Chapter 2

I got back to my rented place and started packing my things.

Our wedding house belonged to Howard. I'd already moved out two months back.

This tiny room was only 40 square meters, and the rent cost me 900 dollars a month. It was cheap, quiet, and enough for me.

I folded my clothes and packed them into my suitcase.

My phone rang again. This time, it was my mom. "Sarah, I heard you got divorced."

"Yeah," I said.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry."

There was a brief silence on the other end. "Sarah, let me ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Did that guy cheat on you?"

I froze for a second. "Mom, how did you know?"

"I didn't." Her voice choked with emotion. "It was my guess. Why else would a man suddenly want a divorce out of nowhere?"

I didn't say anything.

"Sarah, tell me, did he do you wrong?" Mom pressed.

I looked out the window. The sky was a brilliant blue, and the clouds were pure white. "Mom, it's over now."

"No. If he messed with you, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."

"Please don't," I said with a smile. "I'll handle it myself."

"How are you going to handle it? He's got money and a company, and you've got nothing." Mom's voice got anxious. "Sarah, you can't let this slide.

"You need to fight for everything, the house, the car, and the shares. Don't let him walk away with them all."

"Mom, I did not come out empty-handed."

"Seriously? How is that not getting screwed over?"

"Give it a few days, Mom. You'll see for yourself."

She froze for a second. "Sarah, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." I got up and headed to my desk. "Mom, I gotta go. I've got something to do."

"What is it?"

"Work." I hung up.

On my desk sat a plain, worn-out folder. I opened it and saw a stack of certificates inside. They were my patent certificates, seven in total. On each one was printed my name, Sarah Nolan.

Staring at those certificates, I couldn't help but think back to eight years ago when Howard was an ordinary person in sales.

We were in the same college, and after graduation, we started a business together. He handled the sales, and I took care of the tech side.

That first year, we had nothing. We couldn't afford an office, so I was hacking away at code in our tiny rented place. With no money for staff, the two of us shouldered everything ourselves.

I remembered once I pulled three all-nighters in a row to meet a deadline. Howard bought me a hamburger and said, "Thanks for working so hard, babe." Back then, I really thought we'd be partners for life.

By the second year, I'd developed the company's core technology. It was an intelligent warehouse management system.

I built the entire algorithm for that system all by myself. I spent endless nights fixing the code, over and over again. Finally, I filed a patent for the core technology, and I alone was the holder.

Back then, Howard glanced at it and said, "That is fine for you to be the holder. We're family anyway."

I didn't give it a second thought. After all, he was my husband. Of course I trusted him.

By year three, we finally scored our first big investment. We got 2 million dollars.

The investor said, "This system is crazy good. Seriously, you won't find anything like this anywhere else."

Howard was grinning from ear to ear.