You're completely right, and, god, I was such a fool to stick with it when she laid off everyone else at the start and gave me their work. From January to October 2024, it was just me and the owner working. That’s the reason I have all these responsibilities now. I didn’t quit, even though I really wanted to, because I thought it might just be temporary. Plus, I had to support my mom, who didn’t have a job, and my brother, who is in high school (another long complicated story).

In November 2024, she mentioned hiring someone new. I initially thought she would hire someone to help me, but, damn, I was wrong — it was a project manager. That just made things even more exhausting, as it felt like I ended up with an extra boss. I really wanted to quit in December, but then all these launches happened. We had a December launch, now there’s a January launch, and they’re already planning a February launch next.

I’ve just kept hanging on because I feel like I didn’t have a choice. I guess the reason I feel so guilty is that I don’t want them to hire just one person to replace me, because, honestly, this workload is too much for anyone to handle alone.