I’ve had a crush on my boss for the longest time. But obviously, I kept it to myself—he was married, and I wasn’t about to be that girl. Then recently, he and his wife split up and filed for divorce.

A little while later, he asked me out. I was over the moon! Things moved fast, and before I knew it, we were actually dating. But then came the gut punch.

I found out the real reason he started seeing me: to make his ex jealous so she’d come running back. He had no clue that move was about to backfire on him hard… because very soon he would realize he picked the wrong woman to play with.

At first, I ignored the signs. The way he only took me to places where he knew his ex might be. The way he’d get all moody and stare into space after a run-in with her. I thought he was still healing. I made excuses for him because, well, I really liked him.

He’d say things like, “You’re so much more fun than she ever was,” or “I wish she had been more like you.” At the time, it felt like compliments. Now I see they were just comparisons—tools to keep fueling his bitterness.

The turning point came one afternoon when we bumped into his ex at a café near the office. She barely looked at me and spoke only to him, asking if he could send her the last of her things. His whole demeanor changed. He straightened up, softened his voice, and suddenly acted like I wasn’t even there.

That night, I couldn’t sleep. My gut twisted with unease. I wasn’t stupid. I could tell when someone was emotionally elsewhere. And he clearly still had one foot—maybe both—in that past.

I tried to bring it up the next day. “Do you still love her?” I asked, plain and simple. He laughed at first, then got serious.

“She left me. She gave up,” he said. “You’re here now, aren’t you?”

That wasn’t a no.

The next week, his mood improved dramatically. He started buying me gifts, taking me out more, acting like the attentive boyfriend I’d hoped for. For a minute, I let myself believe maybe he was moving on for real. That maybe I was more than a rebound.

Then I found the text.

He’d left his phone on the counter while he was in the shower. I wasn’t snooping—I swear I wasn’t. It buzzed, and I glanced over. The name “Mara” popped up—his ex.

The message read: “So you’re really dating her now? Is this some kind of joke?”

His reply chilled me: “You made your choice. Just remember, I’m not waiting forever.”

That’s when I knew. I wasn’t the choice. I was the game. The pawn. The plot twist in whatever sad little drama he was writing with his ex-wife.

I felt stupid. Used. And more than that, furious. He thought I was so naive, so grateful for his attention, that I wouldn’t notice I was being weaponized. Well, he was about to see exactly who he was dealing with.

The next morning, I called in sick to work. I needed space. I needed a plan.

I spent the day remembering all the things he’d told me—about their divorce, their finances, his new promotion. I remembered something he let slip once: that their house was still legally in both names and that he hadn’t moved out yet because the paperwork was dragging.

That was interesting.

I knew his assistant well—Tasha. She had always been nice to me, even though I could tell she didn’t quite approve of our relationship. I invited her out for coffee. Casual, friendly. Once we got to chatting, I nudged the topic over to him.

“Has he always been… strategic?” I asked, stirring my drink.

Tasha rolled her eyes. “Manipulative is the word you’re looking for.”

That opened the floodgates. She told me he once leaked fake promotion news just to make a coworker jealous enough to quit. That he’d used emotional mind games with Mara too, even before the marriage ended.

“He doesn’t know how to lose,” she said flatly. “He just reshuffles the pieces.”

That night, I knew what I had to do.

I didn’t want revenge exactly—I wanted closure. But I also wanted to make sure he couldn’t do this to anyone else.

So I reached out to Mara.

I found her email in the company directory. She worked in a different department. I kept it respectful, short, and honest.

Hi Mara, I’m not trying to start anything, but I think it’s only fair you know some of the things your ex-husband has been saying and doing. If you’re open to it, I’d be willing to talk. Woman to woman.

To my surprise, she replied.

We met at a quiet park a few days later. She looked tired but kind. I told her everything—how our relationship started, the way he’d act around her, the text messages, and how I realized I was just being used.

She wasn’t shocked. She looked sad, like she’d heard this song before.

“I loved him once,” she said. “But loving someone who manipulates you? It’s like hugging a cactus. You bleed while they feel nothing.”

She thanked me. Then she told me something that made my stomach drop.

“He’s trying to force me into selling the house. He thinks if I feel cornered, I’ll give in. Maybe even come back. But I’m not going to.”

I could see it now. The charm, the drama, the baiting. It wasn’t just me. It was his pattern.

Over the next few weeks, I slowly started detaching from him. I stopped answering right away, started making excuses. He noticed, of course.

One night, he showed up at my door with flowers.

“You’ve been distant,” he said.

“I’ve been thinking,” I replied. “About us. About what I deserve.”

He looked confused. “I’ve done nothing but treat you right.”

I laughed, and it came out sharper than I intended. “No, you’ve treated me like a mirror. All I’ve done is reflect your mess back at you.”

He didn’t like that.

He left angry. Called me dramatic. Said I’d regret it.

But I didn’t.

I kept my distance. Focused on work. Spent more time with friends I’d been neglecting. And slowly, the weight on my chest got lighter.

Then came the fallout.

Turns out Mara had gone to a lawyer. She had proof—from my emails, from texts, from documents she’d gotten access to—that he had been deliberately delaying their divorce to gain leverage in the property settlement. That was enough to trigger a full investigation.

He was put on leave from work pending review. I didn’t gloat. I felt… relief. He needed to face the consequences.

But that wasn’t the end.

A few weeks later, Tasha called me. “You won’t believe it,” she said. “He got fired.”

Apparently, HR had been gathering complaints for months—mine was just the last straw. Several employees came forward about being manipulated, misled, or pressured.

He lost his job, his reputation, and in the end, Mara won full control of the house.

He tried calling me once more. Just once. I didn’t answer.

Life moved on.

A year later, I’m in a new role at a different company. My new boss? Kind. Transparent. Married too—but the healthy kind, where boundaries are respected and no one’s being pulled into personal games.

I’ve learned a lot.

I’ve learned that just because someone shows you attention doesn’t mean they value you. That sometimes, being “chosen” is not the compliment you think it is. And that the strongest thing you can do is walk away from something that makes you feel small.

Looking back, I don’t regret it. Not even the pain. Because I grew. And he? He lost everything he tried so hard to control.

Sometimes karma takes its time. But trust me—it always arrives.

Have you ever been used by someone who only cared about their own gain? Share your story below—someone out there might need to hear it. And if this hit home, don’t forget to like and share.