Chapter 3 · 300 Witnesses: The Day I Stopped Being The Quiet Wife

Two seconds of dead silence. Then the chat exploded.

[Guys like him deserve to be exposed. Well done, Ruth.]

[What kind of monster are you, Liam?]

[I'm single. I can't stand this.]

Winnie suddenly spoke up. "Ruth, what's the point of all this?"

She fixed her hair, trying to look composed. "Liam and I really love each other. He doesn't care about you anymore, so why are you still holding on?"

I looked at her. "Love, huh?"

"Yeah," she said.

"How much does he give you every month?"

Winnie hesitated for a moment. "I didn't force him. He did it willingly."

I cut her off. "4 thousand for rent, then your daily expenses, and all those designer bags and jewelry. That's gotta be at least 10 thousand a month, right?"

Winnie didn't say a word.

"I've been at home taking care of the kids for five years," I said. "He gave me 1,500 bucks a month for household expenses.

"You think he loves you? No, he is with you because you are cheap."

Winnie's face went pale. "You—"

"He's sent you 170 thousand over the past three years," I said. "But he never divorced me. Do you know why?"

Winnie bit her lip, saying nothing.

I continued, "Because I care for his parents, raise his children, run his household," I said. "You can't do that. You won't do that.

"He needs a free housekeeper.

"Housekeepers work for free. But you? You cost him.

"So," I looked her dead in the eye. "You think you're the woman he loves. Actually, you're just something he bought."

Winnie's face drained of all color.

The live chat went wild.

[Epic. Absolutely epic.]

[Ruth is spot on.]

[Did the mistress hear that? You're just a commodity.]

[Guys like Liam want everything, don't they?]

Liam finally couldn't take it anymore. "That's enough."

He stormed over and grabbed my arm, trying to drag me away.

I dodged him and kept talking to the camera, "Oh, and one more thing."

I glanced at Winnie. "She's in the sales department, and Liam's her boss."

The live chat instantly caught on.

[Damn. Is this one of those shady office deals?]

[Boss and subordinate?]

[Isn't this against company policy?]

[Where's HR? HR, get out here.]

Liam's face darkened. "Ruth, what do you want from me?"

I turned off the phone and stared at him. "What do I want? I want you to understand one thing.

"I'm not some naive idiot who doesn't know what's going on.

"You'll pay for every single thing you've done."

I grabbed my bag and turned to leave.

When I got to the door, I shot Liam a look over my shoulder. "By the way, the meeting's still going. Mr. Lane, don't let me stop you. Carry on."

I closed the door behind me. The room was dead silent.

I stood in the hallway for a moment.

My hands were shaking. Not from fear—from the aftermath of finally letting it all out.

Five years. Five whole years.

When I quit my job, Liam said, "Ruth, just stay home and take care of the kid. I'll take care of everything else." And I believed him.

Before we got married, I was a project manager at an international firm, making 100 thousand a year.

Liam said, "Look at other families. Kids are always closer to their moms. My mom is getting old; she can't manage anymore."

I said, "What about hiring a nanny?"

"Strangers can't be trusted like family can. Besides, I can take care of you."

So I quit my job.

At the time, I thought he had a point. Maybe it really was better for me to raise our son myself.

We'd split the responsibilities—he'd earn the money, I'd handle the kid.

What I didn't know was that while I was at home changing diapers for our son, he was getting involved with Winnie at the office.

While I was up all night trying to get the kid to sleep, he was hooking up with Winnie in hotels.

While I was scrimping and saving at home, he was sending her money for designer bags.

Five years. Three years. Two blades plunged into my heart.

The elevator doors slid open. I stepped inside and pressed the button for the lobby.

My phone buzzed.

Liam texted: [Ruth, don't be impulsive. Let's talk, okay?]

I ignored him.

It buzzed again. [Ruth, you can do whatever you want, just don't let this get out at work.]

I laughed. Too late. Three hundred people had witnessed everything. The whole company knew by now.

Chapter 3

Two seconds of dead silence. Then the chat exploded.

[Guys like him deserve to be exposed. Well done, Ruth.]

[What kind of monster are you, Liam?]

[I'm single. I can't stand this.]

Winnie suddenly spoke up. "Ruth, what's the point of all this?"

She fixed her hair, trying to look composed. "Liam and I really love each other. He doesn't care about you anymore, so why are you still holding on?"

I looked at her. "Love, huh?"

"Yeah," she said.

"How much does he give you every month?"

Winnie hesitated for a moment. "I didn't force him. He did it willingly."

I cut her off. "4 thousand for rent, then your daily expenses, and all those designer bags and jewelry. That's gotta be at least 10 thousand a month, right?"

Winnie didn't say a word.

"I've been at home taking care of the kids for five years," I said. "He gave me 1,500 bucks a month for household expenses.

"You think he loves you? No, he is with you because you are cheap."

Winnie's face went pale. "You—"

"He's sent you 170 thousand over the past three years," I said. "But he never divorced me. Do you know why?"

Winnie bit her lip, saying nothing.

I continued, "Because I care for his parents, raise his children, run his household," I said. "You can't do that. You won't do that.

"He needs a free housekeeper.

"Housekeepers work for free. But you? You cost him.

"So," I looked her dead in the eye. "You think you're the woman he loves. Actually, you're just something he bought."

Winnie's face drained of all color.

The live chat went wild.

[Epic. Absolutely epic.]

[Ruth is spot on.]

[Did the mistress hear that? You're just a commodity.]

[Guys like Liam want everything, don't they?]

Liam finally couldn't take it anymore. "That's enough."

He stormed over and grabbed my arm, trying to drag me away.

I dodged him and kept talking to the camera, "Oh, and one more thing."

I glanced at Winnie. "She's in the sales department, and Liam's her boss."

The live chat instantly caught on.

[Damn. Is this one of those shady office deals?]

[Boss and subordinate?]

[Isn't this against company policy?]

[Where's HR? HR, get out here.]

Liam's face darkened. "Ruth, what do you want from me?"

I turned off the phone and stared at him. "What do I want? I want you to understand one thing.

"I'm not some naive idiot who doesn't know what's going on.

"You'll pay for every single thing you've done."

I grabbed my bag and turned to leave.

When I got to the door, I shot Liam a look over my shoulder. "By the way, the meeting's still going. Mr. Lane, don't let me stop you. Carry on."

I closed the door behind me. The room was dead silent.

I stood in the hallway for a moment.

My hands were shaking. Not from fear—from the aftermath of finally letting it all out.

Five years. Five whole years.

When I quit my job, Liam said, "Ruth, just stay home and take care of the kid. I'll take care of everything else." And I believed him.

Before we got married, I was a project manager at an international firm, making 100 thousand a year.

Liam said, "Look at other families. Kids are always closer to their moms. My mom is getting old; she can't manage anymore."

I said, "What about hiring a nanny?"

"Strangers can't be trusted like family can. Besides, I can take care of you."

So I quit my job.

At the time, I thought he had a point. Maybe it really was better for me to raise our son myself.

We'd split the responsibilities—he'd earn the money, I'd handle the kid.

What I didn't know was that while I was at home changing diapers for our son, he was getting involved with Winnie at the office.

While I was up all night trying to get the kid to sleep, he was hooking up with Winnie in hotels.

While I was scrimping and saving at home, he was sending her money for designer bags.

Five years. Three years. Two blades plunged into my heart.

The elevator doors slid open. I stepped inside and pressed the button for the lobby.

My phone buzzed.

Liam texted: [Ruth, don't be impulsive. Let's talk, okay?]

I ignored him.

It buzzed again. [Ruth, you can do whatever you want, just don't let this get out at work.]

I laughed. Too late. Three hundred people had witnessed everything. The whole company knew by now.