All Chapters of Spoiling the Assistant, Breaking the Husband: Chapter 11 - Chapter 19

Margaret had passed away?Ruth felt her blood run cold. She grabbed Ben by the collar. "What the hell are you talking about? How much did Zeke pay you to lie for him?"Ben looked like he was about to cry. "I'm not lying, Ms. Jensen. It's true. The hospital has the records, and the police station has the death certificate on file. Mr. Carlton's grandmother died because they didn't get her into surgery in time. I brought all the evidence. If you don't believe me, we can go back and check again!"Ruth stared straight at him. Once she was sure he wasn't lying, every ounce of strength drained from her body.He handed her a copy of the death certificate and the footage from the hospital. On the screen, Margaret was wheeled out of the operating room, a white sheet pulled over her. Zeke was shaking all over, his face as white as if he'd seen a ghost. He dropped to his knees with a thud."Grandma, please… Grandma, don't leave me…" His hoarse, broken sobs could've broken anyone's heart.Ne

Sallia, Fredove was on the other side of the world.The tropical air was thick and stifling. Right after lunch, Zeke had to rush out to rescue a baby antelope dehydrated by the drought.He put on his sun-protective gear, suited up from head to toe, and headed toward the camp. A faint rotten stench wafted into his nose.He followed the smell and saw Larry Oldman, another volunteer who had shown him the ropes, struggling to dig a human botfly larva out of a young man's arm.Zeke walked over when he saw Larry sweating buckets and still getting nowhere. "Larry, let me help."Larry looked at him with obvious relief and gratitude. "Thanks, Zeke. My eyesight is going, and my hands shake. I've been picking at it forever, and I still can't get it out."Zeke chuckled. "You need finesse with this thing, not brute force. If you go at it too hard, it just burrows deeper into the flesh. Let me do it."He rolled up his sleeves and took the tweezers and Vaseline from Larry.The young volunteer

Zeke slowly opened up to Maeve, talking in bits and pieces.He told her about his miserable childhood and how, when he finally grew up, he still couldn't see people for who they really were. He didn't hide anything about what had happened with Ruth, either.Getting to pour his heart out in a foreign country to someone who understood him was cathartic. He finally got to vent, and the pent-up frustration in his chest eased a lot.Maeve's heart ached more and more for him. When she heard how Ruth had hurt him, anger flared in her eyes. In the end, she couldn't help squeezing his hand. She said, "If you need money, I can help you out."Zeke let out a soft laugh. "I haven't done anything for you. Why would you give me money?""I'm not giving it to you for nothing. I've been volunteering out here for two years, and I'm planning to go back home next month. I still have a business to run back in Gristona—it's a company I started there. Once I'm back, I'll need someone I can trust to help

Ruth sneered. "Let you go? You ruined things between Zeke and me, you asshole. You don't even deserve to beg for mercy!"She grabbed the whip and lashed Calvin over and over until his howls filled the room."Enough of this nonsense, Ruth! I heard Zeke's back, but he's been ignoring you despite you chasing after him. This is your retribution for not trusting him from the start. You brought this on yourself!"That only fueled Ruth's anger. But then something suddenly occurred to her, and she forced herself to calm down. She figured maybe Zeke refused to forgive her because he didn't think she was sincere enough.If she just showed him how serious she was and pursued him like she had in the beginning, he would eventually soften and take her back.So the next day, she went to get her assets notarized. First, she transferred ten million dollars to Zeke. Then, she signed over 15% of her company shares to him. She even bought an expensive car and a villa and had both put in his name.Ze

Zeke turned to leave after saying his piece.Ruth clutched his hand in a death grip, as if she were a drowning person grabbing the only piece of driftwood. "What about you? Aren't you staying with me? Zeke, I'm really weak right now. You can't just walk away and leave me like this…"Disgust flashed in Zeke's eyes. "You're not a child, Ruth. I helped you this time because I didn't want to watch you die outside my place, but there won't be a next time. If you want to throw your life away, that's your business. Don't try to guilt-trip me into staying."He was done spoiling her the way he had in the past.Her eyes reddened, and she broke down crying like a child. "What do I have to do for you to forgive me? Why is it that my life's been nothing but hell ever since you left?"She rambled on in broken sentences, talking about how she'd been drinking herself numb every day and how she thought of him like a madwoman every single night. Without him, she drifted through her days like a ghos