Chapter 2

Gideon's POV

According to Mallory's predetermined schedule, every Wednesday at 10:30 pm was the designated time for intimacy.

Once a week, for 30 minutes.

She'd even set an alarm for it.

She was never late and never went over the allotted time. Once it was over, she'd rather take care of her own needs than continue being with me.

After coming out of the shower, Mallory checked the time. "Only five minutes to go. We need to get on with it."

When she saw me sitting motionless on the edge of the bed, her expression darkened.

"Gideon, what are you throwing a fit about now?"

I wasn't throwing a fit. In fact, I wanted to put an end to everything for good.

"Mallory, let's break—"

Before I could finish speaking, her phone started ringing. She glanced at me before taking the call. After a beat, she lowered her voice and said, "It's okay. Don't be scared. I'm on my way."

She hurriedly changed her clothes and rushed out, tossing out a quick explanation as she left.

"Some of the creditors are banging on Hank's door. I'm worried about him, so I'm going to check on him. I'll be right back."

The sound of the door closing coincided with the alarm going off, making my head ache.

…

The next day, I almost thought I was dreaming when I saw Hank at the office.

Seeing me freeze, a male colleague of mine, Simon Turner, quietly pulled me aside.

"He's the new hire. I heard he's Ms. Spencer's first love. They dated for seven years. You should've seen them getting out of the car together this morning. Ms. Spencer actually opened the car door for him herself.

"I'm so jealous. I never expected a career woman like her to have such a great relationship with her boyfriend. Turns out all that talk about the seven-year itch is nonsense when it comes to true love."

Simon was still talking, but I didn't hear anything else he said.

When we'd first graduated, we'd lived in a rented apartment barely over 300 square feet in size. Back then, Mallory would hold my hand as we walked around the supermarket, never letting go even when we ran into people she knew.

Whenever someone asked who I was, she'd raise our joined hands and swing them proudly, declaring, "This is my boyfriend. Isn't he handsome?"

Then, she became the CEO.

On the day I quit my old job and joined her company, she rushed out of a conference room to meet me. But the moment the elevator doors opened, she'd taken one step toward me before stopping.

Her assistant and several senior executives were following behind her. Everyone was watching.

That night, she hugged me and said, "There are too many eyes and ears at the company. If word gets out about our relationship, people will say you got where you are by sleeping with a woman. It'll hurt your reputation.

"Let's keep our distance for now. Once we've both established ourselves, I'll make sure everyone knows you're the most important person in my life."

I believed her then.

In the break room, a crowd had gathered around Hank.

"Isn't that the antique watch that went up for auction recently? I heard it's called Everlasting Eternity, and the starting bid was 700,000 dollars!"

Hank straightened his shirt cuff, revealing the watch, before remarking with a nonchalant smile, "Someone gave it to me. I don't really know much about watches."

"Was it Ms. Spencer?"

He chuckled without confirming or denying it.

His gaze swept past the crowd and landed on me. Raising an eyebrow, he flashed me a knowing smirk.

Seven years had passed, yet the way Hank looked at me hadn't changed at all—he was constantly proving to me that anything he wanted was always his for the taking.

Mallory stood at the back of the crowd. Her eyes held the familiar mix of reassurance, guilt, and a faint plea I'd come to know so well. It was the same look she'd given me over the last seven years, every time she'd pretended not to know me at the office.

However, in everyone else's eyes, she'd merely cast a polite but indifferent glance at an ordinary male employee of hers.

Without realizing it, I began turning the ring on my finger. It was a handmade ring Mallory had given me when we'd first gotten together.

She, who had always hated doing anything troublesome, had spent an entire day making it. She'd worked so hard to perfect the curves that her hands were covered in bleeding blisters.

"Just wait a little longer, Gideon. Once I've secured my position, I'll make sure you can stand proudly by my side for everyone to see."

In the office, we'd always maintained a strictly professional superior-subordinate relationship.

Mallory hated trouble. She hated people gossiping about our relationship. Yet here I was, learning that there was someone for whom she was willing to disregard those rules and preferences of hers.

I took the ring off. Right in front of everyone, I tossed it into the trash can beside me. The silver band struck the inside of the bin with a soft clink.