All Chapters of He Uses Me to Pave Her Path: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

I slipped the ring off my finger and tossed it onto the table.My husband, Jack Lumber, frowned as he looked at me.After a few seconds, he said irritably, "Grow up, Nora. I'm working with the press on a standard food safety inspection. Everything is strictly by the book."He pinched the bridge of his nose and stepped closer. "You know what's happening in the disaster zone. Thousands of lives are on the line. I have to minimize the risk."His words used to be reassuring, but now they sounded cold and empty.Before they burned the disaster relief meals, I'd handed him the inspection reports. He didn't even look. He just glanced down at his phone, then told me to go ahead.Meanwhile, Shirley Watson stood nearby, putting on a concerned look as if she'd come to smooth things over."Nora, this is all my fault," she said, trying to sound apologetic."I've done a lot of undercover investigations into illegal food operations. I noticed something was off about the meat in the meal boxes

I sprang from my chair, gripping the edge of the desk so hard my fingers hurt."I opened four boxes! All four smelled the same. How the hell are we supposed to eat that?" Darren's voice was shaking with anger."There are 30 of us who've barely eaten since yesterday. We've been getting by on a couple of protein bars, waiting for the hot meals. And this is what they send us!"Nora, do you have any idea how hot it is out here? It's 98 degrees. We're wading through mud up to our knees, and the wound on Greg's leg is already infected. We still have to slog through the water to deliver supplies!"He took a sharp, ragged breath before continuing, "The guy in charge of supplies didn't even try to explain. He just said, 'It was an emergency purchase. Take it up with the higher-ups.' The higher-ups? To hell with them! I've called more than a dozen times, and nobody's picking up!"Then, his voice dropped lower. "Jack used to get so worried when you stayed up late handling quality control. Ho

Jack stared at the divorce papers. His face went rigid, then twisted with offended anger."Nora, do you seriously think threatening me with divorce is going to make me get your penalty overturned?"I'm so disappointed in you. You're so desperate to avoid taking responsibility that you're even using our marriage as leverage."Looking at his angry face, I suddenly found the whole thing almost absurd.He had ordered 30,000 relief meals, meant to save lives, to be destroyed. People in the disaster zone were being served spoiled food. Yet he thought all I cared about was a ten-thousand-dollar fine."I've already signed them," I repeated calmly. "You don't have to get the penalty overturned and force yourself to stay married to me. Take the papers. I'll see you at the courthouse tomorrow."The corner of Jack's eye twitched."Fine. Great! If you can't think straight, stay right here and figure it out on your own. When you cool off and realize where you messed up, then we'll talk."He

"Nora, have you lost your mind?"Jack shot to his feet in the front row, his face turning ashen. He hurried into the aisle and stepped in front of me."Do you know what kind of event this is? This is an awards ceremony being livestreamed nationwide!"He lowered his voice, and his eyes were hard with anger. "If you're angry with me, take it up with me at home. Don't come here and make a scene! Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is?"I looked at the man in front of me. He was my husband, but he was snarling at me in public to protect another woman."Mr. Lumber," I said coldly. "I'm not here to make a scene. I'm here to report a crime."Shirley quickly cut in. "Report a crime? You're the one who broke the law by selling unsafe products. What right do you have to make accusations here?"She had recovered from the shock and immediately turned the crowd against me."Don't listen to her! She's the owner of the company behind that contaminated food. Her company is bankrupt, and

The crisp suit he always wore was gone, replaced by a cheap, worn-out jacket. His hair was soaked through, plastered against his pale, haggard face.His eyes lit up when he saw me walk out. He rushed toward me but stopped a couple of feet away. "Nora..."I opened my umbrella and looked at him coldly without saying a word."I went to the hospital in the disaster zone today," Jack said, his body shaking as he wiped rain from his face."I saw those kids with food poisoning. There was this little girl who was badly dehydrated from diarrhea. She kept asking her mom why the food the volunteers brought tasted sour."He took a shaky breath. "Nora, I'm sorry. I was so wrong. Shirley fooled me. I had no idea she'd been using me all this time. I didn't know she could be so cruel.""Are you done?" The umbrella cast a shadow over my face, hiding my contempt.Jack looked up at me. Rainwater was running down his face, and his eyes were full of desperation. "Nora, I lost my job. I have nothing