Chapter 2

He approved it? Just like that?

Nina stared at the notification in shock, and pain tightened in her chest.

He had approved her resignation without a single second of hesitation.

It was painfully obvious now. He had been waiting for her to leave for a very long time.

“Who gave you permission to come back?” James suddenly asked from across the room.

His tone was distant, and every word was cold.

It was exactly the way he always sounded on the phone.

This was the James Gibson she knew.

“I told you on the phone yesterday,” Nina said, trying not to meet his eyes. She didn’t want to be wounded by the coldness in his gaze.

“Did I agree to it?”

“I told you. My mother is sick.”

“So what?” James looked at her coldly. “Is the company supposed to pay the price for your personal problems?”

He had always looked at her this way.

There was no anger, no concern, and no emotion at all.

Only complete indifference.

“Go to the office and deal with your disciplinary action.”

Disciplinary action?

Nina almost wanted to tell him there was no need. She had already submitted her resignation, so what else could he do to her?

But saying that would only lead to another argument, and she had something far more important to deal with right now.

“I’ll explain the disciplinary issue to HR,” she said. “But I came here today for something else.”

“If you need something, tell the housekeeper,” James said.

He clearly had no interest in continuing the conversation. He glanced at his watch and looked as if he was about to leave.

Seeing that, Nina stopped trying to work her way around the subject.

“I need money.”

James paused for a moment.

Then he frowned.

“How much?”

For one brief second, Nina thought there was hope.

The weight pressing on her chest finally eased a little, and her voice softened without her realizing it.

“Three hundred forty thousand dollars.”

Afraid he might misunderstand, she quickly explained, “My mother is in the hospital. Even after using all my savings, I’m still short three hundred forty thousand dollars for her treatment.”

Then she looked at the man in front of her with desperate hope.

This man was supposed to be her husband.

Nina thought he would agree.

After all, aside from work, they were still married.

They had known each other since college, and he had been the one who proposed marriage back then. Surely, he had liked her at least a little.

They had been married for three years. All this time, she had loved him so openly and so sincerely. Surely, he had felt some of it.

Besides, three hundred forty thousand dollars was nothing to him.

One of his watches probably cost more than that.

But she waited and waited.

His agreement never came.

Instead, he gave a cold laugh, his sarcasm completely undisguised.

“Nina Walker, you’re asking me for money? What makes you think you have the right?”

The words hit her like a slap.

In an instant, every thought she had clung to shattered.

Nina felt dazed.

What made her think she had the right?

She was his wife.

She had earned Gibson Corporation more than a billion dollars in profit over the past few years.

Legally, she had a claim to half of what belonged to him.

Weren’t those reasons enough?

But Nina couldn’t say any of that.

Under James’s cold, mocking stare, she knew that saying those words out loud would only humiliate her further.

“Then consider it a loan,” she said quietly. “Is that okay?”

“A loan?” James asked. “And how exactly do you plan to pay me back?”

She had already taken a step back, but James still refused to let up.

Nina’s frustration began to rise.

“Then let me take an advance on my salary and year-end bonus. That should be fine, right?”

“With your salary, how long would it take you to pay back three hundred forty thousand dollars?” James said coldly. “You know the answer better than I do.”

Nina’s eyes stung.

Hurt and resentment surged in her chest all at once.

“James Gibson, do you really have to be this cruel?”

“Cruel?” James lowered his eyes and looked at her as if she were a complete stranger. “You’re the one who doesn’t understand what we are to each other.”

What they were to each other?

Nina wanted to ask him what that meant.

Were they not legally married?

Or was she less than even a stranger to him?

But before she could get the words out, a dog suddenly let out a sharp, pained cry upstairs.

Nina’s heart clenched.

Before Nina was sent to Harbor City, she had raised a small dog named Mochi.

But when she left back then, it hadn’t been convenient to take Mochi with her, so she had left the dog behind and asked the housekeeper at home to take care of it.

Now, all the housekeepers here had long since been replaced.

Nina’s heart tightened. Then what had happened to Mochi?

Nina could no longer bother arguing with James.

She ran straight upstairs.

But the closer she got, the more pitiful the dog’s cries became.

Panic burned through her, and her heart lodged in her throat.

Finally, when she reached the corner, she saw the dog.

It was Mochi.

It was definitely her Mochi.

But the scene in front of her almost made Nina lose control and scream.

Because Mochi wasn’t alone.

Yvonne and Liam were there too.

Yvonne stood off to the side with her arms crossed.

Liam was sitting on Mochi’s back and hitting the dog.

As he did, he shouted, “Fat woman! Ugly woman! You don’t deserve to be my mommy!”

Nina could hardly believe what she was seeing.

She lost control and shouted, “What are you doing?”

Hearing her voice, Liam still didn’t stop.

Instead, he glanced at Nina coldly and kept hitting the dog.

Nina couldn’t take it anymore.

She rushed over, grabbed Liam, and lifted him off the dog. Then she gathered Mochi into her arms and gently stroked her, trying to comfort her.

But Mochi’s eyes were already dull.

She was barely breathing.

Her whole body seemed limp and lifeless.

Now that Nina was closer, she noticed a photo taped to Mochi’s forehead.

It was one of the photos from the day she and James got married at the courthouse.

Only James had been cut out.

She was the only one left in the picture.

In the photo, she was smiling softly, shy and full of happiness.

Compared to the scene in front of her now, it felt like something from another lifetime.

For a moment, every emotion crashed over Nina at once.

Her hands trembled with fury.

She lost control and raised her hand to hit Liam.

But Yvonne, who had been standing there without saying a word, suddenly pulled Liam behind her and blocked Nina.

“Is this really necessary?” Yvonne said. “It’s just a dog. Do you really have to take it out on a child?”

“A child?” Nina was still shaking with anger. “Not every kid deserves to be called a child. Besides, when a child acts like this, isn’t it because an adult taught him to?”

Yvonne’s expression changed instantly.

Her voice shot up.

“Nina Walker, what is that supposed to mean? Are you lecturing me? Do you even know where you are? Since when do you get to come into this house and yell at people?”

Before Nina could react, Mochi stirred in her arms.

The dog seemed triggered by Yvonne’s raised voice. She let out two more heartbreaking cries, then began thrashing wildly in Nina’s arms.

Nina’s heart ached as she gently stroked Mochi’s head.

She soothed her for a long while before Mochi finally quieted down again.

Nina didn’t have time to waste on Yvonne.

With Mochi in this condition, she had to take her to a vet immediately.

She turned to leave.

But just as she did, Yvonne spoke again.

“Nina Walker, you’re not good enough for James.”

This time, her voice was not just mocking.

It was full of provocation.

She didn’t sound like James’s sister at all.

She sounded more like a woman in love with him.

Nina looked at her coldly.

“Whether I’m good enough for him isn’t up to you.”

She had decided she wouldn’t keep swallowing her anger.

“Back then, he was the one who asked me to marry him.”

But when Yvonne heard that, she didn’t get angry.

Instead, the smugness and mockery in her eyes deepened.

“Is that so?” she said. “Then maybe you should ask yourself who he did it for.”