Chapter 1

After saying that, I turned and walked away.

Behind me, I heard a chair crash to the floor.

Preston Guest rushed out of the courthouse after me and grabbed my wrist.

"Tara, what do you mean by that?"

I turned to look at him.

He was still holding the marriage certificate they had just received. Mallory Vaughn stood behind him. Her smile froze on her face.

"What was it that you said?" I pulled my hand free. "Adults have to learn how to stand on their own."

Preston's brows drew together.

"I told you to stand on your own, not to make a scene at a time like this.

"We just made a bet and got legally married, that's all. Mallory and I will get divorced in a month. How could that possibly affect our marriage?"

I looked at him and suddenly found it all absurd.

Preston and Mallory had made so many bets before, and every time, he left me behind and told me it was just a joke.

Somehow, I kept believing that he would eventually come back to me until that day, when I saw him with his arm around her shoulders again, smiling as naturally as ever.

It was as if the marriage I had waited three years for had been nothing more than a game he could pause whenever he wanted.

I lowered my eyes to my phone and saw another payment reminder from the hospital.

[Ms. Wingfield, we still have not received payment for your mother's surgery. Please make the outstanding payment as soon as possible.]

Mom had been moved to the ICU the day before. The doctor said she needed surgery that very day, and the estimated cost was three hundred thousand dollars.

The day before, I had desperately begged Preston to lend me some money. Instead, he had asked what value and return on investment he would get from it, then went ahead and wired Mallory three million.

I had asked him why, but he did not even bother to explain. He simply said Mallory's project had a future, while my mother's illness was a bottomless pit with no end in sight.

Looking back, I realized that the reason was not that Preston was short on money or that he was incapable of helping others. It was just that he did not want to help me.

I looked up at Preston.

"Don't worry. I won't get in your way. I don't want your marriage, your company, or your money anymore."

His expression darkened.

"Tara, what's all this fuss about?"

I did not respond. Instead, I turned and flagged down a taxi.

Preston said, "You still haven't come up with the money for your mom's surgery, have you?"

I stopped in my tracks.

He caught up with me. He sounded so sure of himself.

"It's not too late to turn back. Tear up that agreement, and anything is up for discussion."

I looked at him and realized where his confidence came from. He was convinced that I had no money and could not live without him. He believed that as long as Mom was still in the hospital, I could never truly leave him.

But he did not know that three years ago, I had given him the first healthcare risk management system I developed to help him establish his company.

Nor was he aware that I had always been a capable person. I had simply devoted everything I had to making his ambitions a reality.

"Don't worry, Preston," I said calmly. "I'll figure it out myself. Also, you'll receive a gift tomorrow."

He frowned.

"What gift?"

I did not reply and got into the taxi.

Just as the door closed, I saw Mallory walk over and link her arm through Preston's. She lowered her eyes to the marriage certificate in her hands as the corners of her lips lifted slightly in a smile.

I looked away and called someone I had not contacted in a very long time.

The call connected. "Tara?"

"I want to license the healthcare risk management system to the research institute."