Chapter 4:An Interview with the CEO

I glanced up at the ceiling, searching for the right way to ask him about the necklace. Or perhaps I had simply lost my nerve.

Then he raised his head and looked straight at me. "Are you brave?"

"Yes, sir. Very brave." My palms were damp, but I kept a wide smile on my face.

His eyes moved slowly across my face and then dropped to my chest. Only then did I realize that the top button of my blouse had come undone. Heat flooded my cheeks, and I covered myself at once.

"I wasn't looking at that," he said calmly. "I was thinking."

His words only made me more nervous. I wasn't sure whether he was being honest or simply being polite. "My apologies, sir."

"If you get any of these jobs, you will have to learn to dress properly." He leaned back in his chair. "And here is a question for you." He paused, and the silence stretched just long enough to make my heart pound. "If you didn't do your work well, and I yelled at you, or someone else did, what would you do?"

I had to think twice before answering. It was not the sort of question I had prepared for, yet it was one my life had already answered many times. I kept smiling, though my chest tightened.

"I would try to understand, and I would apologize," I said. "People are going through a lot more than we see." I exhaled slowly as the image of Rui crossed my mind. "So it's normal. I would take no offense, and I would try to avoid the same mistake next time."

He studied me for a moment longer, his expression unreadable. Then he gave a small nod and dismissed me.

It was only after I had left the building that I realized I had forgotten to mention the necklace. A minute earlier it had consumed my thoughts, and now it had vanished from my mind entirely. Perhaps I had lost it the first time I came to collect a file from the other office. But when I asked the secretary, he told me he hadn't seen it.

I whispered a quick prayer that I would be offered one of the jobs. It was getting late, and I had somewhere else to be. In less than an hour, I would sit down to sign my divorce papers. After months of silence and distance, I would finally give Rui what he wanted.

I did not bring a lawyer. I could not afford one, and I had no idea how I would pay if I needed one later. So I read a few headings, skimmed the rest, and signed.

"Done."

I set the pen down and looked Rui directly in the eye. I wanted him to see that I wasn't weak, and that I was agreeing to this on my own terms, not because he had broken me.

The lawyer cleared his throat and turned to Rui. "We should have the money for the loan payment now."

Rui shifted in his seat. "It isn't with me at the moment, but I promise she will get it today."

Something inside me snapped. "Damn it, Rui! You said you would give it to me by now!"

The lawyer raised a hand to calm me. "Madam, please. You will receive it this evening, no matter what."

I swallowed my anger, but it burned in my throat. Eight years of marriage, and I still had to beg for what was mine.

"And what is your reason for divorcing me?" I asked, my voice low and steady. "Give me one reasonable reason."

Rui did not answer immediately. Instead, he pulled out his phone, tapped the screen, and held it close to my face.

"Listen."

It was a recording. At first there was only static, and then I heard it: two people moaning, the sound sharp and unmistakable in the quiet room.

"Ahh... Move faster."

My stomach turned over. I stared at him, stunned. Was he really going to lie to my face now, after everything?

"What? That isn't me."

"It is clearly your voice, Emilia," he said coldly. "You slept with someone else, and all this time you were accusing me of cheating. Who was it? Ethan?"

The name struck me like a slap. Ethan was my friend, nothing more, and Rui knew it.

"What?" I cried, and my voice cracked with pain. "Stop making up stories!"

Before I could say another word, the lawyer cut in sharply. "No one is allowed to call anyone names. We are done here. You may both go your separate ways."

"You planned this." I pointed at Rui, my hand trembling. Then I turned to the lawyer. "You know you can't simply accuse me like this. It's only a recording! Anyone could have edited it."

My throat tightened as the pain settled deeper. I looked from one man to the other, and a terrible suspicion took hold of me. Rui must have paid him. The lawyer had never been neutral. He had been part of this from the start.

Rui did not even flinch. He simply pressed play again, and the same sound filled the room.

"It's your voice," he said.