Chapter 6
"Sophia, don't get me wrong. I'm really just here to check on your kid. Ethan's so busy with work, he barely has time for anything at home. You know what he's like."
She said "family matters"
Like she knew all the details about us.
I walked over to the nightstand, grabbed the gift bag, and pushed it back into her hands.
"I told you, I don't want it," I said.
"Just go."
Josie stood up, gift bag in hand, and shot me a look.
Her eyes said it all, so much packed into that one glance.
There was no malice there, I realized.
Somehow, it felt worse than outright hostility.
It was pity.
"Alright," she said, turning to leave. But just as she reached the door, she paused.
"Sophia, there's something I'm not sure I should say."
I didn't respond.
But she went on anyway.
"Ethan's got too much weighing on him. It's not that he doesn't care about you or your kid. It's just that there are so many things holding him back, things he can't control."
"Give him some time."
The doors slid shut.
The footsteps in the hallway faded away.
Charles rolled over in his hospital bed, and the IV tube swayed again.
I tucked his hand back under the blanket and sat down by the bed.
Josie Stone.
We went to college together.
We're more than casual friends.
It's not that he doesn't care about you.
Give him some time.
It sounded like she was trying to give me advice.
But every word told me she understood Ethan better than I did.
I pulled out my phone and typed her name into the search bar.
Josie Stone.
The results popped up.
Josie Stone, heiress of the Stone Jewelry Group, returned from studying in France, and now works as a jewelry designer.
Scrolling down, I found the second news article.
It was a report from two months ago, with a photo from an event.
Josie was standing in the middle of a crowd, dressed in a dark green gown.
Next to her was a tall man.
Ethan Miller, right there.
They were standing shoulder to shoulder, way too close.
The caption under the photo read: "At the Stone Jewelry Group's fall jewelry launch, Ethan Miller, vice president of the Miller Group, was there to offer his congratulations."
I set my phone down.
Charles stirred in his sleep, mumbling something under his breath.
It almost sounded like he was calling for his dad.
Or maybe he wasn't saying anything at all.
Early the next morning, Charles's fever had dropped to 99.3°F.
He was feeling a bit better and could sit up to eat some porridge.
After I fed him and was tidying up, my phone rang.
It was Bella.
"How's Charles doing?" she asked.
"His fever's gone down. The doctor said we should observe him for another day," I replied.
"Okay. Come to the office this afternoon," she said.
"What for?" I asked.
She didn't say.
She hung up.
By 2 P.M., I was on the forty-second floor of the Miller Group.
Bella Miller's office door was slightly ajar.
I knocked twice.
"Come in," Bella called.
I pushed the door open and froze for a second.
Bella wasn't the only one there.
Michael was standing in the corner, and his back bent so far it looked like he might snap in half.
And there was a middle-aged woman sitting on the couch, someone I'd never seen before.
Bella was sitting at her desk, and she pointed to the couch.
"Sit," she said.
I sat down.
Bella turned to the middle-aged woman.
"Ms. Ryan, please inform her of the results," she said.
Ryan opened the folder she was holding and slid it across the desk to me.
"Ms. Lane, we've checked your marriage registration with Mr. Miller and can confirm it's valid," she said.
"We've also reviewed the marriage agreement you mentioned."
She turned to one of the pages.
"This agreement wasn't notarized or witnessed by an attorney, and many of its clauses violate the basic principles of marital law.
"From a legal standpoint, this agreement has very limited binding force."
I didn't say a word.
Ryan closed the folder and glanced at Bella.
Bella took it from her.
"Sophia, I'm going to say a few things, and I want you to listen carefully," Bella said.
"First, I've already dealt with Michael's unauthorized suspension of you. He's being transferred out of my office, demoted two ranks, and reassigned to administrative support."
Michael, standing in the corner, trembled but didn't dare say a word.
"Second, I've reviewed the situation with the Riverside Project," Bella said.
She picked up a file from her desk.
"You were the lead designer on this project, right?"
"Five months," I replied.
"Victoria, the design director, handed the project over to Maisie the day things went wrong for you. The reason was you were 'unstable,'" Bella said.
I didn't say a word.
Bella set the file down.
"I'll have the project reassessed. If your proposal really is the best, you'll be back in charge," she said.
"Third," Bella said.
She stared right at me.