Chapter 3

Sadie forced the paramedics to treat Finn first, even though he had only taken a single slap, while I was left to helplessly bleed out in the corner of that dead-end alley.

Living this life over again, I finally saw her feelings for me for what they truly were.

Give someone enough, and they may start treating your kindness as an obligation. Since she thought that throwing money at me would wash away her guilt, I was more than happy to play along.

…

Later that night, when word reached Sadie, she stormed into her friend's upscale nightclub like a raging fire. There I was, sitting in a VIP booth, holding a glass of liquor with a hazy, drunken look in my eyes.

A tall, fair-skinned hostess in a daring outfit stood beside me, respectfully pouring me a drink from a bottle.

The next second, a furious Sadie barreled over and cracked me across the face with a vicious slap.

"Ryder! Do you have any idea what you're doing? Have you completely lost your mind?"

The glass slipped from my fingers and shattered on the floor. However, the eyes looking up at her were completely sober.

I calmly pulled out a thick stack of cash, handed it to the hostess, gave her a soft reassurance, and sent her on her way. Only then did I turn my gaze toward a fuming Sadie.

"I honestly don't. Why don't you tell me, Madame CEO, what exactly did you just see?"

"Have you lost every ounce of shame, Ryder? Did I give you that money so you could come here and play around with other women?"

"Which of your eyes saw me messing around with anyone, Sadie?"

"You think I'm blind? That little skank was dressed like a hooker, and you're telling me you weren't doing anything?"

"She was standing six feet away from me. I didn't touch her, I didn't grope her, and I sure as hell didn't kiss her. I paid for a service, and she was pouring my drink. Since when is pouring a drink a crime?"

I glanced past her at the nightclub owner standing behind her, then pointed straight up at the security camera mounted on the wall. "Since your good friend already ran to snitch on me, why don't you pull the CCTV footage right now and see if I crossed any lines?"

I stepped right up to Sadie, lowering my gaze to look her dead in the eye. "I know I'm a married man, Sadie. Even if this marriage is a complete joke, I still have enough basic respect to honor my vows.

"Unlike you, who loves playing the saint while acting completely shameless behind closed doors.

"I've caught you hugging and holding hands with Finn more times than I can count. If we judge you by the same standard you just applied to me, who's the shameless one here?"

Sadie knew her little stunt wouldn't hold up under any real scrutiny. The club owner, who happened to be her buddy, had tipped her off that I was dropping heavy cash here, which was why she had sprinted over like a lunatic to catch me red-handed.

In her twisted worldview, our marriage was built on a dynamic where she wore the crown and I served as the footrest. She always placed herself miles above me, believing her little flings were harmless slip-ups, while me breathing near someone else was an unforgivable sin.

She completely forgot who had survived on stale buns dipped in cold water while putting her through college. She forgot who had sold their own plasma, and who had dislocated his shoulder in a fall while delivering food through heavy snow.

Facing my hard questions now, she couldn't hold my gaze. Yet that arrogant, sneering look of disgust remained plastered across her face.

"You never step foot in places like this. What kind of sick game are you playing today?"

That was when it finally clicked for Sadie. She noticed the high-end designer suit I was wearing, the top buttons casually undone to reveal my chest, and the expensive trace of cologne lingering in the air. I didn't look anything like the pathetic guy in a ratty t-shirt and faded jeans she was used to.