A game.
A gamble designed specifically for Sid Sanchez.
"Kate."
Sid's voice still echoed in my ear.
"Do you realize you were wrong?"
He continued, "As long as you admit your mistake, I'll forgive your recklessness and register Wallis's child under your name."
My mind flashed to the video Wallis had sent me, remembering how casually Sid had told her:
"Marrying her was already a gift."
"With the inferior genes she inherited from her father, how could she possibly be worthy of bearing my child?"
And then I remembered.
I had accompanied Sid to see countless doctors—not just Western medicine specialists, but traditional Chinese practitioners too. He was willing to try any remedy, any folk cure. Sid, who had never believed in gods or Buddha, had even been willing to fast and pray, kneeling before the Buddha for seven straight days, all for the sake of having a child.
Even when the results remained disappointing, he would force a smile to keep me from feeling sad.
"It's okay, Katie."
"Even without children, you're still the love of my life."
"I'm the one who doesn't have the fortune to become a father."
I wasn't unmoved. Sid's devotion seemed genuine, and for him, I endured five years of IVF treatments.
The needles that pierced my body over those years were beyond counting.
Every time, Sid's eyes would redden with heartache as he held me.
"Katie."
"I'm so sorry."
Back then, I always thought I was the one holding him back. Part of me genuinely believed he loved me.
But when the truth finally came out—when it revealed itself in the ugliest possible way—I thought I would stay calm. I thought my heart wouldn't waver. Instead, I broke down crying, sobbing until I completely fell apart, screaming until my voice gave out entirely.
And now.
Listening to Sid speak down to me from his high horse, hearing him offer me charity:
"Kate."
"Don't be so stubborn."
I suddenly laughed out loud.
"Mr. Sanchez."
He went silent. I continued, my voice dripping with mockery: "Are you trying to back down but can't find an excuse, so you're using this pathetic tactic to wait for me to bow my head first?"
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you."
My voice was calm, deliberate.
"These five years with Mr. Sanchez—"
"I had a wonderful time."
"Since we've decided to part ways, I hope Mr. Sanchez won't cling too desperately. It would only add to my annoy—"
"Kate!"
Sid's voice exploded with rage. Through the phone, I heard Wallis's voice in the background.
"Sid."
"Who are you calling?"
The line went dead.
I received a message from Sid on my phone.
[Kate!]
[I've spoiled you too much! You've forgotten your place, haven't you!]
I didn't respond.
I simply watched the clock, watching as my bank balance suddenly jumped to an astronomical figure. At the very moment countless people were waiting to see me thrown out on the street, I handed Howard a red envelope, said my goodbyes, and got into my friend's car.
One last time, I looked at the house through the window.
Then I never looked back.
Sid's assistant interrupted him while he was assembling a crib with Wallis. His brow furrowed.
"What is it?"
Wallis pouted, her face full of resentment. "Why do they keep interrupting our time together?"
Sid murmured something to soothe her, but the assistant spoke first.
"Sir!"
"That gamble!"
The assistant hesitated, but Sid's heart lurched. The assistant walked up to him with a document and announced:
"It's over!"
He flipped to the last page. Written there in stark black and white: he had lost ten billion dollars.
And the name of the only person who had dared to bet against him had finally been uncovered.
His breath caught. The documents slipped from his fingers and scattered across the floor.
There, in the name field, printed in stark black ink: Kate Kaufman.
