Chapter 1

The wedding ring sank to the bottom of the wine glass with a sharp clink.

My husband, Jenson Clarke, stared down at it for a moment. Then, he wrapped a napkin around his fingers and fished it out.

"A public tantrum. 80 points," he said flatly as he placed the ring on the table. "Eve, don't make everyone suffer through your drama."

The laughter in the room died down.

Aleena Walton stepped between us, carefully holding up the wet hem of her dress. "Jenson, don't be hard on Eve. She only acted out because she cares about you."

She turned to me with a soft expression and said, "Eve, you shouldn't just throw your ring away. Put it back on."

I stared at her outstretched hand without moving.

She wore a blue diamond ring on her ring finger. I had drawn that design myself last year.

Jenson told me at the time that the final piece came out defective and wasn't good enough for me, so he had it destroyed.

It turned out that "destroying" it meant putting it on Aleena's finger.

"Do you like it?" I asked softly.

Aleena instinctively pulled her hand back. "It's just a gift from Jenson for the company's anniversary. If it bothers you, I'll take it off right now."

Jenson stopped her. "A gift is a gift. There's no reason to take it back. Eve, you have plenty of jewelry. Stop trying to compete over everything."

A bitter smile touched my lips. "It's my design. Why shouldn't I claim it?"

"Because it belongs to Aleena now."

He slid the wedding ring across the table toward me. "Put it on, apologize to her, and we'll pretend this never happened."

"I'm not apologizing," I said.

Aleena tugged gently on his sleeve. "Let it go, Jenson. It's just a dress anyway. Eve's been out of work for so long. It's only natural she's a little sensitive."

Jenson's expression softened. "You're always making excuses for her."

He picked up the microphone and turned to announce the final promotion of the evening. "Starting today, Aleena will take over as head of overseas operations and lead Project Daybreak."

Applause broke out across the room.

Everyone knew overseas operations was a project I spent two years building from scratch.

The clients I signed before resigning, the four foreign languages I mastered, and the hundreds of proposal pages I drafted—all of it became the perfect foundation for Aleena's success.

Jenson passed her the microphone.

Aleena spoke with tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Clarke. I'd like to thank Eve as well. Even though she wasn't involved in the later stages, her work gave me so much inspiration."

Someone in the crowd chuckled. "Mrs. Clarke is so generous. She let go of her own project just like that."

"Well, they're family," another added. "Mrs. Clarke gets to enjoy a comfortable life at home, so why compete with Ms. Walton over a career?"

Jenson looked at me. "See? Nobody's erasing your effort. Aleena is just better suited for the role."

My hand tightened around the medical report in my bag, my fingers going cold.

I had planned to tell him tonight that I was pregnant. The doctor warned me that the pregnancy was fragile and that I needed to avoid stress.

I crumpled the paper into a ball and pushed my chair back.

Jenson grabbed my wrist. "Where are you going?"

"Home," I replied.

"Put the ring on first."

"It's dirty. I don't want it."

His grip tightened, though his tone remained level. "Eve, know your limits. The more you throw a fit, the lower your score goes."

"Let's get a divorce, then," I said flatly.

He stared at me, then let out a dry laugh. "Using divorce to pressure me into changing my grading criteria isn't going to work."

Just then, Aleena walked over and handed me a folder. "Eve, this is the equity authorization form for Project Daybreak. Jenson said if you sign it tomorrow, everyone will forget about tonight."

I flipped to the last page.

My 15% voting rights would be handed over entirely to Jenson. If I signed, I wouldn't even have a voice left in the company.

I snapped the folder shut. "And if I refuse?"

Jenson pressed the wedding ring into my palm. "You'll sign it."

"Why are you so sure?"

"Because this marriage is the only real achievement you have left."

Jenson let go of my hand and turned to drape his blazer over Aleena's shoulders.

The crumpled medical report slipped from my purse and hit the floor.

Aleena bent down to pick it up.

As I reached out to grab it, Jenson shielded her, accidentally bumping into me.

The paper tumbled into an ice bucket, dissolving in the melting water.