Chapter 2

When I brought him home, he was eaten up with guilt.

Whenever he was lucid, he'd lower his head, repeating over and over. "I'm sorry.

"Emily, I'm so sorry."

"I failed Grace. I couldn't save her."

In a fit of madness, he threw himself off the third-floor balcony.

It was only the soft grass and dirt below that kept him alive.

Still, he ended up with a shattered leg and was stuck in a wheelchair for nearly a year.

Even now, if you watch him hurry, you can still tell his steps aren't quite steady.

After that fall, he ended up with amnesia.

He forgot who I was, and he forgot our little girl.

The doctor said it was his body's way of coping.

If he hadn't let go, it would've killed him.

So, he let it all go.

*****

James and I went back to his family's house for dinner.

It was his mom's birthday.

At the dinner table, his mom started scolding him.

"Stop fooling around outside. Emily's got her hands full running the company by herself. You should really help her out more," she said.

As she spoke, she reached out and took my hand. "Emily, James's dad hasn't been well.

"These past two years, the Carter family owes it all to you, and I truly appreciate everything you've done."

After James's accident two years ago, his dad spiraled into depression and ended up in a car crash that left him disabled.

I'd been footing the bill for all those expensive medical treatments ever since.

James just kept his head down, shoveling food into his mouth without saying a word.

But the resentment and disgust in his eyes were impossible to hide.

To him, I was nothing more than a wealthy lady tossing cash around.

He thought I'd leveraged my money and his dad's illness to make him marry me.

Honestly, in his mind, it was no different from me being his sponsor.

I knew he resented me, and he was desperate to cut me out of his life.

*****

After dinner, as we headed home, James turned to me and said, "My mom's right. It's not easy running the company all by yourself. Let me help you."

I was already in my pajamas, just about to crawl into bed, when his words stopped me cold. My eyes stung with sudden tears.

For the first time in two years, he finally offered to help me.

This company was his baby from the start.

I was just his sidekick back then.

After he lost his memory, I had to keep the whole thing afloat by myself. It was a real struggle.

He might've forgotten me and a lot of things, but his smarts and talent were still there.

But his knowledge and talent were still there.

I scooted closer and clung to his arm. "Jimmy, thank you," I whispered.

He responded with a soft, indifferent "yeah."

That night, he didn't push me away.

For once, I slept peacefully in his arms.

The next day, I brought him to the office and kept him by my side in the CEO's office.

I handed him a bunch of files to look over.

I had his old assistant come in and walk him through things, step by step.

He built this company from scratch, every single detail was his doing.

He forgot everything, but he learned incredibly fast.

Within just two months, he was already taking care of the files I used to handle myself.

He started coming with me to meet clients and negotiate deals.

At dinner, my biggest client, Jake Reed, raised his glass to us.

Jake grinned and said, "Looks like you two are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel."

James sat obediently beside me, and I downed a glass of liquor.

The fiery drink tasted almost sweet on my tongue.

James really came through for me. He was finally able to help me run the company.

The deal with Jake was almost in the bag.

As soon as we sent over the samples for them to check, the contract would be as good as signed.

I figured it was time to let James try his hand at things on his own.

I put him in charge of the samples, letting him handle everything from start to finish.

After that, I didn't hear a single thing about the deal.

Half a month later, my secretary rushed in, looking panicked. "Ms. Lane, Mr. Reed just backed out of the CircleTech deal. He's not signing anymore."

At my desk, I was walking James through the most important report in the company.

The secretary looked at me, then at James, and didn't say another word.

It hit me all at once.

It was like a bucket of ice water had just been dumped over my head.

The secretary finally spoke up. "The sample we sent over had a program error during testing, and a large amount of data was lost."

CircleTech's most fundamental requirement for their product was that all data had to be stored securely and reliably.

There was no way the sample should've had any program errors.

Somebody must've messed with the code on purpose so it would fail.

After such a major screw-up, CircleTech was dead set on cutting ties with us.

I always knew that ever since James lost his memory, he couldn't stand me.

But it never crossed my mind that he'd actually try to hurt me.

Even if, in his eyes, I was just the rich lady who made him marry me, I never did him or his family wrong.

I looked at him, but before I could even get a word out, he stood up.

"Looks like there's no reason for me to stay here anymore," James said.

My hand froze around the pen, rage flaring up inside me as I watched him walk away.

"I could sue you!" I shouted.

"Emily, do you have any proof?" he tossed back over his shoulder.

He was still the same sharp, cunning businessman.

He never left anything behind for anyone to use against him.

Back then, he used his wit and cunning to crush his business rivals.

Now, he was pulling those same tricks on me.

I gripped the edge of my desk, coughing uncontrollably, each fit worse than the last.

Blood started to seep from the corner of my mouth, and my secretary jumped back in shock.

"Ms. Lane, you—!" she blurted out.

James heard the commotion and glanced back.

He paused for less than three seconds, then just walked away.

I waved her off, my face twisted in pain. "Just go."

My secretary left, eyes red and face full of shock.

*****

News about me coughing up blood quickly spread around the office.

My secretary rushed over, anxious to clear her name.

"Ms. Lane, it was Mr. Carter who spread the word," she said.

I knew she wouldn't lie to me.

I was the boss now, the biggest shareholder in the company.

When word got out that I was coughing up blood, the board and the execs started whispering nervously.

The whole company was buzzing with anxiety.

All the execs had their own agendas, each one plotting something behind the scenes.

That night, to keep everyone from jumping ship, I invited them all out for dinner at a fancy restaurant.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I noticed the door to the private room next door was wide open.

Seated at the table inside was James's close friend from back in the day, Alex Mason.

The other man at the table was Jake.

Jake was asking, "Mr. Mason, your company's stuff isn't going to have any glitches or lose data, right?"

Alex Mason answered without hesitation, "Mr. Reed, you can relax. There's no way that'll ever happen"

After just a few words, the two of them began signing the deal.

Alex set down his pen and, out of the corner of his eye, caught a glimpse of me.

He paused, looking totally uncomfortable.

I brought all the execs over for dinner, hoping to calm everyone down.

But instead, it just made everyone even more on edge.

Alex's company was way smaller than mine—couldn't even hold a candle to it.

But now, he was even able to snatch my deal right out from under me.

The food might as well have been invisible. Nobody had any appetite left. One by one, the execs started coming up with excuses and slipping out, each more eager to escape than the last.

Just as I was about to leave, Alex hurried out and called after me. "Emily!"

I turned around and managed a weak smile.

"Congrats," I said, my tone flat.

Alex clutched the contract, looking totally mortified. "James just showed up out of nowhere and said he wanted in. He wanted to buy half my company.

"You know how bad things are for me. The business is falling apart, I'm drowning in debt, and my wife and kid have already bailed on me."

"James bought in for fifty percent, so he's calling the shots now.

"He told me straight up—he wants Mr. Reed's deal for himself."

My whole body went cold.

I didn't say a word. I turned on my heel and got into the elevator, walked off without another glance.

I'd taught James everything I knew.

Guess I was just returning the favor. Everything he once taught me, I gave back.

Now he got his own company, and he set on bringing me to my knees.

Just as I was about to leave the restaurant, James stepped in front of me, stopping me in my tracks.