Chapter 3

Clara Castaneda POV:

The air in the office was thick with tension, a palpable dread hanging over everyone. The restructuring announcement had been like a death knell. Brandon' s face was a storm cloud, his temper short, his patience nonexistent. He barely spoke to me at home, our once-shared meals now silent battlegrounds. Benard, our son, picked up on the chill, hovering around his father, seemingly instinctively aligning himself with the perceived stronger party.

One evening, Benard, barely a teenager, approached me as I was trying to decompress with a book. "Mom," he mumbled, scuffing his foot against the rug, "Dad's really stressed out. He says you're making things harder for him at work."

My heart, already bruised, tightened further. "How am I making things harder, Benard?" I asked, keeping my voice even.

He shrugged, avoiding my gaze. "He just... he says you're not supporting him. Like, with the company stuff. He needs you to be on his side."

The words stung, a familiar echo of Brandon's manipulation. "Benard, your father is a grown man. His career choices are his own. I' m doing my job, doing it well, and that' s how I support our family too."

He just shook his head, retreating. The seed of doubt, of resentment, had been planted. And in the future I had lived, it had grown into a monstrous tree, overshadowing any love he might have once had for me.

A few days later, the atmosphere at AeroCorp was even more fraught. Rumors swirled about who was on the layoff list. I overheard snippets of conversations, hushed whispers mentioning Chadwick Molina, Cayla's uncle, making some "tough decisions." My blood ran cold. The pieces were falling into place, exactly as I remembered them, but this time, I was ready.

Then came the day of the announcement. We were all crammed into the main auditorium, a sea of anxious faces. Brandon sat beside me, rigid and pale. He still hadn't forgiven me for refusing to resign, and the silent war raged between us. I could feel his resentment radiating off him in waves.

The VP, a stern-faced woman named Ms. Albright, walked onto the stage, followed by Chadwick Molina, Cayla's uncle. He looked smug, his eyes sweeping over the nervous crowd, a predatory glint in them.

Ms. Albright cleared her throat. "As you all know, AeroCorp is undergoing a necessary, if difficult, restructuring. We believe these changes will ensure our long-term success." Her words were hollow, devoid of comfort.

She began to read names. Department by department. Each name a gasp, a choked sob, a rigid silence. My heart pounded, not with fear for myself, but with a cold sense of anticipation. I knew what was coming.

"From the Systems Engineering Department..." she began. My breath hitched.

She read a few names. Then, "Brandon Barlow."

My head snapped towards Brandon. His face drained of all color, his eyes wide with shock. A small, involuntary gasp escaped my lips. This wasn' t what I remembered. He was supposed to be safe. He was supposed to get promoted. My heart lurched. Had my refusal changed everything?

A dark, triumphant glare momentarily flashed across Brandon' s face as his name was called. He quickly hid it, feigning shock, but I saw it. I saw the calculated relief.

Then, Ms. Albright continued, her voice unwavering, "And Clara Castaneda."

The world spun. My name. My name was on the list. Not his. Both of us. No. This wasn' t right. This wasn't how it went down. My carefully constructed plan, my knowledge of the future, had crumbled. I was getting laid off.

Brandon, next to me, visibly sagged, his relief replaced by a new kind of terror. He didn't just want me to resign; he wanted me gone, but not like this. Not both of us.

A buzzing started in my ears, a high-pitched whine that drowned out the rest of Ms. Albright's announcement. My name. Laid off. It echoed in the cavern of my mind, a cruel twist of fate. My refusal had not saved me; it had condemned me to the very fate I hadn't wanted him to suffer.

As the meeting dispersed, a wave of colleagues offered their condolences, their faces a mix of sympathy and bewilderment. "Clara, I can't believe it," one whispered. "You're indispensable. How could they let you go?"

Another colleague, an older engineer named David, pulled me aside. "Clara, I heard something," he said, his voice low and urgent. "Through the grapevine. Chadwick Molina... he was pushing hard for your removal. Said you were 'resistant to new leadership' and 'too set in your ways.' Total nonsense, of course, but he has a lot of pull."

Chadwick Molina. Cayla's uncle. The name hammered in my brain. Resistant to new leadership. Too set in my ways. Lies. All lies designed to make me look like a liability, to clear the path. The truth, the brutal, ugly truth, slammed into me with the force of a physical blow. They hadn't just wanted me to resign; they wanted me out entirely. And my refusal had simply given them the excuse they needed to push me out overtly.

The betrayal was deeper, more insidious than I had ever imagined. It wasn't just Brandon; it was Cayla, her uncle, a web of deceit spun to destroy my career, to pave the way for their own ambition. Brandon had been more than just a manipulator; he was a co-conspirator.

I walked out of AeroCorp that day, not with a sense of defeat, but with a cold, clear fury. The bitterness was a physical weight in my chest, but beneath it, a tiny, fierce spark ignited. They had played their hand. Now, it was my turn.