Chapter 2

Apologize?

I took a long, hard look at the man I'd loved for ten years, from college sweetheart to business partner.

There was a time when a key employee, disrespectful of a woman in charge, talked back to me.

Aldrich, without a second thought for the crucial technology that employee held, told him to pack his bags and leave on the spot.

He held my hand, standing firm in front of the entire company.

"Serena is my wife and my business partner. Disrespecting her is disrespecting me. Furthermore, our company has no room for employees who disrespect women."

Those words spread online, earning us countless praises, and we were even named Best Enterprise that year.

Just one year later, he was tolerating a new assistant, God knows where he found her, being disrespectful to me, and discriminating against a pregnant woman.

I took a deep breath, about to speak, when my peripheral vision caught a glimpse of underwear tucked under a couch cushion.

Embroidered with small snowflakes.

It wasn't mine.

A mix of absurdity and nausea churned in my stomach. My feet swayed, and as I looked up, Tiffany was staring at me, a defiant glint in her eyes.

It was hers.

The words caught in my throat suddenly lost all meaning.

I pulled my ID badge from my pocket and threw it on the couch.

"You want to fire me? Fine. But according to regulations, I expect my severance package. If I don't see the money by tonight, I won't hesitate to take your 'rules' to arbitration. And when that happens, I won't be the one losing face or paying the fines."

"Also, *I* landed this project. You fire me, and you can forget about the Evergreen Holdings deal."

Watching their faces cycle through shades of green and white, I sneered and walked out of the office.

The first thing I did was call Daniel.

There was no way I was letting them benefit from the project I worked so hard for while they were busy betraying me.

Daniel's voice came through.

"Whether you're doing this to spite Aldrich or not, I'm taking you seriously. If you come, my VP position is yours. And if you're worried about managing a baby later, I can help with that too."

"That won't be necessary," I said, smiling.

But for some reason, his voice on the other end dropped, a hint of disappointment in it.

"Alright then. See you at the signing tomorrow."

I hung up and went home to pack.

Good thing we weren't married; otherwise, I'd be figuring out a divorce too.

But the baby...

I touched my belly. A few seconds later, my gaze hardened.

With a father like Aldrich, it was better to raise this child on my own.

I got home early and started packing.

In the corner of the study was a storage box with a note taped to it:

"Aldrich's treasures, please do not touch."

This was the box he kept all my gifts in. He even collected my old water cups and hair ties.

He used to say:

"These will all be shown to our precious son someday, to tell him they're tokens of our love."

I had intended to cut all ties with him, but seeing that box, my heart still ached. I opened it.

The moment it opened, I froze.

Inside weren't my old things, but a pile of toys and lubricants.

My head exploded with a buzzing sound.

On the computer, Aldrich's SnapChat was still open, and messages with Tiffany kept popping up:

"Protecting you is what I should do. If you hadn't helped me relieve stress these past few months, I would've exploded."

"Wear the bunny girl outfit tonight to celebrate the successful signing, okay?"

My vision blurred, but I bit back the nausea and saved all the chat logs and videos to my phone.

Still furious, I grabbed a bag of fuzzy peaches and rubbed them all over those disgusting items, back and forth.

You want to play games? Fine. Play all you want.

My things packed, I was about to leave when the door suddenly swung open.

Aldrich walked in, saw me with my luggage, paused, then smiled.

"What's wrong? I just said a few things. Is that reason enough to get mad and run away?"

"I'm just being professional, you know? You're my wife, so I have to be even stricter with you for the others to follow rules."

"Alright, stop messing around. I bought your favorite steak. Tonight, we'll celebrate tomorrow's signing."

I was about to speak, but Tiffany came in behind him.

"Aldrich, I don't like my steak medium-well, make it medium-rare."

"Right, Tiffany likes it tender. Make sure you cook it well."

"Tiffany's been so busy, she hasn't eaten all day, unlike you, who got to go home early."

He pressed a package of fish into my hands, trying to push me toward the kitchen.

My face went cold, and I threw the fish back.

"I won't cook it."

His face immediately darkened, and he grabbed my arm.

"What's wrong with you? Is pregnancy making you stupid? You can't even handle this?"

"You embarrassed Tiffany at the office today. I specially invited her here so you could personally cook her a meal as an apology, and you're still being difficult?"

"Aldrich, it's okay. Serena's pregnant with your baby, it's normal for her to be moody. I can take it."

Tiffany cut in.

"Just because she's pregnant, she can act like this?"

Aldrich grew even angrier at her words.

He dragged me to the kitchen, pushed me in, and locked the door.

"You're not coming out until you cook dinner!"

I stumbled and fell. A sharp, twisting pain shot through my belly, and cold sweat instantly drenched me.

I pounded on the door, crying out.

"Aldrich! Let me out! My stomach hurts so bad... I fell... Take me to the hospital..."

"Aldrich, I think Serena's just mad I'm eating dinner here, and she's trying to use the baby to manipulate you. Maybe I should just leave?"

The footsteps outside paused, then his cold voice came through the door:

"I just asked you to cook dinner? Is that reason enough to threaten me with the baby's safety? You're crazy!"

I couldn't tell if it was heartbreak or abdominal pain, but I kept knocking, pleading.

"Cook if you want, don't if you don't. Come on, Tiffany, let's go to that Michelin-starred place instead."

"Oh, Aldrich, you're so sweet~"

I was in too much pain to speak.

"I'm not lying... really... it hurts so bad..."

My only answer was the *bang* of the front door closing.

My vision went black, and I passed out.