Chapter 4

I had only just returned home from the cemetery when Henry helped a drunk Marilyn into the house.

When he spotted me, he quirked a brow and said in a challenging tone, "Mari is exhausted, so I—"

I swiftly cut him off before he could finish speaking. "Help her into the room. Her pajamas are in the closet."

With that, I took my own pajamas and headed for the bathroom.

Once, I drank so much that I ended up with alcohol poisoning. Ever since, even the smell of alcohol has been enough to make me nauseous.

Now that there was someone else to take care of Marilyn on my behalf, I was more than happy to let Henry deal with her.

When I exited the bathroom, Henry was busy making some honey water.

I simply glanced at him before retiring to my bedroom to sleep.

The next day, I woke up to find Marilyn sitting in the living room, her face twisted with anxiety and nervousness.

"Shane, I had too much to drink last night. Henry was just too worried about me, and that's why he brought me back home. Nothing happened between us."

I had been wondering what she wanted to tell me, never expecting this to be it. Twitching my lips into a smile, I replied, "It's fine. I was the one who told him to take care of you last night."

A stunned look crossed her face before she asked me in a trembling voice, "Why?"

I pinned her with a blank look. "The stench of alcohol makes me sick. Is there anything else? I need to head out already."

I needed to head to the company and hand in my resignation letter.

Unexpectedly, a phone call from my assistant thoroughly disrupted my plans.

"Shane, you, Mari, and Henry are going viral online!"

I hurriedly checked Twitter.

The number one trending post was of someone revealing that Marilyn had married me years before and that Henry was the homewrecker, the other man who came between us.

In the comments section, the netizens were demanding that the company come out and make an official statement about the truth.

"Shane, could you post something regarding this matter?" Marilyn asked me hesitantly, a trace of guilt flickering in her eyes.

I nodded, completely unbothered at the prospect. "I'll clarify that I'm not in a relationship with you, so don't you—"

"No!" She cut me off before I could finish speaking. "Admit that you're the homewrecker here, while Henry and I are the real couple."

Her voice grew increasingly soft the more she spoke, and by the end, her words were barely a whisper.

I didn't even hesitate to refuse. "I can't do that."

"Shane, please, I'm begging you! Even if you clarify things, there's a chance the netizens won't believe it. With how proud Henry is, he definitely won't be able to handle the idle gossip," Marilyn pleaded while tugging on my hand desperately.

I opened my mouth to reply, but then my phone began vibrating nonstop. A whole slew of notifications popped up on my phone as people kept tagging me.

Seeing that, Marilyn looked away with a guilty expression.

When I opened my Twitter, I saw that my account had posted an apology a minute ago. The post went on to claim that I was, in fact, the third person who had come between Henry and Marilyn.

The only other person who knew my Twitter account password was Marilyn.

As I looked over at her, she pointedly avoided my gaze.

"I had no choice but to do that! Really!"

As it turned out, she already knew that I wouldn't agree to do it, so her earlier spiel had simply been an act to delay me and stall for time.

"Once the hype dies down, I'll clear your name for you."

Taking a step back, I answered placidly, "No need."

She was about to say something more, but then her phone suddenly rang—the company was calling her in for a meeting.

Before leaving the house, she shot me an uneasy look. "Shane, wait for me to come back, okay? We'll have a good, long talk about this then."

I didn't answer.

After she stepped out, I packed only my clothes and valuables. Then, setting the house key and the divorce agreement on the table, I left.

…

Meanwhile, Marilyn, who was in the middle of a meeting, suddenly felt as though she had lost something important to her.

As the meeting came to an end, the boss' secretary shoved the door open in a panic. "Mr. Leeson, Shane sent you an email."

Andy Leeson threw her a curious glance.

"It's… It's a resignation letter."