Chapter 3

My knitting skills had improved.

I'd unraveled the first rabbit and remade it into a bigger, cuter one.

But then, Joel sent me a video.

In it, Louise had just wrapped up a business deal at the manor in Leoni City. Holding a black umbrella, she walked past Paul.

Ever since he'd been blacklisted, he had nowhere to go.

He couldn't even make rent.

He was soaked to the skin, his purple shirt clinging to him and outlining every attractive curve.

Tears in his eyes, he gazed at her in the wind. "Louise..."

Paul's voice trembled.

Louise's steps faltered for a split second.

Then she walked right past him without looking back.

"Louise! Have you forgotten everything we had?"

No matter how many times Paul called out to her, Louise never turned around.

I let out a breath of relief.

Looked like she knew her place.

What I hadn't expected was how determined Paul was.

The rainstorm raged all night. And he stood outside her building all night… until he collapsed on the ground.

A black umbrella came into view on the screen.

Paul forced his eyes open and looked up at the person under it.

Louise was completely dry, her cold, pale face giving nothing away.

But that umbrella tilted gently toward Paul.

The next day, Louise flew back to Harland City as planned.

Only, she'd given the manor to Paul.

"Tiger, what do we do? Louise only ever spends money on her own man!"

I thought it over for a moment. "Since she sees me as her husband, I'll just have to handle this the way her husband would."

That same day, Paul was thrown out of the manor.

And that same day, Louise didn't come home.

It was the first time since our wedding that she'd missed one of our nights.

I called more than a dozen times. She didn't pick up.

The next day, she came home exhausted, her eyes bloodshot. "Did you have Paul kicked out?"

I didn't dodge the question. "Yes."

"Who said you could throw a tantrum like this?"

The accusation in her voice stunned me. I looked up. "So what you're saying is, as your husband, I'm supposed to put up with your ex-boyfriend living in our property?"

Louise didn't say anything. She just frowned and tossed me her phone with a video playing.

In the footage, a dozen men dragged Paul into an alley. Every one of his fingers had been broken, and his mouth was bloody from the beating.

Louise's voice shook. "If I hadn't gotten there in time, Paul would've thrown himself into the river by now!"

I watched the video coldly. "What do you want me to do?"

"Go to the hospital and apologize to Paul."

"Louise."

I pushed the phone back to her. "I'm not apologizing to a homewrecker."

"A homewrecker?"

She clearly hadn't expected me to use that word.

A mocking smile I'd never seen before tugged at her lips. "If we're being honest, aren't you the real homewrecker?"

My breath caught.

She ignored my shock, turned, and walked out.

For the first time, she slammed the door behind her.

I sat alone on the sofa until late into the night.

My phone kept buzzing with messages from friends.

[Tiger! What's going on? Louise's stopped doing business and is spending all her time at the hospital with another man?]

[They're saying he's Louise's first love. That's not true, is it?]

[Tiger, get to the hospital now! Your wife's about to become someone else's!]

I didn't answer any of them. Instead, I packed my bags and waited for Louise to come home three days later.

She took one look at my suitcase and gave a soft laugh. "What's this? Running away from home?"

I handed her the divorce agreement. "Let's get divorced. I don't want a payout."

The hand holding her teacup froze.

Her expression turned grave as she leafed through the agreement page by page.

Her hand was trembling slightly.

"If we divorce, who's going to give you all that money?"

"Thank you, Ms. Ackman, but I won't starve."

She paused. "Fine, we can divorce. But you'll have to pay back every cent I've spent on you."

I froze.

In five years as her stand-in, I'd spent a fair amount of the money I got.

Seeing me freeze, Louise's smile relaxed a little.