Chapter 2

I was so furious that I laughed.

"Do you even hear yourself, Valerie? Why are you acting like you're a self-made employee earning a living with your own hands?"

"Of course, I know what I'm saying," Valerie snapped back. "Our arranged marriage is strictly business, Kieran. You've benefited from all the resources the Henderson family has brought to the table, so the least you can do is show some self-awareness as my partner.

"Archie is just an assistant. Do you really find it that fun to pick on him?"

I looked out the window at the rolling sea of clouds and suddenly realized that this petty back-and-forth was indeed a waste of time.

"Valerie, since you mentioned that this is an arranged marriage, let's talk business."

"Business?"

"Yes, business," I replied, straightening up in my seat. "Henderson Group and Pearce Group have six partnership projects, totaling 3.7 billion dollars.

"Right now, Pearce Group's stock is also taking a hit because of what your assistant did. We dropped three points today. Do you have any idea how much money three points represent?"

While Valerie was too stunned for a reply, I continued in a clear, loud voice, "It's 1.1 billion dollars. 1.1 billion dollars in market value evaporated into thin air, all because your assistant decided to make a sob story on the Internet."

Valerie fell completely silent.

"I'm giving you two options," I added. "First, have Archie make a public apology, admitting he ruined my suit on purpose and intentionally smeared my reputation online, then send him out of Oakhaven for good."

"No way!"

She shut down the idea without a second thought. "What did Archie even do wrong? He was just trying to work hard—"

"Second," I cut her off. "We get a divorce. You remember section seven of our prenuptial agreement, don't you?"

A sharp, quick breathing came through the receiver.

Section seven of the prenuptial agreement stated that if a major fault committed by one party resulted in dissolution of the marriage, the liable party was legally required to transfer 15% of their stocks to the other.

"Are you threatening me, Kieran?"

"I'm laying out your choices," I added. "You have three days. I'll be waiting for your answer."

…

Three days later, I returned to the villa as planned to retrieve some project documents.

The moment I opened the door, I spotted Archie crouched by the entryway, polishing shoes with my custom cashmere scarf, which I had casually hung beside the door.

"Mr. Pearce!"

The moment he saw me, he sprang to his feet and stood with his spine rigidly straight, clutching the filthy, stain-ruined scarf tightly.

"Y-You're back…"

I glanced at the scarf in his hands. The cashmere was stretched out of shape and soiled with shoe polish.

Looking him directly in the eye, I said, "That scarf cost 4,000 gaul dollars. Starting this month, your salary is automatically deducted until that amount is fully paid off."

He immediately paled, and his lips trembled. "I didn't mean to... I just noticed how soft it was, so I thought using it to polish the shoes would—"

"Would what?" I interrupted. "My house has designated shoe cloths, Archie, and the housekeepers handle the shoe maintenance. You've been here with Valerie at least ten times, so there's zero chance you wouldn't know that."

"I-I just wanted to help polish the shoes…"

Tears began to well up in Archie's eyes, but his gaze remained stubborn. "I know I'm stupid, but I'm trying my best to learn. You can't use these luxury goods to humiliate me just because I'm poor, Mr. Pearce."

"Humiliate you?"

I laughed and replied, "Archie, if you ruin someone else's stuff, you pay for it. That's a concept taught in preschool.

"What? Are you saying that being poor exempts you from basic accountability?"

"I never said that!" he barked back, raising his voice. "I'll pay you back! I, Archie Carter, might be poor, but I'll never run away from a debt!

"This is my debit card with 30,000 dollars in it. It's everything I've managed to save over the years…"

He slapped the card onto the coffee table and tilted his chin up as he looked at me like a proud rooster refusing to back down from a fight.

"As for the remainder, I'll pay you 6,000 dollars every month. I did the math. It'll take me… 11 years, but it's fine. I'll clear it one day.

"I can work my day job and take part-time gigs at night. I can—"

"Your math is wrong."

I picked up the debit card and casually spun it between my fingers. "That suit is currently valued at 920,000 crown dollars, which translates to roughly 8 million dollars.

"With a monthly pay of 6,000 dollars, it'll take you over 110 years to clear the principal, and that's not even accounting for the interest."