Well I'm not sure if you want to hear the truth but the truth looks like 1) your manager didn't go to bat for you. Generally a good company will give each man

Well I'm not sure if you want to hear the truth but the truth looks like 1) your manager didn't go to bat for you. Generally a good company will give each manager wiggle room to pay key employees, which leads to 2... 2) the company determined that they could replace you for less than what you were asking. That doesn't mean you aren't worth the salary you got at your other company, you might be awesome for all I know, but your current company has determined you aren't worth the salary you asked for. This happens all the time in professional sports, where even the best athletes can reach a point where the return for what they get paid is negative. Treat this moment like a player getting traded, don't focus on the team that traded you focus on the team that is trading for you, they want you to be a part of their team.