Chapter 4
By the time I walked into the conference room, everyone was already there waiting for me.
"Sorry I'm late," I said, not bothering to hide how drained I felt.
I slid into the seat at the head of the table, scanning the room—everyone looked dead serious.
This was a meeting about a new project. If we pulled it off, the company's profits would shoot up by thirty percent.
But honestly, I couldn't focus on a single word.
All I could think about was last night.
Emily in another man's arms, that image kept haunting me, playing over and over, no matter how hard I tried to shake it.
"Mr. Carter? Mr. Carter?" Brian Stone, the deputy GM, called out to me.
"Huh?" I replied, snapping out of my daze.
"What do you think of this proposal?" Brian asked, sounding a bit cautious.
I glanced at the presentation on the screen and gave a half-hearted nod, barely even registering what it was about.
"Sure. Let's just go with it," I said.
After the meeting, Brian stuck around.
"Mr. Carter, you don't look so good today. Are you feeling sick?" Brian asked, his tone full of concern.
"It's nothing. Probably just didn't get much sleep last night," I replied, my voice flat.
"Maybe you should head home early and get some rest?" Brian suggested.
"No need," I replied, my tone flat.
After Brian left, I sat alone in the conference room.
Just then, Alice came in with a cup of coffee. "Mr. Carter, here's your coffee," she said, setting it down in front of me.
"Thanks," I replied, my voice flat.
"Mr. Carter, there's something I'm not sure if I should bring up," Alice said, her tone hesitant.
I looked at her, signaling for her to go on.
"Last night, someone spotted your wife leaving the Golden Oak Lounge with some guy," Alice said.
My hand stopped mid-air.
"Who saw it?" I asked.
"It was Jessica Shaw from finance. She was having dinner there with some friends last night," Alice replied, her tone hesitant.
I nodded. "I understand," I said, my voice flat.
"Mr. Carter, about something like this..." Alice started, her voice trailing off.
"Don't spread this kind of gossip," I said, my tone cold and final.
"Yes, I understand," Alice replied, nodding quickly.
Once Alice was gone, I picked up the phone and called my lawyer, Richard Lane.
"Richard, I need you to draw up a divorce agreement," I said, my voice cold and unwavering.
"What happened?" Richard asked, sounding surprised.
"Emily and I are getting divorced," I said, my voice cold and unwavering.
There was a brief silence on the other end.
Then, Richard asked, "May I ask why?"
"She cheated on me," I said.
"Do you have any proof?" Richard asked.
"I've got someone who saw it, plus the transaction records from the lounge," I replied.
"That makes things a lot easier. How do you want to split the assets?" Richard asked.
"Give her a small apartment and 500 thousand dollars in cash. The rest stays with me," I said.
"Honestly, you're being nice to her. Legally, since she cheated, you could make her leave with absolutely nothing," Richard said.
"I'm not out to destroy her," I replied.
"Alright, I'll have the agreement ready this afternoon," Richard said.
After hanging up, I tried to get back to work, but my mind just wouldn't cooperate.
Every few minutes, thoughts about Emily would pop into my head.
What was she doing right now? Was she with Mark? Were they having sex?
I shook my head, forcing myself to stop thinking about it.
By lunchtime, I couldn't stand being in the office anymore. Instead of eating at the company cafeteria, I got in my car and drove off alone.
As I was passing a shopping mall, I suddenly caught sight of someone all too familiar.
Emily and Mark were coming out of the mall, hand in hand.
She'd changed into a new outfit, looking happier than I'd seen her in ages.
I pulled over to the side of the road and just watched them from a distance.
They got into Mark's car and drove off together.
Sitting there in my car, I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous it all was.
Last night, Emily was crying, begging me for forgiveness. And today, she was out shopping with Mark, looking happier than ever.
Women's tears weren't worth a damn.
When I got back to the office in the afternoon, Richard was already waiting for me.
"The agreement's ready. Take a look and see if there's anything you want to change," Richard said, handing me the document.
I read through it carefully, but everything looked fine.
"This works. Leave it as is," I said, my voice flat.
"When do you want to give it to her?" Richard asked.
"Tomorrow," I replied.
"Do you want me to go with you?" Richard offered.
"No, I'll go myself," I said.
When I got home that night, the house just felt so empty that I couldn't get used to it at all.
Back when Emily was still around, she'd always have a hot meal ready for me whenever I walked in.
Her cooking wasn't anything to write home about, but at least the place had some life in it.
Now, it was just me.
I ordered some random takeout and ate alone, staring blankly at the TV.
Some romance drama was on, and the couple on screen was having a heated argument.
The girl was crying, "Why can't you trust me?"
The guy retorted, "How am I supposed to trust someone who betrayed me?"
Unable to watch it anymore, I turned off the TV.