Everyone knew Stephen Stein loved me the most—even though I was trashy.
To force me into a relationship with him, he broke the legs of every man I’d been flirting with, even my own brother’s.
“Sorry, it was just a slip of the tongue. I thought he was one of your unclear relationships.”
But I was too poor to pay my brother’s medical bills. Stephen promised to cure him.
He conquered me. The prodigal son returned and became a devoted husband. To give me the best life, he gritted his teeth and made himself the richest man in the country.
Just as I was moved and wanted to have his child, I found two pieces of paper in the room.
One was his secretary’s pregnancy test report. The other was a paternity test confirming the child in her womb was his.
He took the report very naturally. “You played around before, now it’s my turn. Fair enough, right?”
I nodded. “Then for fairness’ sake, we’ll divorce and each do our own thing.”
“No way!” He stood up and looked down at me.
“You’re mine. I’ll always fight for you. You won’t be free unless I die!”
***
After delivering his threat, Stephen sat down on the sofa, smoking with an icy expression.
When we married, he called me his prized treasure. Now, I’ve gone from treasure to possession.
It felt absurd. I rose to argue further, but the ringing of the phone interrupted me. The moment Stephen saw the caller ID, his coldness visibly melted away.
He smiled, softly coaxing the person on the other end before pushing open the door and leaving. He didn’t return all night.
The next day, I went to the company to find him, only to be stopped at the entrance by his secretary, Tabitha Gamelin.
“Without Mr. Stein’s permission, you cannot enter the company.”
“Has no one told you I’m a shareholder of the company?”
Her audacity surprised me. “So what if you’re a shareholder? Stephen doesn’t like you anymore!”
Tabitha added, “Now he likes me. You’d better stay away from him! If you come bother us, I’ll have Stephen take away your shares!”
She was naive and overbearing, like a sheltered young lady. Yet I couldn’t help but recall her insecure demeanour when she first joined the company. So Stephen knew how to love someone after all.
“Why are you still standing here?”
My thoughts were interrupted by Tabitha, who triumphantly summoned two security guards. “Get this person out of here!”
“Who gave you the nerve to touch me?” I demanded sharply.
The guards exchanged glances, frozen in place.
Tabitha shouted, “What are you standing around for? If she gets into the company, you won’t have jobs anymore!”
“Miss Powell, we’re sorry!” The security guards raised their batons, ready to advance.
Passersby, unaware of the truth, pointed and whispered to one another. My face flushed red, then drained pale. Never in my life had I endured such humiliation. I summoned dozens of bodyguards.
“Smash it! Smash it hard!”
I kicked over the vase by the door. Shards flew everywhere, making Tabitha scream in fright.
“What are you doing?”
She lunged to stop me, but was shoved to the ground. The crash and cries on the first floor finally caught Stephen’s attention.
“You’re finally here!”
Tabitha threw herself at him, sobbing and he instinctively pulled her into his arms. Watching his actions, I raised an eyebrow.
Stephen and I exchanged a glance and he calmly released the woman.
“Valerie, don’t do this again. It’s very bad for the company.”
“And what about her?” I pointed at Tabitha.
“She doesn’t know about the company’s shareholders. I’ll increase the training efforts.”
Clearly, he knew what had happened, but his casual “I don’t know” shifted all the blame onto me.
“Go home and rest. I’ll handle this.”
He left with Tabitha and I still couldn’t enter the company. Shortly after returning home, I received some messages on my phone.
[Valerie, I almost feel sorry for you. Stephen doesn’t care about you at all.]
[I’m different. No matter what I do wrong, Stephen always forgives me.]
[You probably don’t know yet, but I’m pregnant. If you know what’s good for you, get a divorce quickly. Maybe I’ll be in a generous mood and let Stephen give you a bigger share of the money.]
Then came a photo. In the picture, Stephen looked tenderly at Tabitha’s belly, the scene so warm it seemed they were the real family.
As I’ve said, I’ve never been one to suffer in silence. When Stephen returned home, he found only a villa in shambles and me sitting amidst the wreckage.
I opened my phone and shoved the text messages screen right in his face.
[I need an explanation.]
Stephen read the messages, sensing Tabitha’s harsh tone and actually smiled.
[The young lady doesn’t understand. Why make things difficult for her?]
He forgot. He forgot how he’d made things difficult for me when he forced me to be with him. I smiled too, tossing a bloodstained dance skirt at him.
“Since you insist I’m making things difficult for her. Then I’ll gladly comply.”
