19. Unhappy Birthday

CENRIC

The last two days had been rough at work, even for someone who had billion dollars. Money couldn’t buy happiness if you were not materialistic. Getting to where I was right now didn’t happen overnight. I worked hard—sweat, blood, and tears were my investment. There were trials, a lot of problems, and errors along the way. There were criticisms and rejections—tons of it, but I never gave up. I had a goal to reach, and my efforts had paid off.

I worked for long hours than usual, only to divert my attention from apologizing to my wife. I was not good at sharing my emotions and spilling my guts, and it wasn’t going to happen now. Yes, I was an asshole, a selfish son of a bitch, but Sadie was disrespectful, and she had to learn some lessons. If I tolerated that kind of attitude, she would get used to it and do it again. One of us should change, and it should be her.

And this birthday party gave me a headache. All I wanted was a charity event that didn’t have to focus on me. Every