Chapter 2

The next day, Dr. Galvan called me in.

"Mr. Tuttle, why did you suddenly decline taking the medication? You still need pre-operative treatment for a bone marrow transplant," he asked in utter disbelief.

"I don't have the money," I replied flatly.

At that, the nurses around me threw me doubtful looks.

After all, as Joanna's husband, if I wanted the moon, she'd find a way to get it for me.

Only I knew that my bank card had been frozen, and finding another suitable donor match was unrealistic.

When I left the hospital, Joanna's driver, Donny Peterson, opened the car door for me.

"Ms. Lockwood says you're to go to the company and apologize right away."

When I arrived at the company, the employees behind me were buzzing with gossip.

"Even someone who used to throw his weight around got put in his place by Marcus, huh?"

"No wonder Mr. Tuttle suddenly stopped kicking up a fuss. Marcus must have something on him, or Ms. Lockwood finally laid down the law."

"Mr. Tuttle used to be a real force to be reckoned with, but now he's a total pushover."

For someone who used to cling to my pride so fiercely, this kind of backbiting was more agonizing than death itself.

Marcus had his men surround me, then, with a pained look, said, "Mr. Tuttle, it's the unanimous opinion of everyone here that your past conduct has done far too much damage to the company's image. Therefore, we must ask you to apologize to each of us individually."

I took a deep breath and then bowed respectfully.

"Everyone, I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you in the past."

Marcus shook his head and said, "An apology like that won't come across as sincere to anyone. You'd better get on your knees."

My fists tightened at once, and I came dangerously close to losing it.

"Why you—"

"Eric, just do what Marcus says."

Joanna's voice sounded from behind me.

I turned my head in disbelief.

I remembered how I'd tormented Billy Ray—the college guy she'd cheated with—until the college forced him to drop out. His parents had shown up armed, demanding I kneel and apologize.

Joanna, who had doted on Billy, uncharacteristically chose to side with me.

"That's just how Eric is. Since I'm the one who spoiled him rotten, I can clean up after him too. You want him to apologize? Over my dead body will he do that."

She took them all on with her bare hands. Her head was bashed open, blood pouring and pooling across the ground.

Yet, she was now condescendingly ordering me to kneel for Marcus.

My breath caught in my throat. Then, I forced the words out through clenched teeth, "I'm not doing that."

Marcus let out a self-deprecating laugh.

"Ms. Lockwood, it seems Mr. Tuttle doesn't think he did anything wrong. Figures. Who am I to demand an apology from him? For all I know, I'll be his next target."

At that, Joanna frowned warily. When she looked at me again, her gaze was sharper than ever.

"I was wondering why you suddenly changed. I actually thought you'd turned over a new leaf. Turns out you were just biding your time to set Marcus up. I'm warning you—if I can spoil you, I can do the same for somebody else!"

With that, she roughly grabbed a fistful of my hair and jammed her foot into the back of my knee. In the struggle, she ripped out a big clump of my hair.

Everyone gasped.

Joanna stood frozen, staring at me in shock.

"What's going on?"

I stood there, at a loss for words.

It must have been because I'd suddenly stopped my medication, so my illness had gotten worse again.

I opened my mouth to tell the truth, but Marcus' cry of pain drew Joanna's attention.

"Ms. Lockwood, I think I'm allergic to Mr. Tuttle's cologne. My head hurts so much."

The next second, Joanna shoved me so hard that I nearly stumbled. Then, she said with disgust written all over her face, "You planned this too, didn't you? Get out of my company right now!"

Under the mocking gazes of the employees, I picked up the clumps of hair I'd lost from the floor. Only after I turned around did the tears I'd been holding back finally come streaming down.

Just as I stepped into the elevator, my phone buzzed with a notification that my mother, Anita Carey, was in critical condition.