She Called Me Her Dog, But I’m Her Boss

For five years, Xavier Knight set aside everything to care for Julia Hartwell, planning every holiday and anniversary while she rose to Vice President. On the night of her promotion party, he stands outside the door holding a pink diamond ring, ready to propose, and hears her tell her friends he is nothing but a dog she keeps around, while her new assistant Derek Stone holds her waist and laughs along.

Xavier tosses the ring away and calls his father, agreeing at last to the arranged marriage his parents long urged on him, and asks that Julia be fired. He then phones the wedding company to change the bride's name, keeping the same date. Julia, unaware, assumes he is merely fussing over details, and when she falls ill she still expects him to come running; Derek, meanwhile, keeps posting photos meant only for Xavier to see.

As Xavier packs away their photographs and a card she once wrote, he begins to see how much of himself he gave away for a love that only ever served her.