My wife, Isabella, signed over half of her shares in the family company to an intern. An intern named Kevin. He wasted no time flaunting it on his private social media, a smug post for all our circle to see. “A huge thank you to my incredible boss for believing in me! Finally got my hands on some real equity. Muah~” The words hit me like a physical blow. I couldn't speak. My fingers fumbled as I dialed Isabella’s number. “You gave away your shares?” I asked, my voice dangerously low. Isabella’s tone was breezy, almost careless. “Oh, Joshua, Kevin isn’t just some random person. Think of it as a… performance incentive. Besides,” she added with a light laugh, “it’s just one company. We have plenty.” A cold fire began to burn in my gut. “You have ten minutes,” I said, enunciating each word with chilling precision. “Get those shares back.” She hung up on me. Three minutes later, every single supplier for Harrison Corp—her family’s empire—simultaneously terminated their contracts. If she enjoyed giving away companies so much, I didn't mind helping her give the whole damn thing away. 1 With their entire supply chain in freefall, the Harrison family patriarch, old man Harrison himself, panicked. He arrived at my estate in his wheelchair, a rare and desperate visit. “Joshua,” he began, his voice raspy with age and anxiety, “did that foolish girl Isabella do something to upset you?” He looked at me, his eyes pleading. “Don’t you worry, my boy. I’ll teach her a lesson she won’t forget! If she’s not to your liking, I have ten other granddaughters. Pick one! Any one you like!” He gripped the arms of his wheelchair. “Just… don’t take it out on the company. An old man’s heart can’t take this kind of stress.” I calmly lifted a cup of coffee to my lips, letting the silence hang in the air before I spoke. “For a pretty boy, your granddaughter was willing to throw away a fortune. Half her stake in the company, gone, just like that.” I met his gaze. “Tell me, shouldn't I be angry?” The old man’s face went rigid. His cane slammed against the marble floor with a sharp crack. “That spendthrift brat! How dare she! Joshua, you have my word. I’ll make her get those shares back this instant!” He left in a storm of fury. It wasn't long before my phone started ringing. Isabella. I ignored it. Twenty more calls followed, one after another, until I finally blocked her number. Less than five minutes later, she burst through my front door, her face a twisted mask of rage. “Joshua Kensington! Have you lost your mind?” she shrieked. “It was a small piece of one company! Is that worth all this? Was it really necessary to get Grandpa to cut off my allowance? When did you become so… so vindictive?” I was genuinely surprised. Vindictive? This was the same woman who, not so long ago, had curled up in my arms, whispering shyly that she loved me. The transformation was staggering. I rolled a smooth, polished obsidian worry stone between my fingers, its coldness seeping into my skin, a welcome anchor in the storm of my anger. “Every share, every asset we own, is marital property, Isabella. You gave it away without my consent. Did you think of me at all?” I paused, my voice dropping to a near whisper. “You have ten minutes. Get the shares back, or I swear I will burn the entire Harrison empire to the ground with you in it.” Fear flickered in her eyes. She knew I wasn't bluffing. “You’re a monster,” she muttered, but the fight had gone out of her. After a moment of tense calculation, she sighed. “Fine.” Her gaze fell, and a glint of silver shimmered at the corner of her eye. A tear. I knew the script. This was my cue to rush over, to hold her, to wipe away her tears and tell her everything would be okay. In the past, I would have. But now, I just turned my attention back to the documents on my desk. We’d been married a year, and she couldn’t even respect the most basic boundaries. She had earned my silence. The shares were transferred back quickly. Most of my anger subsided with their return. The rest of it vanished after I walked into her dressing room and systematically smashed every piece of her jewelry. The glittering graveyard of diamonds and pearls scattered across the floor was, in its own way, beautiful. I took a picture and sent it to her. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson.” She didn’t reply. She didn’t come home that night. I knew she was protesting, throwing a tantrum in her own way. But for the first time, I found that I no longer cared. 2 In an attempt to court new investors, the Kensington and Harrison families co-hosted a lavish business gala. It was a critical evening, the culmination of months of work. And Isabella, in her infinite wisdom, had put Kevin in charge of managing it. The result was an absolute catastrophe. The CEO of a major tech firm, a man I’d personally courted, was seated in the last row like an afterthought simply because he’d worn a designer shirt instead of a full suit. A venture capitalist who was prepared to pledge a fifty-percent stake in a new project was literally barred from entry by an overzealous security guard following Kevin’s muddled instructions. One by one, our most important guests walked out, their faces etched with disappointment and disgust. I couldn’t believe it. How could Isabella entrust such a vital event to a complete novice? I shut the gala down immediately and began the humiliating process of calling each slighted executive to offer my personal apologies. I was in my office, composing a message, when the door was kicked open with such force it slammed against the wall. Isabella stood there, her beautiful face contorted with fury. “Joshua, what the hell is wrong with you? How could you humiliate Kevin in front of everyone like that?” she screamed. “I know you have a problem with him, but to sabotage him publicly? You’re disgusting!” She stood there, in my office, in front of my staff, and trampled all over my authority. Her face was so full of venom, I couldn't reconcile it with the woman I had married just a year ago. My assistant, hearing the commotion, rushed in, trying to gently steer Isabella away. Isabella shoved her back. “Get your hands off me,” she snarled. “Do you have any idea who I am? You don’t have the right to touch me.” I cleared my throat, a quiet sound that cut through her tirade. My assistant immediately stepped back. There was no need to lower myself to her level. “Who are you?” I asked coolly. “From the way you’re acting, I’d assume you were my enemy.” I leaned back in my chair. “You know Kevin’s capabilities. Do you honestly believe he was qualified for this job?” She was struck speechless, her mouth opening and closing, but no words came out. She just stared at me, cornered. “You,” I said, pointing a finger at my assistant. “Tell us. What exactly happened at the gala tonight?” As my assistant recounted the litany of failures—the insulted guests, the logistical nightmares, the catastrophic mismanagement—Isabella’s face grew darker and darker. Her eyes darted around the room, and her hands twisted the hem of her designer dress into a knot. But her pride was the last thing to die. “It was Kevin’s first time,” she insisted, her voice tight. “He’s inexperienced, yes, but he’s incredibly capable. This was a learning experience. He’ll know what to do next time.” Her naivete was so profound it was almost comical. I let out a short, bitter laugh. “A learning experience? Do you have any idea how much money, how much goodwill, you just lit on fire to ‘train’ him?” I stood up, my patience gone. “Get out. I don’t want to see you right now.” We had spent six months preparing for this night, and Kevin had demolished it in three hours. She stood there, her face pale, hesitating. Just then, Kevin himself appeared at the doorway. His eyes were red-rimmed, and he tugged pathetically at Isabella’s sleeve. “It’s all my fault,” he whimpered, a masterclass in feigned misery. “I’m always causing trouble for you, getting you dragged into things.” He looked up, his expression a perfect blend of vulnerability and defiance. “I know I’m not good enough. It’s okay. I’ll resign. I won’t make things difficult for you.” His performance was flawless. Anyone would have felt a pang of sympathy. Isabella’s features softened instantly. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, her voice a gentle coo. “Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, no one will dare touch you.” She then shot me a look of pure hatred, as if I were the villain in this twisted little drama. A bitter taste filled my mouth. For a man she’d known less than three months, she was willing to declare war on her own husband. 3 To appease the furious investors, I had Kevin officially removed from all project management roles. Under immense pressure from her grandfather, Isabella relented. But her version of relenting was to immediately take Kevin to a high-end real estate office, determined to buy him a lavish gift as compensation. They toured the most expensive development in the city, the exclusive Riverside Estates. Kevin’s eyes glittered with greed as he walked through one opulent mansion after another. He finally stopped in front of a sprawling villa overlooking the river. He feigned a bashful reluctance. “Oh, Bella,” he said, using her pet name, “this villa is stunning. But… do I really deserve something like this? It’s so expensive. I don’t want you to spend so much on me.” For someone who claimed he didn’t deserve it, his feet seemed cemented to the ground. Isabella, glowing from his fawning, was about to wave her black card and buy the most luxurious property on the lot when the sales manager politely intervened. “I’m very sorry, Ms. Harrison, but this particular villa has already been reserved by Mr. Kensington.” “Reserved?” Kevin blurted out, his mask slipping for a second. “So what? I want this one today. I’d like to see who dares to try and take it from me.” “Is that so?” a cold voice cut in from behind them. “Then by all means, let’s see who dares to take what belongs to Joshua Kensington.” When Kevin saw me, his face fell. A flicker of pure malice crossed his features before he quickly rearranged them into a mask of tearful martyrdom for Isabella’s benefit. “Mr. Kensington is right,” he said, his voice trembling. “A person like me could never deserve a house like this. No matter how hard I work, I’m just a wage slave. We’re worlds apart, him and I.” He turned to Isabella, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. “Bella, please, don’t fight with him over me. I’ll let Mr. Kensington have the villa.” With just a few sentences, he’d painted me as the villain and himself as a magnanimous saint. Isabella, predictably, exploded. “We are all human! Why should you be treated as less than him?” she cried, rounding on me. “He works so hard, and you do nothing but persecute him! You heartless capitalist, you’re not worth a fraction of what he is!” Her face was a stranger’s now, her anger a weapon aimed directly at my heart. “You fought me over the shares, and now you’re fighting me over a damn house? For a man of your stature, you’re unbelievably petty, Joshua!” she spat. “You’re a greedy, grasping snake!” The irony was breathtaking. She was the one trying to take what was mine, yet she called me greedy. A thief crying foul. My voice was ice. “Whether it’s the company shares or this villa, I paid for them with my own money. They are not up for debate.” I took a step closer, my eyes locked on hers. “And don’t you forget, even that black card in your hand… I gave it to you.” The hand holding the card trembled. Her chest heaved with suppressed fury. Her resentment for me was a palpable thing in the room. But whatever affection I once had for her had curdled into something cold and hard. When we married, her eyes shone like stars. She’d told me I had shown her a world she’d never known and that she would love me forever. Her sincerity had moved me, and I had poured everything into our marriage—my support, my resources, my connections. I had single-handedly elevated the Harrison family into the upper echelons of society. I loved her, so I gave without expecting anything in return. I never imagined I was just nurturing a viper in my own home. 4 Isabella didn’t get the villa. That was the final straw. She didn't move out—that would have been too much for her grandfather to bear—but she moved into the guest wing of the house. Our war was now cold and silent. We lived under the same roof, ate at the same table, and worked in the same world, but we never spoke a single word. One morning at breakfast, her phone rang. It was Kevin. His voice was choked with sobs. “Bella, please, you have to help me,” he cried. “I don't know what to do! My life is over!” Isabella’s entire demeanor softened. “Shh, it’s okay,” she soothed. “Tell me what happened.” “I don’t know what Mr. Kensington told your grandfather,” Kevin wept, “but the old man just had me fired. And Mr. Kensington… he put the word out. He told everyone that if any company hires me, they’ll be making an enemy of him. I’m blacklisted, Bella. The entire industry has shut me out.” His voice broke. “Please, talk to him. Ask him to let me go. I’m just a nobody. Beg him to give me a chance to survive!” Isabella’s brow furrowed, her face turning as black as thunder. “Don’t you worry,” she said, her voice dangerously calm. “I’m here. Let’s see who dares to fire you.” She slammed the phone down and whirled on me, grabbing the collar of my shirt. Her eyes were bloodshot with rage. “Have you gone too far? Are you trying to utterly destroy him?” she hissed. “He’s just a young man from a poor background, trying to make something of himself! He’s hardworking, dedicated, and you won’t even leave him a path to live? And running to Grandpa to tattle? How childish can you be?” Her fury washed over me, a scorching heat that threatened to consume everything. I ripped her hands away. “Isabella,” I said, my voice tight with restraint, “I have warned you again and again. You keep pushing my limits. Don’t blame me for what happens next.” My eyes were cold steel. “I am a man of my word. If I do something, I admit it. But I will not have you or anyone else pin their filth on me.” She stared at me, her eyes filled with disbelief. It was clear she didn’t believe a word I said. We were locked in a stalemate, the silence crackling with unspoken accusations. Finally, her face crumpled with a look of profound disappointment. She gave me one last, long look. “I was blind to ever marry a man like you,” she said, her voice dripping with contempt. Then she turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. The vast house fell silent. My heart felt like it was being slowly fried in oil. I, Joshua Kensington, had built an empire, but my own marriage was a wasteland. Isabella went straight to her family’s home and had a screaming match with her grandfather. The old man was so incensed he collapsed and was rushed to the ICU. Even with her grandfather in the hospital, she doubled down, insisting that Kevin be reinstated at Harrison Corp. She began to flaunt their relationship, taking him to every event, showering him with attention. In no time, Kevin became a fixture in our social circle, the subject of hushed whispers and knowing glances. Everyone assumed they were having an affair. Isabella made no effort to deny it. On the contrary, she started taking him on “business trips,” traveling the country on the company dime. They only ever booked one hotel room. I later heard that her expense reports even included receipts for several boxes of condoms. When that news reached me, a chilling cold spread through my entire body. It was the final, definitive proof. The girl who had sworn to love me forever was gone. And if that was the case, she could expect no mercy from me. Isabella, you chose to betray me. Now, you will pay the price.
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