Chapter 2

The following day, I was woken up by an urgent call. "There's been a major issue, Mr. Quinlan! Ms. Lister inexplicably transferred all of her shares to Colin, so the board members are extremely upset about it!"

I froze for a moment before instinctively tapping open the work group chat, where it had already erupted into chaos.

"Is this for real? Is Ms. Lister really in a relationship with Colin?"

"Do you even have to ask? It's not like you guys don't know about Ms. Lister's special situation. Have you ever seen her get this physically close with anyone before? She literally gave Colin her shares! If that ain't love, I don't know what is!"

"Where does that leave Mr. Quinlan, then? I could've sworn they were actually a thing!"

"Mr. Quinlan has always been a hopeless simp for Ms. Lister!"

I couldn't help but laugh in sheer disbelief when I read that message.

Mackenzie had given me several conditions before joining the company, with one of them being that our status as a married couple was to remain hidden from everyone. She claimed she didn't want people assuming that she had reached her position because of me.

She had no problem taking my resources when she needed them, but now she wanted to pretend she built everything on her own. She didn't even have actual control over the company, so she didn't even have the right to transfer the shares to begin with.

She could mess around all she wanted, but the rest of the company wasn't going to suffer for her nonsense.

I took a deep breath and dialed Mackenzie's number, only to have Colin pick it up after a few rings. He then drawled on the other end of the line, saying, "I'm sorry, but Mackenzie just finished exercising and is taking a shower. You'll have to call back tomorrow, Thomas."

In that instant, everything went dead silent around me. I felt a lump in my throat as I asked, "What do you mean by showering? Where are you right now?"

Colin let out a contemptuous laugh, his voice filled with obvious provocation. "It's obvious that we're at a hotel. Where else did you think we'd be, Thomas?"

I knew Colin was deliberately provoking me. I held onto the phone tightly, my knuckles cracking from the force. "Do you know that she's my wife, Colin?"

Colin had nowhere to go after graduating from university, so he bent over backward to track down where I lived. He dropped to his knees before me the second he stepped inside, bawling his eyes out and begging me for help.

I felt bad for him, so I made an exception to let him join the company. I had never expected that decision to become the start of a betrayal.

Colin replied offhandedly, "Isn't this society about rewarding those who are capable? You were born with everything you could ever want, while I've struggled so much. Is it really so hard for you to step aside and let me have this, Thomas?"

I angrily ended the call. The disappointment, shame, and anger I had been holding in for so long suddenly exploded.

I looked around at the home I had once put so much effort into creating, only to find it painfully ironic now. I couldn't hold myself back anymore and threw my phone against the wall.

By the time Jesse Hall, my assistant, caught wind of the situation and rushed over, she walked in to find a complete mess. I was on the couch, burning through cigarettes one after the other, completely drowned in a suffocating cloud of smoke.

"What's our next move, Mr. Quinlan?" Jesse stood nervously by the doorway, her voice barely above a whisper.

I tossed the cigarette butt and ground it beneath my heel, replying coldly, "It's not the end of the world yet, so calm down."

I had no reason to stay behind Mackenzie every day to clean up her messes since she assumed she was capable enough to break away from my influence.

I was eager to observe how far an incompetent individual with only a vocational degree and a trophy wife who did nothing but shop for designer bags could actually go without my support.

…

It took five whole days for Mackenzie to bother remembering she had a husband waiting at home. She convinced herself that she ran the company and that the place would collapse without her and Colin, so she strolled back into the company acting like she was doing everyone a favor.

When she walked through the doors, she was met with earnings reports showing profits had surged multiple times over. The employees, who used to treat her with total deference, paid no attention to her presence, remaining engrossed in their work without looking up.

She felt utterly humiliated as she stormed over and kicked the major shareholders' door open in a fury.

But the board members inside barely spared her a look before returning to the restructuring paperwork in front of them.

Mackenzie snapped, "Have you all gone blind? Didn't you notice that I have returned?"

"Please be mindful of your behavior. There are people trying to work here, Ms. Lister," Jesse said, sounding courteous but completely detached.

Mackenzie pushed Jesse out of her way. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm the CEO of this company!"

Jesse maintained a polite, professional smile on his face as she asked, "Did you not know that Mr. Quinlan has revoked every single one of your shares, Ms. Lister?"