Chapter 3

Amelia's expression changed at once. She rushed toward the edge of the desk.

"I have no status, and now I am humiliated," she cried. "I might as well die."

James caught her in time. Then he turned to me, almost furious.

"Get out," he said. "And from now on, do not let just anyone into the company."

The bodyguards dragged me out of the building and threw me toward the entrance. I half closed my eyes and let the stares fall on me like needles.

Before I left, I turned and looked at the tall building one last time. This time, I'd give up my pride, and I'd give up him too.

I opened an Instagram account that was clearly Amelia's alternate account. I scrolled through it, post by post, almost as if I were punishing myself.

I realized that James had started cheating much earlier than I had thought.

[I got him. I want him all to myself, but he said if I make trouble in front of his wife, he will kill me.]

That post was from our wedding anniversary. I had woken up early that day and prepared a full table of food. That night, James told me he had a business dinner and did not come home.

[He is starting to care about me. Acting cute really works.]

Around that time, our relationship had begun to fall apart. I became suspicious and uneasy, and he said I did not give him enough space or respect.

*****

[He finally said I am just as important as his wife. He even gave me a nickname, Sunny. He always calls me that in bed.]

My fingers turned cold. A tear fell before I even realized it.

Sunny was my nickname. Almost no one knew it except my family.

So, James, did you really fall in love with someone else, or were you trying to find the youth we lost in someone new?

A message from Amelia popped up. It was a video. It showed what had happened the night before, proof of how desperately James had wanted her.

"I can keep him going all night. With you, he probably does not even react anymore."

"By the way, he said he will let me handle the Christmas family dinner as compensation. If you know what is good for you, you should leave early."

I thought about the Foster family, about their endless and almost obsessive rules. Then I smiled and replied.

"Good luck with that."

"Back then, he said I was the moon. But once he had me, I became nothing."

"So tell me, how long do you think it will take before you go from diamond to something worthless?"

After that day, James stopped coming home completely. I did not mind. In fact, I enjoyed the quiet.

As the end of the year approached, he finally came back. This time, he brought Amelia with him.

"She's pregnant," he said. "I won't divorce you, but she can't stay with me without a name or status anymore."

I smiled as if I understood. "Of course," I said. "The master bedroom has the best light. She can move in there."

The veins on his forehead stood out at once. "If you're angry, then say it," he snapped. "Do you have to make everyone look bad like this?"

"The pregnancy was an accident. Can't you be a little understanding?"

He had forgotten something. We had once had children.

Back then, he was busy with work. He left me alone in the house, where his mother Eleanor made my life unbearable. After three miscarriages, I was told I would never be able to have children again.

He moved me out after that, but that was also when everything between us began to change.

After Christmas, the waiting period for the divorce would be over. I still kept my smile.

"I mean it," I said. "A family as big as yours needs an heir."

"There are many rules for the Christmas dinner. I will explain everything to her."

He looked at me, confused by how calm and reasonable I seemed.

That night, he came to the guest room where I had moved. His arms wrapped around me from behind. The feeling was both familiar and strange.

"I know this has been hard on you," he said. "It's been a long time since we were together."

The memory of that humiliating night flashed through my mind. I pulled away and moved to the corner of the bed.

"No," I said. "Last time, the examination could prove your innocence. What are you going to say this time?"

He fell silent. Then his anger rose even more.

"Have I not treated you well?" he said. "I helped you deal with my family, and I paid off your father's gambling debts."

"We've been together since we were young. Do you really have to make things this ugly between us?"