Chapter 1
After work, I flopped onto the sofa and sent a 60-second voice message to my best friend, Sophie, venting about my husband: [My husband is stingy and useless. He only gives me sixteen hundred dollars a month.
[I'm so jealous of you. Your man can go three rounds a night and give you a sports car.]
After my shower, I checked my phone and found a screenshot of a black card transaction.
Then, a message from my husband, Edward, popped up.
Edward: [The card's for you. No spending limit.
[And I'll be home at 10 PM tonight to prove whether I'm useless or not.]
My mind exploded.
I opened the chat window and saw my 60-second, resentment-filled rant sitting right there in my chat with Edward.
Above it was his message from three minutes ago: [I have a meeting tonight. I won't be home for dinner.]
I was so mortified, I wanted to pack up and leave the planet that very night.
Before I could start packing, the door lock clicked.
Edward, who usually only showed up at home a couple of times a month, walked into the bedroom, loosening his tie.
He slammed an unlimited secondary card and car keys onto the table and casually locked the door behind him.
"So I heard you're jealous of other husbands who can go three times in one night? Is that what you want?" Edward said.
*****
I stood frozen in the middle of the bedroom, the hanger dropped from my hand and hit the floor with a crisp sound.
Edward shrugged off his coat and tossed it onto the sofa, then strode over to me in a few steps.
He still carried the chill of the night air, along with a faint, bitter hint of pine.
"Go on, why'd you stop talking?" Edward said.
Edward bent down, his large, well-defined hand clamping my chin, forcing me to look up at him.
His eyes, usually cold and steady, were now dark and heavy, like a storm about to break.
My throat was dry, and I swallowed hard.
"Edward, wait, Mr. Shaw. No, please, let me explain. It was a slip of the finger," I stammered.
"A slip of the finger that sent a full 60-second voice message?" Edward shot back.
Edward let out a cold laugh, his fingers digging a little harder into my chin, leaving a faint red mark.
He asked, "Lily, I give you sixteen hundred dollars a month because on our wedding day, you told me you wanted a simple life, and that too much money would make you uncomfortable.
"So, in your eyes, am I tossing coins to a beggar?"
My eyelid twitched.
We'd been married for six months, and Edward and I were the classic example of an arranged marriage between rich families.
He was the heir to the mighty Shaw Group, while I was the youngest daughter of the Grant Family, dragged in to seal the deal.
After we signed the papers, I nervously told him I wasn't after his money. I wanted a stable life, and he could give me whatever he thought was enough for living expenses.
He'd actually take me seriously.
He did transfer exactly sixteen hundred dollars to me every month, like clockwork, not a penny more, not a penny less.
The guy selling sandwiches downstairs makes more in a month than I do.
"I didn't mean it like that," I stammered.
I shrank my neck, trying to wriggle out of his grip.
"So what did you mean by useless?" Edward pressed.
His eyes traced down my face, lingering on the collarbone showing beneath my silk nightgown.
Edward said, "We've been married for six months. You said you weren't feeling well and wanted to sleep in separate rooms. I played along and gave you time to get used to things.
"And now, I find out you've been telling your friend behind my back that I'm useless?"
Cold sweat broke out on my forehead.
This isn't my fault.
He was the kind of groom who went six months into a marriage without even holding his wife's hand, like he had taken a vow of celibacy.
Every time he comes home for dinner, he sits so stiff and proper, like he's at a military parade, and as soon as he's done eating, he vanishes into his study to handle multi-billion-dollar deals.
If I didn't think he was useless, what else was I supposed to think, that he'd become a celibate?
"I was worried about your health," I blurted out.
I squeezed out the excuse, though I didn't believe it myself.
Edward couldn't help but laugh, both annoyed and amused.
He let go of my chin and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, revealing his sharp, defined collarbone.
Then, right in front of me, he thrust the black card and a set of keys against my chest.
"Take the card. Spend as much as you want. Don't think about leaving this room tomorrow unless you hit three point three million dollars on the card," Edward said.
He shoved me hard onto the big bed.
The soft mattress sank under me, and before I could try to get up, his tall figure loomed over me, blocking out everything else.
His palm was scorching as he pressed my wrists above my head, locking them firmly in place.
"Tonight, we're going to settle this useless score once and for all," Edward said.