Chapter 2
I had no idea what James said to Michael, but before I even got home, his call came in, edged with rare anger.
He shouted, "What was that supposed to mean, telling people I'm cheating? Eva, when did you become this vicious?
"Luna only agreed to make that kind of sacrifice to help you. Instead of being grateful, you go around calling her the other woman and trashing her reputation."
Through the phone, I could hear faint sobbing on the other end.
His voice turned sharp at once. "Come here yourself and apologize to her. Now."
He hung up. A car screeched to a stop in front of me.
Several men got out, and before I could react, they were shoving me into it. My head slammed hard against the car door,.
And blood started running down from my temple.
By the time I got to the office, Luna Shaw was bent over the back of the couch, crying.
Michael sat beside her, patting her back with a gentleness I hadn't seen in a long time.
When he saw the blood at my temple, he froze for a second, then frowned and dragged me in front of her.
He said coldly, "Look at her. Luna is an innocent girl. She put herself through all that to teach you, and this is how you repay her?
"Eva, apologize."
It was still the same familiar face, yet my vision was blurred by tears so badly I could hardly make out the ugliness beneath it.
Seven years ago, to scrape together Michael's startup capital, I gave up my chance to go to college and worked part-time jobs instead.
If I brought a dish out too slowly, I had to apologize.
If a customer put his hands on me, I had to apologize.
If I made Michael wait too long, I had to apologize.
Later, when I questioned him about his relationship with his secretary, I had to apologize.
When Luna threw away the lunchbox I'd packed for him, I had to apologize.
When she complained the underwear I bought her wasn't bold enough, I still had to apologize.
And yet this was also the man who once held me after a customer slapped me and punched the guy back hard, saying, "My Evie will never have to bow her head for anyone again."
I went rigid, my gaze locking onto Luna's throat.
That necklace.
I had designed it myself for our fifth anniversary. There was only one like it in the world.
Two days ago, an assistant had delivered nothing but an empty box and said Mr. Sterling had taken it.
So that was where it had gone.
A raw hole opened in my chest, cold wind rushing through it.
I raised my hand and slowly wiped the blood from my temple with my sleeve, along with the last trace of warmth in my eyes.
Then I bent toward Luna in a deep bow.
I apologized, "I'm sorry.
"I'm sorry.
"I'm sorry."
Those three apologies put a full stop to my five-year marriage.
After that, I turned to leave.
Michael grabbed my arm hard. "Your forehead needs treatment."
I slowly pulled my hand free, took a step back, and said, "I'll handle it myself."
He stared at his empty hand for two seconds, stunned.
Before he could speak, Luna raised her phone with a trembling voice. "Mr. Sterling... look. I'm trending. So many people are trashing me..."
On the screen, a hashtag blazed: [Oceanic Holdings CEO Michael Sterling Spotted Vacationing With Secretary Amid Marriage Trouble]
"I didn't mean to. I had no idea we'd get photographed... Now everyone's calling me the other woman."
She was crying so pitifully that Michael's face darkened at once.
He looked at me, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Was it you?"
I shook my head.
He turned to his assistant and said coldly, "Contact PR. Bury it immediately."
Then his eyes locked onto me again. "If you hadn't stubbornly refused to come that day, Luna would never have been photographed.
"Put out a statement and clear everything up. This started because of you, so you fix it."
My mind went foggy.
The day before yesterday, Michael and Luna had come to pick me up together, practically glued to each other.
Looping herself around his arm, Luna said sweetly, "Eva, I get carsick in the front seat. Could you take it instead?"
Michael immediately backed her up. "She's still young and has never even been abroad. Just think of it as taking her out to see the world. Don't overthink it.
At that moment, I heard myself speak in a voice that was light, yet unmistakably clear. "I'm not going.
"You two go ahead."
It was the first time I had ever refused him.
The office was so quiet that only Luna's soft sniffles remained.
I took a document from my bag and placed it on the coffee table in front of him, even turning it around so it would face him properly.
I said, "Sign it.
"And this whole mess will die down immediately."