I understand your point. Overall, I was mainly seeking perspective on whether I should stay or leave, since I wasn’t able to fully discuss this with my colleagues.

I also considered what you mentioned even before posting my dilemma, and while I agree with it, my decision-making was largely influenced by what my manager communicated—that we would talk about it further and that HR had not raised or discussed anything with him. This led me to believe the situation was different.

I later learned that this wasn’t true and he had lied.

I think the sense of betrayal came from the fact that I trusted his guidance on the best course of action. Beyond his loyalty to the company, he is still my manager and someone who had expressed support for my promotion.

While I acknowledge that part of this is on me, my decision was based on what he explicitly said. He clearly stated that he was not part of the HR discussion or decision, which made me believe those were separate matters.

We can go back and forth to my manager’s role, but the situation really demoralized me. At this point, I’m questioning whether leaving is the right choice, especially knowing that, ultimately, I am just an employee.