1 “How long has it been since we were last together?” I asked James casually over dinner. “What, you want a baby now?” He glanced up, his eyes flicking over my face before returning to the cod on his plate. “Weren’t you the one who said you didn’t want one?” “So the only reason for me to be with you is to have a child?” I was three years older than James. The year his family fell from grace, his mother gravely ill, when he was on the verge of selling himself to raise money, I was the one who stepped in. He broke up with his girlfriend and married me, becoming a live-in son-in-law to the prestigious Reed family. But in five years of marriage, the number of nights we’d actually shared a bed could be counted on one hand. It wasn't until recently, when I learned that his ex-girlfriend had become his new secretary, that the pieces finally clicked into place. Some things, I realized, simply couldn't be forced. I sat up straighter. “Can we tonight?” James finally looked at me properly. “What is wrong with you?” I glanced at his phone on the table, a constant stream of notifications lighting up the screen. I smiled and looked down at my plate. “Maybe… we should get a divorce.” A flicker of something—shock, perhaps—crossed James’s face. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by a half-mocking smile. “Because I won’t sleep with you, you want a divorce?” “What new game are you playing now, Miss Reed?” I wiped my mouth and poured us both a glass of red wine. The dark liquid swirled in the glass, its intoxicating aroma the perfect catalyst for primal desires. “The last time was… New Year’s Eve last year, wasn’t it?” I took a small sip, my voice a low murmur. “It was snowing that night, too. We had a little wine.” “I bought a new nightgown. You even said I looked…” “Avery,” James cut me off. “Are you finished? I’ll clear the table.” Before I could answer, he was on his feet, gathering my dishes. He was always so considerate. Ever since he married me, even after he became a successful CEO, he would still cook for me whenever he had the time. Mundane chores like washing dishes and cleaning were his domain when he was home. He never used a dishwasher, preferring to do it all by hand. I gestured to his phone with my chin. “Busy?” He shook his head. “Just the work group chat.” And just like that, he’d brushed aside my mention of divorce as if I’d merely asked if he liked the dinner. Normally, I would have let his coldness slide. But not tonight. “I heard you hired a new secretary,” I said, taking another sip of wine. He didn't stop his cleaning. “Did Walter tell you?” Walter was the driver my family had assigned to him. I didn't answer, just pressed on. “Is there anything you want to tell me?” “About what? You already know everything.” His tone was tinged with a faint, biting sarcasm. “I hadn’t seen Laura’s resume before it landed on my desk. My assistant, Ryan, handled the final interview. I trust his professional judgment. And I’m not going to ruin someone’s career just because she’s an ‘ex-girlfriend,’ am I?” He always had a reason, a perfectly logical, high-minded explanation. I could never win an argument against him. For all these years, except for those rare, unguarded moments in bed, James was always restrained, always polite. Sometimes I wondered why he’d agreed to marry me in the first place. Was it just out of gratitude? I was too afraid to ask, terrified of the answer that would surely break my heart. I watched him now, his back slightly bent over the sink, so close and yet so far away. He was the person I was supposed to be most intimate with in the world, yet I felt as if I’d never truly possessed him. I came up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “So, why not tonight?” “They say when a man doesn't eat at home, it's because he's already full from eating out.” I was desperate to stir something, anything, in this stagnant pool of a marriage. “Or are you saying you think I’m too old?” James’s brow furrowed. He pried my hands from his waist. “Don’t mess around. I have a video conference later.” Rejected again. “What if I said, if you don’t sleep with me, we get a divorce?” I persisted, determined to drop a boulder into this placid lake. I pulled his shirt from his trousers, my hand about to venture lower when he grabbed it. He spun me around, trapping me against the counter. He looked down at me. “Avery, don’t push me.” His voice was so calm it sent a shiver down my spine. “I know my place. You don’t have to keep testing me. But don’t push me. Some things… they just won’t work.” The one thing I was too scared to ask, he had to say it out loud. It just won’t work. I’d said something similar to my father once, when he’d tried to set me up with some family friend. What was it I’d said? “There’s no spark. You can’t force a spark.” See? Who said we weren’t a good match? We even thought the same way. I smiled up at him, my vision blurring. “Okay. I understand.” Before the tears could fall, I pushed him away and went to the bedroom. My phone still held the photo I’d received hours earlier. It was old and faded, but I recognized the young James instantly, and the sweet-faced girl nestled beside him, Laura. He was smiling so beautifully. A pity he never smiled at me like that. “What do you think your chances are now?” the message had read. I took a deep breath and typed back furiously. “I’ve already won. I’m his wife!” I was his wife. But… so what? He didn’t love me. My best friend, a lawyer, quickly drafted a divorce agreement for me. When she handed it to me, her face was a picture of disbelief. “Are you serious? James?” “You practically went to war with your father for him. You’ve had a few good years, and now you’re telling me you want a divorce?” She waggled a finger in my face. “Did he cheat on you?” “Don’t tell me you have some terminal illness.” “Hey!” I cut her off. “Don’t jinx me.” “Then what is it? You have to tell me! You have no idea how hard it’s been holding this in since you called!” I took the agreement and scanned it quickly. “Yep, this is perfect. You’re the best.” She suddenly shrieked. “Tell me! Why are you doing this? Wait, no, are you kidding me? You think this agreement is ‘perfect’?!” She looked like she was about to jump on the table. “Avery Reed, get a grip!” “What about the division of assets? I was waiting for you to ask me about that! Do you have any idea what his company is worth now? And you’re just asking for the money you lent him back, plus a little interest?” “Are you running a charity, Miss Reed? What about all the connections and resources your family gave him? If your father finds out about this, he’ll break your legs!” I knew. Never make a losing deal. It was our family’s motto. But a deal requires both parties to be willing. “I don’t need the money. I didn’t help him for financial gain.” “Bullshit! If you weren’t after something, why did you propose marriage? And at his lowest point! We all said it back then, you Reed women are born business sharks.” I gave a wry smile. I couldn’t blame them for thinking that. When James’s family ran into trouble, he and Laura were about to graduate and go abroad together. His father was accused of corruption after retirement, and his mother was in a car accident, the medical bills a bottomless pit. It was as if all the bad luck in the world had conspired to drag the golden boy down into the mud. And that was when Laura had abandoned him and left the country alone. I had seen the way he loved her, with a fierce, all-consuming passion. When he looked at her, there was a fire in his eyes that left no room for anyone else. So yes, I was despicable. I had extended a hand to him at his most vulnerable moment. “So, will you marry me?” Thinking back, it wasn't just taking advantage of his situation; it was preying on it. “You’re right. I made a great deal.” “And now… my conscience is catching up with me. I’m setting him free.” My friend looked at me skeptically. “Does your family know?” My father and my brother… they probably wouldn’t object. A few years ago, they were the ones trying to set me up with other men. “Young Mr. Carter is younger than James, why don’t you meet him?” or “The eldest son of the Lees just opened a new branch, and he’s still single.” But in recent years, they’d gone quiet. Maybe because I was getting older, or maybe because James’s company was getting bigger and bigger. They’d stopped trying to persuade me to divorce him. Everything seemed to be getting better. But me… I couldn’t go on. “Wouldn’t they be happy?” I shook my head and signed my name. “Divorce?!” I hadn't expected to be met with such a storm of fury when I got home. My father sat in his study, silent and grim-faced. My older brother had smashed a glass. “I knew it!” he raged. “I knew that James was a calculating snake! Now that he’s made it, he’s just going to toss you aside! What a classic case of biting the hand that feeds him! Fine! Just fine!” I was confused, but I frowned. “Brother, don’t say that. It was me who…” “You’re still defending him!” My brother wouldn’t listen. “Do you have any idea what he’s been doing?” “He’s been systematically devouring our family’s business empire!” “I knew something was off this past year! It was that bastard, sabotaging me behind my back! I really underestimated him!” “And now he wants a divorce? You call that anything but betrayal?” “Fine! Divorce him! But make him give you his company in exchange!” As my brother ranted, I finally understood. I looked at my father, who had been silent until now. He finally looked up at me. “We always thought of him as family. We let him have some business deals. But this time… the Westside project we’ve been preparing for over six months… he went straight to our competitor and snatched the bid right out from under us. The losses are significant.” “Avery,” my father sighed, “you’ve been sleeping with a wolf.” “It’s better to cut ties now,” he added, his voice weary. “You’re still young. You can find someone else. It’s just that now… Dad can’t help you much.” So this was it. This was my punishment. My punishment for taking advantage of a man at his lowest point. I don’t remember how I left the house. I just remember my sister-in-law holding my hand, telling me not to worry, that the family’s foundation was still strong, but that James had been acting unscrupulously for years. When I came to my senses, I was standing outside his office building. My friend had said she couldn’t reach him, so I’d decided to come in person. But what I was going to say, I hadn't figured out yet. I had just come to deliver a divorce agreement. But now… should I confront him? Ask him what he’d thought of me all these years? A ladder to the top? Or a target for revenge, unworthy of sympathy? “Mr. Croft is in a meeting.” I wasn't surprised to run into Laura first. She looked more mature than I remembered, tall and slender in a well-tailored business suit. When her gentle eyes swept over the folder in my hand, a barely perceptible smile touched her lips. “If it’s urgent, I can pass the documents on to him for you.” None of the cocky swagger from her earlier texts remained. “No, thank you. I’ll wait for him.” “The meeting might take a while,” Laura explained patiently. “Mr. Croft has been extremely busy lately, juggling several major projects at once. He barely has time to eat.” “Or, when he’s finished, I can have him call you back?” Very professional, very composed. James was right. She was a good secretary. And they… they did look good together. “Take me to his office. I’ll wait there.” I was still, nominally, the boss’s wife. She had no reason to stop me. The smile on Laura’s face faded slightly. She gave a small bow and led me to his office. I’d been to James’s office a few times. It was always neat and tidy, a reflection of his minimalist style. But this time, there were a few new potted plants, and a high-end eye massager on his desk. “Mr. Croft gets eye strain easily, so I got these for him,” Laura explained with a smile, expertly brewing me a cup of tea. I nodded. Of course. It made sense. But why did my heart still ache with such a bitter pang? I could imagine that if I confronted James, as I had in the past, he would just say he hadn't noticed. Besides, I no longer had the right to question him. But in that moment, an impulse took over. Just as Laura was about to leave, I stopped her. “Why did you leave back then?” “And why did you come back?” The faint scent of tea hung in the air, mingling with the perfume on Laura’s skin and the office’s own fragrance, becoming indistinguishable. Silence stretched between us. “If it hadn’t been for my circumstances, James and I would have been married long ago. We were planning to get engaged the year we graduated.” Laura’s voice had lost its professional veneer. “If I hadn’t left, you would never have had the chance to get close to him, let alone marry him.” “Shouldn’t you be grateful to me?” Laura turned to face me, tears welling in her eyes. Then, she let out a small, sharp laugh. “I came back, of course, to see if the so-called ‘unforgettable love’ really held that much weight.” “And what did you find?” I asked. But honestly, I didn’t really want to hear the answer. James chose that moment to walk in, just in time to see Laura’s unshed tears and my furrowed brow. “What are you doing here?” he asked me first. I placed the folder on his desk, about to speak. “Mr. Croft,” Laura cut in, her voice laced with a subtle note of grievance. “I told Mrs. Croft you were in a meeting, but she insisted on waiting… I’ll be leaving now.” She gave James a look that was both hesitant and meaningful. But his gaze was fixed on me, his expression as deep and unreadable as a still, dark well. I saw a flicker of confusion, then annoyance, in Laura’s eyes. Perhaps she didn’t know that James had changed a lot over the years too. He didn't answer her. He just lowered his voice and asked me, “What is it?” Under his intense gaze, my throat suddenly felt dry. And with Laura still standing there, I felt like an intruder, a clown in someone else’s private circus. I couldn’t bring myself to say the words “divorce agreement” in front of them. I couldn’t bear to lose so completely. “You can look at it later.” Then, I fled from that suffocating office, James’s cold voice echoing behind me: “You. Come over here and close the door.” What would he say to her? Would he look at the divorce agreement right away? Would they embrace, celebrating their freedom from the domineering rich girl? Or would he ask her gently what grievances she had suffered at my hands? Blame me for bullying his one true love? But no matter what, he had gotten everything he wanted from me, from my family. Now that I was setting him free, we should be even, right? Miss Reed’s bank account had never been short of funds. But I transferred all the money I had saved over the years back to my family’s account. It was a drop in the ocean compared to the losses James had caused, but it made me feel a little better. I was the one who had brought the wolf into our home. I had to take some responsibility. I didn’t get a call from James. Instead, it was Walter. “Ma’am, Mr. Croft has had a bit too much to drink. He seems to be caught up with a group of people and can’t get away. Do you want to come and see?” I froze, then stood up instinctively, ready to leave. “Whose party is it?” I had only taken a few steps when I remembered I had already asked for a divorce. In my current position, it was probably inappropriate for me to show up. “I’m not sure. Sounds like a reunion with some old classmates.” “Ma’am, you should probably come quickly. My car just got into a fender-bender, and I’m dealing with the other driver right now. I can’t leave.” Before I could say anything, Walter hung up. I bit my lip and went anyway. The lights in the club’s corridor were a dizzying, strobing mess. It took me a while to find the private room Walter had mentioned. The heavy door was slightly ajar, and the voices from inside drifted out clearly. “James! Come on, one more drink!” “You’re really something else now! Out of all of us, you’re the most successful! CEO of a publicly traded company, your net worth must be through the roof!” “Yeah, James, you have to help us out in the future!” another voice chimed in, dripping with flattery. “Don’t forget about us, your old buddies!” “I won’t,” James’s voice finally came, deeper and a little slurred from the alcohol. After a brief silence, a sleazy voice spoke up again. “Man, James, you’ve got it all—career, love life… you’re the real winner here. A woman from the Reed family, wow.” His tone shifted, becoming deliberately wistful. “But you know, sometimes I think about it, and it’s such a shame.” “Back in the day, you and Laura, you were the perfect couple! Everyone in our class was so jealous. If it weren’t for…” He trailed off, but the unspoken words hung in the air like a heavy stone. The noise in the room seemed to die down. Everyone was waiting, holding their breath, to see how James would react. Including me, outside the door. My heart clenched, my nails digging into my palms. Then, another voice, feigning innocence, picked up the thread. “What are you talking about? James’s doing great now.” “But hey, Laura’s here today too! Laura, come on, tell us, what really happened back then? You two were so good together, how did you suddenly…” So, Laura was there too. Her voice, soft and melodious, filled the silence, laced with just the right amount of plaintiveness and helplessness. “What’s the point of bringing up the past?” “My family was going through a difficult time. I had to leave. Some people… are just luckier than me. Let’s not talk about it.” Someone immediately piped up, “Don’t be too sad, Laura. James’s family was in trouble back then, it was a tough time. And some people, well, you know, they take advantage of a situation! Such clever tactics! But now you’re back, and James’s doing well. It’s the perfect opportunity for you two to get back together.” “What are you guys talking about!” Laura protested quickly, but her voice was full of a poorly concealed shyness. Taking advantage of a situation. Getting back together. Blood rushed to my head, then receded just as quickly, leaving me ice-cold. The light filtering through the crack in the door warped before my eyes. What was I doing here? Right. I was supposed to be picking James up. But this door in front of me felt like a ghost from five years ago, a portal to a past I didn't belong to. What right did I, an outsider, have to push it open? I took a step back, then another, until I was swallowed by the shadows of the hallway. The door clicked open. It was Laura, helping a stumbling James out. “You’re drunk. Let me take you home,” she murmured, her voice a soft caress, her face so close to his. James gently pushed her away. “I’m fine. You go on home.” He leaned against the wall, but his unsteady steps betrayed him. I knew his tolerance for alcohol. He was very drunk. I took an involuntary step forward. And then, Laura threw herself into his arms. “James, James,” she whispered, her voice a seductive thread in the dim, swirling lights of the corridor, trapping all three of us in a frozen tableau. “I’m back, James. Look at me.” “I had to leave back then. You can blame me all you want, but you can’t just ignore me.” “All these years, I’ve never forgotten you.” “You let me stay by your side, so you must not have forgotten me either, right?” James slowly lifted his head. I practically fled. But the club’s corridors were a dark, twisting labyrinth that seemed to have no end. After several wrong turns, just as I was about to ask a server for directions, a hand grabbed me from behind and pulled me into an embrace. “Who is it?” I struggled, turning around. And came face to face with him.
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