Chapter 1

To make room for a fresh graduate, my boss, and also my secret, undisclosed husband, Ibsen Sandhoff, fired me on the pretext that I had leaked confidential information.

"Ms. Lambert, you're getting old, and your thinking is rigid. You're not as gifted as your younger colleague. You should resign," he told me.

The new girl was sitting at my desk and ordering me to get her coffee.

I didn't say anything. I simply formatted the computer and took all my client resources and connections with me.

"Mr. Sandhoff, I hope your gifted younger staff can handle tomorrow's cross-border merger and acquisition deal," I told Ibsen before I left.

After I left the office building, Ibsen called me nonstop.

Before long, the company's computer system crashed, its cash flow dried up, and business partners withdrew their investments.

Three days later, Ibsen showed up with dark circles under his eyes and told me in a shaky voice, "Honey, I was wrong. The company can't survive without you."

The man behind me wrapped his arms around my waist. "Mr. Sandhoff, isn't it a bit inappropriate to poach my vice president right in front of me?"

When Ibsen caught sight of the diamond ring on my ring finger, his face turned pale instantly

*****

The doorbell rang for the third time while I was in the kitchen, trying out my new coffee machine. On the digital door viewer, Ibsen looked completely worn out.

He was holding a cardboard box containing a carrot cake from a shop in the south of the city, where one had to queue for two hours.

In the past, when I casually mentioned I wanted to have some carrot cake, he would say it was a waste of time.

Yet now, he was willing to spend the time.

I dried my hands and opened the door.

Ibsen's eyes were bloodshot, and his designer suit was creased.

When he saw me, he gave a strained smile and held up the cake box.

"Honey, this is your favorite…" he said.

Before he could finish, an arm wrapped around my waist from behind.

Isenbard Zoschke was dressed in a casual gray T-shirt, and his soft hair fell across his forehead.

“Who is it?” He drawled in a deep voice as his chin nuzzled against my hair.

Ibsen's smile froze on his face.

Thud! The carrot cake dropped to the floor, and its contents spilled out.

Ibsen stared at Isenbard's arm around my waist briefly before pointing at us both with a trembling finger and a furious expression.

"Weera, you resigned only three days ago, and you've already found a new grind?" he shouted.

The veins on his neck bulged visibly, and his voice rose to a shrill pitch.

"I knew you'd been having second thoughts all along. No wonder you formatted the computer and took the client files with you.

"Have you been cheating on me all along? What did Isenbard offer you to make you sleep with him so quickly?" Ibsen yelled.

His voice reverberated down the hallway, and the neighbor across the hall peeked through a crack in the door to watch the commotion.

Ibsen thought he had caught me in the act, so he raised his voice even louder.

"To think that I had felt guilty and came all the way to bring you a cake and beg you to come back.

"Weera, I never expected you to be so shameless. How could you do this to me?" he scolded me vehemently.

Watching him standing there at the door, all I could think of was how annoying he was.

This was the man I had loved for five years.

Whenever there was a problem, he would always push the blame to others first.

I slapped his finger away before it could poke me in the face.

Then I retrieved a document from the entryway cabinet and shoved it against his chest.

"Mr. Sandhoff, if you're sick in the head, go see a doctor. Don't come to my house and behave like a lunatic.

"Here's the divorce document. That villa we're still making mortgage payments on is yours, and that mess at Sandhoff Enterprise is yours too.

"I'm leaving this marriage without asking for a single cent from you," I stated firmly.

Ibsen was taken aback. He looked at the document at his feet, and when he saw the words "Marital Settlement Agreement" on the cover page, his eyes widened.

I used to yield to his every whim. Even when he fired me, I didn't make a scene.

He probably thought I was just throwing a tantrum and that I would come running back the moment he beckoned.

But he overlooked one thing. I didn't make a scene because I no longer cared.

Isenbard bent down and picked up the document.

He brushed the dust off it with a faint smile. "Mr. Sandhoff, thank you for sending such a capable vice president my way."

Then he shoved the document back into Ibsen's arms with a look of pure disdain.

"I heard Sandhoff Enterprise's system has been down for three days and is still not restored?

"Would you like some support from Zoschke Global's tech team?

"But our rates are very high as we charge by the second. Given your company's current cash flow situation… I'm afraid you may not be able to afford it, Mr. Sandhoff," Isenbard remarked sarcastically.

Ibsen's face turned red with fury at once. He crumpled the document in his hands and raised his hand in retaliation. "Isenbard, you…"

But before he could hit Isenbard, his phone started ringing in his pocket.