Everyone in the room sucked in a sharp breath. On the other end of the video call, the conference erupted into chaos.
Some fool even let out a low whistle.
Vivian's eyes turned red instantly. She scrambled to cover herself with both hands, then looked to William, desperate and pleading.
William tossed her his suit jacket and stood, fastening his belt.
He walked over to me. The slap landed clean and crisp across my face.
"Who gave you permission to touch what's mine."
Then he sat back down, his expression as calm as if nothing had happened. "Let's continue the meeting."
I couldn't remember how I got home. My face burned with a searing sting, and my chest ached with a pain so dense it felt woven into every fiber of my being.
I collapsed onto the couch, every last drop of energy drained, and passed out.
When I woke, something cool pressed against my skin.
In the dim light, I saw William's fingers, tracing the swollen curve of my cheek with a gentleness I barely recognized.
I couldn't tell if I was still half-asleep or if it was real.
His eyes were full of anguish. Full of tenderness.
It had been so long since he'd looked at me that way. So impossibly long.
Time seemed to fold backward, carrying me to that tiny rented apartment from years ago, and I murmured his name without thinking. "William..."
The moment the word left my lips, everything changed.
He stood. Backlit and distant, his expression wiped clean of whatever I thought I'd seen. "You're alive. Get up and make dinner."
Of course. It had only been a hallucination.
Since I couldn't afford to hire help, the house had no cook or housekeeper.
I made a meal as fast as I could.
At the dinner table, William held up his phone, the payment QR code aimed at me. "After subtracting your labor, you owe me nine hundred."
I shook my head. "I'm not eating. It's all yours."
His expression stiffened. "Stop throwing a tantrum. This meal's on me. Eat."
I shook my head again and explained wearily, "My tooth hurts too much to chew."
The swelling on my cheek wasn't just from the slap. The toothache had made it worse.
A long silence stretched between us. Something complicated shifted behind William's eyes. His voice came out clipped, almost reluctant. "How long has this been going on? Why haven't you seen a dentist?"
"Three years. I couldn't afford it."
Who on the outside would ever believe it? Mrs. Sanchez of the Sanchez Group, unable to treat a cavity for three years because she didn't have the money.
William's brow furrowed tight. His breath hitched. He pulled out his phone and transferred ten thousand dollars to my account.
"Call it your year-end bonus. Go get it looked at tomorrow."
I stared at him for a long time, then nodded.
"William, just sign the papers."
I couldn't hold it in any longer.
His chair scraped against the floor with an ugly screech as he stood. He looked straight at me. "Pamela, do you even have a heart?"
I was suddenly so tired. I swallowed down the violent churning in my stomach and heard my own voice, hollow and flat. "Sign them. Don't make me think you actually care about losing me."
The color drained from William's face. He took several ragged breaths before he could steady his voice enough to speak. "Even for the sake of the Sanchez fortune, you won't keep up the act anymore? You used to be so good at pretending."
"Good enough to trick me into running away with you. Or is it that ten years without a child made you realize you'd never get your hands on the family's money?"
He loosened his tie as he spoke, pulling it free. Each step he took toward me radiated a suffocating pressure.
