Soulful (TayNew)

part-23

Author Pov
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Tay had always trusted Gun. He had been his loyal secretary for years, always keeping things running smoothly in the company. Tay saw him as someone reliable, efficient, and discreet. But what he didn’t know was that Gun was secretly taking advantage of his position—especially now that New, Tay’s beloved husband, had started working as an intern.

For Gun, New was nothing more than a reminder of what he couldn’t have: Tay’s love. Every time he saw the couple together, it gnawed at him, feeding his jealousy until it turned into something more sinister. Gun saw an opportunity in New’s innocence and good heart—qualities that made New vulnerable to the cruelty lurking in the shadows of the office.

The other employees, unaware of New’s true identity as the CEO’s husband, had been drawn into Gun’s subtle manipulation. To them, New was just another pretty face—an attention-seeker who thought his looks would get him special treatment. They had no idea that the man they were bullying was not only their intern but the spouse of their CEO. If they had known, they would have been more careful. But Gun kept that knowledge to himself, silently enjoying the power he held over New’s situation.

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Gun’s influence was quiet but insidious. He never directly told the other employees to mistreat New, but his dismissive attitude toward New and the occasional offhand comment about New being “a little too confident for an intern” was enough to plant the seeds of resentment. Soon, the employees began to see New as an easy target for their frustrations.

“He thinks he’s so special,” one of the staff members whispered to another during a meeting, not realizing New could hear them. “Just because he’s good-looking doesn’t mean he can get away with everything.”

“He probably thinks the CEO likes him,” another employee snickered. “But Tay never even notices people like us. It’s always the beautiful ones that get the attention.”

New, who had been quietly taking notes, felt his heart sink. He had always tried to stay humble, to work hard and prove that he deserved his spot in the company. But no matter what he did, it seemed like the people around him only saw him for his appearance. They had no idea who he really was—who he was married to.

The whispers turned into cold stares, and eventually, small acts of sabotage. New’s work was often tampered with—documents would go missing, or deadlines would be suddenly moved without him knowing. And when he tried to explain the situation to his colleagues, they would simply shrug and tell him, “That’s how things work here. You’ll have to keep up.”

It was a lonely existence. New didn’t want to tell Tay what was happening. He knew how much Tay trusted Gun, and he didn’t want to cause any drama within the company. Besides, he didn’t want to seem weak. **I can handle this**, New told himself, over and over again, even as the bullying grew worse. **I don’t need to bother Tay with this.**

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Gun was clever. He knew exactly how to manipulate the situation to keep himself blameless. When New made a mistake—or when Gun orchestrated a problem for him—he was always the first to point it out.

“Mr. New,” Gun would say in his calm, professional tone, “I noticed that you missed an important detail in this report. You’ll need to correct it immediately. We don’t want to disappoint the higher-ups.”

New would nod, trying to hold back his frustration. “I understand. I’ll fix it right away.”

Gun’s eyes would flicker with satisfaction, but his face remained expressionless. “Good. Just be more careful next time.”