Chapter 2

“You’re about to become the general manager’s wife. Isn’t that good enough?

“Nancy, don’t be so greedy.”

‘Greedy…’ I mulled over that word.

Then, I smiled with relief.

In the end, I made a call.

“I’ve already ordered the wedding dress.

“Harvey, you said before that you’d wait for me. Does that still stand?”

His response was quick and firm.

Just as I hung up, Michael walked in the door.

“Who were you talking to?”

“A coworker.”

Michael did not ask any further questions.

He walked straight to the bathroom, washed up, and then sat down beside me.

“I want to discuss something with you.

“I plan to let Joanne drive that new car for a while.

“I’ll take the car keys for now.”

His tone left no room for discussion. He was just informing me.

I closed my eyes briefly and said softly, “You said that was my wedding gift.”

“I’ll make it up to you later,” he said casually.

“She’s all alone with a child. It’s pitiful. Life’s really hard for her.

“You have me now. Don’t fight with her.”

Ever since Joanne returned home, Michael always described her as “pitiful.”

When she cut her finger, he called her pitiful and left me alone in the villa, even though I was running a high fever, just to go and see her.

When her son forgot his umbrella, he said he felt pity for him and left my father, who had been on a high-speed train for ten hours, at the station. He went to pick him up from kindergarten.

To him, the mother and son in question needed pity and understanding more than anyone else.

He always said that my father and I were used to a hard life, so enduring a little more would not make a difference.

“All right.” I nodded.

“Then, give it to her.”

I did not ask anything more and just lay down calmly.

This took Michael by surprise. He seemed to want to say something but ultimately kept quiet.

We remained silent and went to sleep. The next day was a workday.

Over the years, Michael had always been careful to avoid any display of affection with me at the company. No one knew about our relationship.

We usually arrived at the office one after the other. But today, we happened to run into each other in the parking garage.

“That new car must be what Mr. Spencer bought for his fiancee, right?”

“Goodness me, a Venz SL100. That starts at two million!”

“Look at the one next to it…”

A brand-new car worth two million stood side by side with my used car, which cost two hundred thousand.

A burst of laughter filled the parking garage.

It was only then that I realized Michael had already upgraded the car to the top-of-the-line model.

He originally gave me two hundred thousand, but it seemed he had set aside two million for Joanne.

I opened the car door without batting an eye and locked eyes with Michael.

He was helping Joanne out of the car. When he saw me, he looked away uneasily.

[Take a cab to work next time. Your car just doesn’t fit the company’s image.]

He sent me a private text.

I turned back and looked at the bloodstain on the driver’s seat that I had never been able to wash out.

It was left behind three years ago when I was in a car accident while rushing through a downpour to deliver an important document to Michael.

That night, I got seven stitches at the hospital. But the first thing I asked when I woke up was whether the contract had been affected.

With tears in his eyes, he hugged me and promised he would never let me suffer like that again in the future.

I no longer wanted to wait for his “future.”

I drafted a resignation letter and went to Michael’s office.

Before I could knock, I heard Joanne’s voice.

“Michael, why don’t you just give the wedding dress back to Nancy? I’m afraid she’ll get upset.”

“She won’t,” Michael whispered.

“She can’t tell the difference between what’s nice and what isn’t. Anything will do.

“As for you, to move past the shadows of the past, you need a fresh start.”

“Then, you’d better keep it a secret.” Joanne blinked innocently.

“Forget the wedding dress. If she finds out that the engagement ring you gave her was actually my old wedding ring…”

I staggered and stared in disbelief at my ring finger.

There was silence inside the room.

“That ring was just sitting there anyway. Rather than letting it constantly remind you of the past, it’s better to get rid of it once and for all. You don’t have to feel so miserable anymore,” said Michael softly, as if to comfort her.

“The setting and size have been completely remade. She won’t notice.

“Nancy’s always been obedient. If you give it to her, she’ll just cherish it as a treasure. She’ll never suspect a thing.”

A treasure…

The treasures I cherished were, once again, just trash that others did not want.

I chuckled bitterly. My heart was completely devoid of emotion. I knocked on the door.

“Mr. Spencer, I’m here to submit my resignation.

“Please approve it.”