Chapter 1

"Ronald, this suit of yours isn't custom-made, is it? It's not fair to keep this insider information from us."

My coworkers laughed and teased me in the office, but I couldn't force a smile.

I had been married to Angela Reed for nine years, and she had always refused to make it public. It wasn't until a couple of days ago, after I secured a 300-million-dollar project for the company, that she finally allowed me to announce our relationship at the year-end awards ceremony.

After we got married, I handed over my entire salary. I bought this outfit with six months' worth of money I had secretly saved, just so I'd look good enough to stand beside her on that day.

For the sake of this public announcement, I was so nervous that I couldn't sleep all night, waiting for this moment with my heart full of anticipation. I never imagined I'd end up paving the way for someone else's happiness.

I didn't get angry. Instead, I smiled and led the applause. "Congratulations! May you have a lifetime of happiness and be blessed with children soon."

The other employees assumed it was Angela's instruction and joined in, cheering loudly. At that moment, the couple who had seemed so sweet just moments ago looked extremely awkward.

Angela's first love, Samuel Hayden, jumped up in panic and grabbed my hand. "Ronald, let me explain—"

He barely got the words out before he started gasping for air, struggling to breathe.

Angela panicked immediately. "Sam is having an asthma attack. Ronald Pearson, get a car ready to take him to the hospital right now!"

What had started as a proposal instantly turned into a farce, and the crowd scattered. I directed a few coworkers to help carry Samuel to the car.

Angela anxiously wiped the sweat from Samuel's unconscious face. Her nervous, flustered look made it seem as if he were her husband.

Samuel lay there, his eyelids twitching. It was clear that he was pretending to be unconscious, but I didn't bother to expose him.

Angela didn't notice at all. Instead, she turned and tossed the ring at me, then scolded me with a sour expression. "There were so many people at the awards ceremony. You shouldn't have caused a scene. He has asthma and can't handle any stress."

In the past, anything related to Samuel would trigger endless arguments between us. This time, Angela had promised to make our relationship public, only for Samuel to ruin it. I had merely offered my blessing, yet she blamed me for causing trouble.

Normally, I would have lost my temper long ago. But right now, all I could think about was the way Angela shyly accepted Samuel's proposal.

After nine years of marriage ending like this, I was utterly exhausted. I said softly, "Yeah, I understand."

Angela looked at me in surprise, her tone unusually gentle. "Sam was sick. I was just looking after him, which is why I went along with it."

Even if Samuel was ill, it wasn't Angela's place as an outsider to take on that responsibility. Yet she treated me like a fool, always using it as an excuse to brush me off.

At first, I truly believed her, thinking she was just kind-hearted.

I stared out the window at the buildings rushing past, and something deep inside me seemed to leave along with them.

As her assistant, I took care of every little task for her, and my eating schedule became completely irregular. Once, my stomach flared up so badly that I was drenched in sweat, my face pale. Yet she coldly knocked over my medicine, and the look of disgust on her face stayed etched in my memory.

She said, "Sam's asthma is a condition he's had since birth. I was just taking extra care of him. Do you really have to pretend to be sick to compete for attention?"

I knelt on the floor, picking up the pills one by one and swallowing them. The stomach cramps were nothing compared to the hurt she had inflicted on me.