Chapter 4

Trembling with rage, I propped myself up and hurled a bunch of bananas straight at Luca.

Daphne stepped in front of him, catching the fruit. Instead of showing any grief over losing Elliot, she just looked at me with an expression of profound disappointment.

"Vance, are you lashing out because Luca hit the nail on the head? Have I not been good to you? You're the only man I've ever loved and the only one I ever wanted to marry. Why would you betray me?"

The moment she said that, the other two patients in the same ward shot me looks of utter disdain.

Luca gave me a triumphant smirk and tugged at Daphne's arm. "Come on, Daphne. Let's go grab some breakfast. My treat, to thank you for saving me just now. Let Vance sit here and think about what he's done."

Daphne sighed and patted him on the back. "Friends really are the best. You care about me so much more than my husband ever could."

Beneath the blanket, my hands curled into tight fists.

Had Daphne completely forgotten?

She had a terrible stomach. In our three years of marriage, I had prepared nutritious meals for her every single day just to keep her chronic diarrhea under control.

Meanwhile, this friend of hers did nothing but drag her out for heavy drinking and barbecue. One time, after a particularly bad night of drinking and barbecue, her stomach actually perforated.

I was the one who took care of her until the day she was discharged. And yet, she remembered none of it.

Weighed down by the past, I drifted off to sleep. But less than an hour later, I was roughly shaken awake.

Daphne stood over me with a cold expression. "Get up. I processed your discharge. We need to clear the bed for someone else."

I clutched my aching chest as I sat up. "Why did you discharge me? I'm not recovered yet."

Daphne snapped impatiently, "You only coughed up a little blood. What do you need to be hospitalized for? I refunded the hospital fees. I have to go with Luca to negotiate with a major client. If we land this deal, his company's crisis will be solved."

I stared at her, utterly bewildered. "What does that have to do with me?"

Luca strolled into the room, casually swinging a vintage bag. "We were short 5,000 dollars to buy this vintage bag for the client, so we had to use your hospital refund. And don't look at me like that. Even if that hospital money came from your mistress, I'll pay both of you back once I make it big.

"Honestly, your money feels dirty to me, but I have no choice. Daphne spent her entire 18,000-dollar bonus just to cheer me up last night. I can't let her down or give her a reason to look down on me. I have to pull myself together."

Daphne pulled Luca toward the exit. "Hurry up. We're going to be late."

As she reached the door, she seemed to remember something. She turned around and slapped a ten-dollar bill right across my face. "I'm going to the meeting with Luca. Find your own way home. I'll deal with you and that woman when I get back."

The moment they left, Dad arrived, accompanied by one of his local friends.

I threw my arms around Dad and wept uncontrollably, pouring out everything that had just happened.

Furious, he immediately hired a lawyer to handle my divorce.

To ensure Daphne wouldn't harass me and disrupt my recovery, Dad chartered a private jet to take me home.

On the flight back, I sat in my seat, tightly cradling the urn containing Elliot's ashes.

Just as the plane was preparing for takeoff, Dad's assistant, Leon Wallace, walked into the cabin holding a vintage bag.

"Mr. Merritt, a local contractor sent this gift for Mr. Gardner, hoping we might grant them some contracting work this year. Mr. Gardner, would you like to see if you like this bag?"

I recognized it instantly. It was the exact same bag Luca had been flaunting in my ward.

As it turned out, Luca had bought the vintage bag to ask Dad for a business opportunity.