Chapter 3

Ethan saw my tears, and his footsteps faltered.

Before he could speak, hurried footsteps echoed down the hall. Vanessa rushed in.

Her eyes darted from the ID badge in my hand to Ethan.

Ethan offered no explanation. He just stood there, his jaw tight.

Vanessa, clearly unused to being ignored by him, immediately let tears fill her eyes.

"Excuse me, that's my badge. Can I have it back?"

I scoffed. "Your desk is right here. Pick it up yourself."

I dropped the badge back onto the desk.

"Claire, you're crossing a line."

Ethan finally broke his silence. He glared at me, his eyes flashing with a warning, as if I were the one throwing a tantrum.

I looked up at him in disbelief.

I'm crossing the line?

Seeing him defend her, Vanessa's lips twitched upward in a microscopic smirk, though she kept up her wounded-victim act.

"Ethan, don't yell at her. She doesn't understand." She stepped toward me, playing the peacemaker. "There's actually a reason I'm working here..."

"Enough. You don't owe her an explanation," Ethan snapped, frowning. "You were hired through the standard process. She has no right to question you."

A bitter smile formed on my lips.

Vanessa's badge clearly stated her highest level of education was a Community College. She hadn't even set foot in a four-year university.

Yet Cole Enterprises had a strict policy: Master's degree or higher.

That was the exact rule he had used to reject me.

I remembered sulking in the corner that day. Ethan had seen me pouting and, for the first time, softened his tone.

"It's not that I don't want to pull strings for you. You know the company only hires people with a Master's degree. You don't even have a Bachelor's."

I had glared at him, my eyes burning, refusing to back down. "I had the chance to finish my degree, but I had to drop out because of an emergency. Did you forget?"

Ethan had sighed. "But you still didn't finish it, did you?"

I had no counterargument.

"I thought Cole Enterprises only hired Master's degrees."

The moment the words left my mouth, I realized I was handing him my dignity all over again.

Ethan didn't answer. He just stared at me with blatant displeasure.

I took a deep breath and turned to Vanessa.

"Step out. I need to speak with my husband."

Vanessa nodded eagerly.

But Ethan grabbed her arm as she turned to leave.

"Her desk is right here. Where do you expect her to go?" His frown deepened.

I never expected him to strip away every last ounce of my pride in front of her.

But I refused to lose my composure.

Pushing down the pain in my chest, I spoke again. "Fine. The conference room, then."

Ethan didn't say a word. He just turned and walked out.

Without sparing Vanessa another glance, I followed him into the conference room.

He took the seat at the head of the table, looking every bit like a man who had already won.

"Talk. What are you doing here?"

"Why haven't you responded to the divorce papers?"

Honestly, the moment I asked, I already knew the answer.

"Are you really going to protect her this much?"

Ethan went silent for a moment. "It's not about protecting her—"

I ignored the lie. "Which part of the headlines isn't true?" I pressed.

His eyes flickered, but he remained silent.