Chapter 3

That night, I didn't get home until the early hours, utterly exhausted.

Ruth was still awake, curled up on the sofa scrolling through her phone. The screen's glow illuminated her freshly manicured nails.

When she saw me come in, she frowned impatiently. "Spencer, is your damn job all you care about? You didn't even answer my calls!"

I checked my phone and saw she'd actually called me twice. When I looked at her face, the one I still cared about deeply, my heart softened, and I said sincerely, "I'm sorry, Ruth. Something urgent came up at work."

She turned her head away. "All you ever care about is your company."

"The company is my heart and soul, Ruth," I said, moving closer and explaining patiently. "You know how tough it is to start up these days. Someone's trying to poach my core team, and the team members are demanding a huge payout."

Ruth's eyes went wide. "What are we going to do?"

My heart warmed a little. Looks like she still cared about me.

I reassured her. "Don't worry. It's just... for the next month, I'll probably have to sleep at the office, trying to keep things afloat."

At that, Ruth's eyes suddenly lit up like a match struck in the dark, but she quickly snuffed it out. Her voice was tinged with worry. "Oh? Is it really that bad? So you're not coming home at all?"

My heart sank. Something felt off. Really off.

Her questioning felt a little too eager.

I leaned in, pinched her cheek, and flashed a half-joking, half-serious smile. "What, you can't wait for me to stay away so you can bring someone else home?"

She giggled, slipping out of my grasp, all soft and teasing. "Yeah. Otherwise, it's way too lonely here by myself."

I suddenly reached out, pulled her into my arms, pressing her into the sofa as I leaned in close, my breath brushing against her ear. "Lonely? I can fix that right now."

But her body stiffened instantly, turning from soft and yielding to stone. She pushed my chest away with both hands, her eyes nervously avoiding mine. "No, not tonight."

"What's wrong this time?" I asked, my gaze fixed on her, not missing a single shift in her expression.

Ruth lowered her eyes, her voice weak and trembling. "I... I'm on my period."

I was silent for a moment before releasing her. "Alright, get some rest."

I went to the kitchen, poured her a glass of warm water, and handed it to her like nothing had happened. I watched her take small, mechanical sips.

"I won't be back tomorrow," I said.

"Oh, alright," she murmured, barely looking up.

With that, I walked into the bathroom.

The bathroom trash can was completely empty.

The next morning, I got up early and packed my suitcase, getting ready to stay at the office for a while.

To my surprise, Ruth was up early too. The kitchen was filled with the smell of something burnt. She came out holding a plate of eggs with crispy, blackened edges and handed me a cheap plastic lunchbox, her eyes gentle with a kind of almost charitable softness. "No matter how busy you get, remember to eat."

I smiled and took it. "Alright."

She kept chattering away the whole time we ate breakfast. She was clearly in high spirits.

Before I left, I leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Take care of yourself."

She nodded, barely waiting to shut the door behind me.

After settling into a hotel near the office, I immediately opened the home security app on my phone.

Less than ten minutes after I left, Ruth rushed into the bedroom. She quickly changed into a strappy dress that was definitely not meant for work, then carefully applied lipstick in front of the mirror.

Next, she opened the wardrobe, fastened that pricey necklace, snatched up her bag, and headed out the door with a spring in her step.

I fixed my gaze on the earpiece in her ear. She stayed on the line the entire time, clearly deep in conversation with someone.

I switched the camera view back to the bedroom, glanced at the glass of water on the nightstand, and then turned off the feed.

After all, I had more important things to deal with right now.

A week later, the company's troubles were finally resolved.

Not only did we survive their ambush, but we turned the tables and scored an even bigger deal with the top player in the field. A total comeback.

My partner insisted on taking me to a fancy restaurant to celebrate.

As soon as I got out of the car, I spotted that eye-catching Porsche.

Erica was sitting in the passenger seat, the window rolled down halfway.

A lean man wearing gold-rimmed glasses stepped out of the restaurant, opened the car door with a calm, confident stride, and slid into the driver's seat.

I recognized him immediately. I had seen his face in his professional profile before.

He was Erica's new boyfriend, Ruth's supervisor, the young and promising project manager.

I suddenly felt a wave of relief wash over me.

He definitely wasn't Ruth's type.

I checked the home security feed. The bedroom was pitch black, and the glass of water I'd left on the nightstand hadn't moved at all.

I let out a quiet sigh. She'd always been afraid of the dark, so she probably went to stay over at her best friend's place tonight.

Guess I was just being paranoid.

After dinner, I headed to the busiest shopping street in the city and bought the diamond necklace Ruth had been eyeing for ages.

"Your girlfriend is going to be so surprised when she gets this," the saleswoman said with a warm smile, her eyes shining with good wishes.

My partner whistled. "Just landed a big order and already dropping a fortune on a necklace for your girlfriend? Looks like you are seriously whipped."

I gave him a nudge. "Relax, your cut's safe."

He laughed, putting on an exaggerated show. "Go on, your lovely girlfriend's waiting for you at home."

My heart warmed. I hadn't told Ruth I'd managed to fix everything ahead of time.

Would she come home tonight?