Chapter 5

"What's this?"

Rose opened the folder with a puzzled look, about to read the content, when Zachary's sharp yell rang from upstairs.

"What's wrong, Zachary?" she called out anxiously, not even looking at the papers, hastily signing and preparing to leave.

I couldn't help but ask, "Don't you want to see what you just signed?"

Rose waved it off. "What else would you want besides money?"

With that, she hurried off in her high heels without waiting for my response.

I let out a self-mocking laugh. Her hurried figure brought back memories from years ago, when I'd fallen seriously ill and couldn't afford surgery.

Rose had told me not to worry—she would find a way. That night, I woke to find her exhausted, making call after call to borrow money for my surgery.

From that moment on, I silently promised myself that no matter what happened, I would never let her down.

Later, as our company grew and money was no longer an issue, Rose and I could never go back to how we used to be.

I tucked the divorce papers back in my bag. I was told that the divorce would be finalized in a month. After that, Rose and I would have nothing to do with each other.

By the time the elevator delivered me to the private room, my friends were already there.

After a few rounds of drinks, one of them brought up the past. He asked if I'd had a girlfriend, recalling how I'd refused his offers to join his startup.

Rose had never wanted to make our relationship public, so hardly anyone knew we were together. Even at the wedding, she invited only business partners—none of our relatives or friends.

At the time, she said we were living in another city. Even if we announced the wedding, most people wouldn't be able to come, and it might look like we were angling for wedding gifts.

She said it would be better to keep it low-key and celebrate with everyone another time when we returned to our hometown.

Back then, I didn't think much of it. Looking back now, though, the whole arrangement felt like a roundabout way of making room for Zachary to play the groom.

"I'm already divorced," I said calmly.

The room went silent. People looked unsure whether to console me.

Right then, I raised my glass and said, "From now on, I'm settling down here. Let's make some serious money together!"

"That's right! Let's make some serious money!"

The room quickly filled with laughter and the sound of glasses clinking.

The next day, I signed the contract with my friend and threw myself into the business.

The business was already running smoothly, and with the addition of the latest technology, it only grew stronger. Within just two weeks, our profits had tripled.

My friend was thrilled. To celebrate, he threw a party at a resort on the outskirts—but there, once again, I ran into Rose and Zachary.

The two of them were sitting by the bonfire. Rose was carefully peeling shrimp for Zachary.

I didn't know what Zachary said, but Rose laughed and popped the shrimp into his mouth. Then she lifted her hand—still slick with shrimp juice—as if to smear it on his face. He laughed and leaned back to dodge.

Just when Rose thought she'd gotten her way, Zachary suddenly grabbed her and pulled her back into his arms.

Rose lowered her head shyly, her face glowing with happiness.

I remembered that she had never liked it when I got up to those childish antics.

She always complained that the shrimp would get her hands dirty, so she never liked eating them. Every time, I would peel them for her and coax her to eat.

I couldn't deny it—since she'd been with Zachary, she had changed a lot.