Chapter 2

I used to believe that after all the hardships Carrie and I had endured together over the years, our love was strong enough to weather any storm.

So time and again, I gave her chances, hoping everything would return to the way it once was.

But this time, I finally woke up. I don't want this marriage anymore.

When I returned to the company to retrieve some documents, a few colleagues were huddled around a phone, whispering among themselves. I stepped closer and saw it was a post from Gabe's Instagram.

Caption: [Fighting side by side with you is the greatest happiness.]

In the photo, Carrie was attending the annual Contribution Awards ceremony with Gabe. She stood nestled in his arms—they looked perfectly matched.

And the award-winning product Gabe was showcasing was the very drone program I had led the development of.

Rage surged through me.

How could Carrie stoop so low—using the months of sleepless work my team and I poured our hearts into as a stepping stone for Gabe?

I reached the door of her office. Just as I was about to enter, I heard laughter and playful banter from inside.

"Oh, Gabe, remember to delete that post. If Cole sees it, he'll throw another tantrum."

Gabe gritted his teeth in dissatisfaction, but still took out his phone and deleted the post.

The moment Carrie looked up, she saw me.

"Hon—"

I cut her off, my expression cold.

"Carrie, this project took me and the core tech team an entire year to crack. And you just handed the credit over to Gabe like it was nothing?"

She waved it off.

"Cole, I admit it was wrong of me to give him your project, but I was just angry at the time. You're always talking about divorce to provoke me. I got so mad I lost my head. But I swear to you, there's really nothing between him and me—"

"Then what about the project?"

I raised my voice, pulling my hand away from hers.

A troubled look crossed her face.

"Honey… Gabe needs it. You can always create another project if you lose this award, but he can't afford to wait that long…"

"What does his situation have to do with me?"

Her expression stiffened, her brows knitting in disbelief.

"Cole, he's my childhood friend. You should treat Gabe better! It's just one project. Can't you just do another? Do you really have to be so petty about it?"

The anger in my chest slowly gave way to a deeper, heavier sorrow.

The drone project Gabe submitted to win that award—its core architecture, its original concept, the most difficult algorithms and lines of code—every part of it was the result of my team's blood and sweat.

And now, it had been handed over to someone else.

Seeing that I wouldn't budge, Carrie's face darkened.

Gabe wore a look of guilt. "Sorry, Cole. I'll give the award back to you."

"No need!" Carrie let out a cold snort. "Am I the boss or is he the boss? Who does he think he is, throwing a tantrum in front of me?

"Gabe, what's yours is yours. Let's go!"

She grabbed his hand and stormed out, slamming the door so hard it shook the walls.

I clearly caught the provocation in Gabe's eyes.

My phone buzzed. A message from Carrie popped up: [Honey, I was just too angry earlier. Don't take it to heart. Let's go out for dinner tonight. I'll make it up to you. Please don't say no.]