Chapter 1

I finally answered my phone when Mackenzie Lister, my wife, called for the 13th time.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Thomas Quinlan? It's an extremely crucial moment for the company right now, especially since it's going public soon. You're going to ruin everything!

"Isn't it just a photo? Why are you making such a big deal out of it? You're making a complete laughingstock out of us! I must have been blind to marry someone as immature as you!"

Mackenzie immediately started tearing into me the second I picked up.

I had been arguing with Mackenzie countless times over her assistant, Colin Sumner, lately. I was completely exhausted by this point, so I just said calmly, "If you actually knew how to draw the line and kept your distance from him, we wouldn't be making a scene like this to begin with.

"You're actually blaming me now? Who's the one being unreasonable here, Mackenzie?"

Mackenzie's company relied entirely on my connections and funding to get off the ground from the very beginning.

I had invested so much time, effort, and resources into helping it grow, only to be repaid like this. I couldn't help but find it utterly absurd.

In addition, everyone knew Colin was my distant cousin. If he was shameless enough to mess around with his own cousin's wife, then he needed to own up to the fallout.

"Why are you acting so unreasonable right now? You're the one who told me Colin had a tough upbringing and asked me to look out for him. How could you be complaining now that I'm doing what you asked, Thomas?"

I scoffed. "I asked you to look after him, not get all over each other. I can overlook how cold you've been to me, but you'd better not forget whose connections and support had brought your company this far and stop before this turns ugly for the both of us."

Mackenzie fell silent for a moment, then grumbled unhappily. "You're so narrow-minded, Thomas. I work myself to the bone at the company every day, yet I still have to put up with your endless whining at home. Why can't you just give me a break, Thomas?"

I was running out of patience. "You think I'm the one being unreasonable here? You and Colin were practically about to kiss at the annual gala, and I'm not allowed to have a problem with that? Do I have to catch the two of you going into a hotel together before I have the right to get angry?"

I had been drinking one glass of strong liquor after another to help her secure an investment at the gala that day.

I had just begun to feel dizzy from drinking when the CEO from the other company suddenly patted my shoulder and said, "I didn't expect Ms. Lister to actually have such a gentle, delicate side."

I looked back in surprise and saw Mackenzie shyly leaning into Colin's arms while whispering something into his ear.

They kept covering their mouths and giggling together, completely wrapped up in their own world. They were standing so close that their lips actually brushed against each other for a moment. They looked just like a young couple head over heels in love.

I couldn't help but clench my fists when I saw the scene before me. I found myself wondering if this was the same Mackenzie who used to frown and pull away whenever someone touched her.

Mackenzie looked uneasy and avoided my gaze the moment I brought it up. "I was drunk that day. I wasn't even fully conscious of what I was doing. Do you really have to keep making a big deal out of it, Thomas?"

I obviously wasn't buying that joke of an excuse. "You said you were drunk back then, right? What about right now? Do you think you're out of it right now, too? I've caught you two being overly intimate more than once or twice. Do you even regard me as your husband, Mackenzie?"

Mackenzie's face flushed. She wanted to argue back, but after stammering for a while, she couldn't get a single word out.

I couldn't be bothered to talk nonsense with her anymore. "That's enough, Mackenzie. Do you honestly believe what you're saying? You'd better not pull something like this and provoke me again. My decision to withdraw the investment is just a warning."

Mackenzie wasn't about to back down without a fight since her financial interest was on the line. "Thomas Quinlan! Have I been so accommodating lately that you've started thinking you can act however you want?"

"Who exactly is the one losing sight of their place here, Mackenzie?" I asked, my expression hardening.

Mackenzie couldn't possibly have made it this far without me. She had become the perfect example of someone who forgot the person who helped her once she had succeeded.

I had been the one who fell in love with her at first sight and pursued her persistently, so she always held the upper hand in our relationship all those years. I had given everything willingly and had never held it against her, but nothing I did could change how cold she was toward me.

"I'm not going back and forth with you on this anymore, so you'd better get your act together," I said before hanging up on her.

I then leaned back into the couch and stared at the ceiling, sitting in total silence.