was her turf, and she had a say in many things.
The office gossip was getting nastier by the hour.
"It's been two and a half days now. Remember how someone swore Archer would go down in three days? Thought she had some nuclear bomb up her sleeve," someone sneered.
Someone added, "Turns out she's got nothing. Archer's basically the poster boy for hard work. He has zero scandals. Every tabloid in the game's tried digging up dirt, and no one has found anything. You think she's gonna find something everyone else missed?"
One chimed in, "If she really had dirt, Archer wouldn't have turned down her interview. I said it before—don't take a job that's way out of your league.
"Just because she's got a nice face, she thinks she can skip the grind and leap to the top? What, the rest of us are just idiots?"
"She's probably still high off that Leonard and Milena article. Got lucky once and thought she was some prodigy or something," a girl scoffed.
Another man said, "Let's be real. That article wasn't even that great. Lauren just handed her the materials because she came in under Charlie's wing.
"She used the materials dug out by the whole team. And when she was left to handle it herself, she brought everyone a big surprise."
Someone shook their head. "Don't even get me started on that. If any one of us had gone instead, the magazine would be on shelves by now. She got the chance, and who ends up scooping us? Bright Orange Media!"
Someone snapped, "When was the last time Bright Orange got one over on Vanguard? We've all busted our asses to keep that record clean. Now she comes in and breaks it in one go."
One rolled her eyes. "She's a damn disgrace to Vanguard."
Someone reminded others. "Let's not forget the article about Leonard nearly landing us in court. Do you forget the 25 million dollars?"
"Hey, quiet down. Here comes 25 million dollars herself," a guy suddenly said.
Alyssia already knew her new nickname was "25 million dollars."
She actually kind of liked it. It sounded expensive and carried the right kind of weight. It fit her current obsession with money perfectly.
Sometimes she found it weird—there were definitely private group chats among the colleagues and ways they could bash her behind her back, but they just wanted her to hear their complaints.
Lunch breaks turned into circle-time roasts, one snide jab after another, loud enough to carry.
But the second Alyssia walked by, everyone scattered like pigeons, faces blank, acting like nothing had happened.
Even during work hours, they'd mess with her—laughing suddenly in sync, trading smirks across monitors.
But Alyssia kept calm through all of it.
Lauren, on the other hand, was starting to crack.
She cornered Alyssia one afternoon and asked, "Do you actually have anything on Archer?"
Alyssia could feel every pair of ears in the office tuning in. She replied lazily, "Yeah, I do."
"Then why the hell aren't you using it?" Lauren snapped, clearly losing it.
Diana had just cut another project that was supposed to go to Alyssia. Lauren tried to reason with Diana, but Diana hit her with the same script as always—and this time, with an extra nudge.
Diana hinted that if Alyssia didn't stay in Lauren's team, things would magically go back to normal.
Lauren argued that she didn't have the power to fire anyone. Diana only smiled and said the finance division was short on staff. Diana thought as someone who pulled strings, staying in any division would be the same to Alyssia.
But Lauren didn't buy it. Diana was the one in charge. If she really wanted Alyssia gone, she could've just told HR to make it happen.
But instead, she played it safe, sitting pretty while pushing all the heat down onto Lauren, manipulating her to do the dirty work.
Diana was an old fox, and Lauren wasn't naive either. Lauren thought. 'There's plenty of deadweight in this division, but she targets only Alyssia. Feels like someone else is pulling strings, and Diana is just the poor one to take the blame.'
Lauren lowered her voice and said to Alyssia, "Look, I'll be straight with you. Archer's case has got our division on edge. Everyone has complaints. If this keeps up..."
She looked genuinely troubled as she continued, "I won't be able to protect you anymore. Do you consider... transferring to another division?"
"No," Alyssia said calmly. "I told you Archer's going down in three days. We've still got half a day left."
Lauren blinked in disbelief. "Then what the hell are you waiting for?"
Alyssia lowered her eyes and replied, "I heard everyone say I'm the disgrace of Vanguard. Archer ditched us for Bright Orange, and I humiliated the whole company."
The office went dead silent. Everyone suddenly became very focused on their keyboards.
Then Alyssia flashed a smile. "So, Lauren, I want to make up for it. I want to win our pride back. Allow me to hit Bright Orange where it hurts. Is that okay?"