Chapter 2

Harry and I met and fell in love in college. We were classmates in the finance program—one of the top-ranked in the country.

Most students there had powerful family connections or came from privileged backgrounds, but Harry was different. He got in purely of his own merit and had plans to build everything from the ground up. That grit he carried drew me in instantly, so it wasn't a surprise that we ended up together.

I was the one who pursued him, and I learned a lot from him along the way.

My family never approved of Harry. In fact, they had already lined up a marriage for me before I'd even graduated. They thought I was just having fun with Harry for the time being and would eventually go back to the path they'd chosen.

People were rebellious by nature, but that fire in me had long burned out.

Back then, I cut ties with my family and chose Harry. Looking back now, we had been married for three years and together for five. Over those three years, Harry's career had soared with my support every step of the way.

He used to protect me the same way he protected Sally now. I remember him yelling at clients who tried to pressure me into drinking at business dinners, and staying up late at night to cook me soup.

I really believed we'd spend the rest of our lives together.

But as our life got better, our relationship started to crumble.

Ever since Sally joined the company as an intern assistant, Harry's attitude toward me had taken a sharp turn. I even heard that he was the one who personally requested to have Sally transferred to his side.

From then on, he started working late and took frequent business trips with Sally. He claimed it was to train her skills, though I had no idea which skills exactly were being trained.

Soon, rumors started swirling around the office. People whispered that Harry was having an affair with Sally and that she had been sleeping her way to the top.

Lost in thought, I didn't even see the next slap coming.

It landed hard across my face.

I slowly looked up at Harry as he gritted his teeth and spoke, every word biting and cold, "Grace, accept Sally's apology right now. Or I swear, you'll never have peace again."

"Harry, stop! Don't fight because of me!" Sally finally stepped in—after he hit me, of course. She stood up suddenly, and a flicker of determination flashed across her face. "Grace, since you still won't forgive me, I'll turn myself in. I'll spend the rest of my life making up for this!"

Before either of us could react, she ran straight out of the hospital room.

"Sally! Where are you going? Don't do anything rash!" Harry rushed after her, but not before throwing one last threat over his shoulder.

"If anything happens to her, Grace, I'll never forgive you!"

With that, the door slammed shut behind him.

For the first time all day, the room finally went quiet.

I let out a long breath and felt nothing but exhaustion.

Of course, Sally wasn't really going to turn herself in. Everything she did was calculated. She just wanted to drive a wedge between Harry and me.

It was such an obvious performance, but somehow, Harry still fell for it.

Not long after, he posted a scenic photo taken right outside the hospital on his social media. The caption read, "I'll protect you for a lifetime."

He didn't hide it from anyone. It was out there, bold and shameless for the world to see.

After he left, he never came back to check on me.

Then again, I was no longer in critical condition, so I guess he didn't see the need to.

I let out a cold laugh, completely numb to his petty provocation.

I had just had my stomach pumped the night before, and now, I couldn't stomach a single bite. But I didn't want to stay in that hospital for another second, so I spoke to the doctor about getting discharged the next day.

When I packed up and made it back home, I found Harry already there.