I sneered, how could it have been a misunderstanding? After my first failure, I secretly investigated.
I discovered that the products under his company were strikingly similar to mine.
I reported him under my real name through official channels, demanded proof of data sources, but instead, the police arrested me for spreads false rumors. Everyone said I couldn't handle my failure and slandered others out of spite.
Only Salma stepped up to speak on my behalf, unconditionally believed in me as always. But in truth, she was handing everything of mine over to him.
Seeing that I wouldn't take it, Salma quickly snatched it from Adam and shoved it into my hand and said, "Just take it. Luckily Adam didn't hold a grudge over your false report back then, or you'd have ended up in jail."
As she spoke, she picked up a document from her desk, signed it and handed it to Adam, "This is the cooperation proposal we just discussed. I've agreed to it, think of it as a return gift on Jason's behalf."
I stared hard at that document. The few words that flashed by were all too familiar to me.
She had just blatantly handed over my latest research to Adam as a so-called return gift for a postcard. Absolutely laughable.
After that, she picked up the little black cat that had slipped into the room and gently stroked it and said, "Jason, this cat belongs to Adam. It used to be a stray. It'll be living with us for the next few days. Isn't it adorable?"
Salma held the cat toward me, motioned for me to pet it.
I instinctively took a step back, looked her in the eye and asked, "Are you sure you want me to touch it?" She nodded in response.
I forced myself to stroke it twice, then quickly made an excuse to leave.
Because I had been allergic to cat fur since childhood. Yet it seemed Salma, who grew up with me and used to remember it so well, had completely forgotten.
To avoid the cat, I stayed in my room the entire day. Even with medication applied, I had scratched my skin raw.
That night, Salma unexpectedly came to my room. She said, "Jason, let's have a baby. Tomorrow is Adam's product launch. Let's go together. He promised to share some of his experience with you. Didn't you always say you wanted to be a successful father? This is the perfect opportunity."
I was stunned for a moment. Five years ago, when my parents died in an accident, I who only good at doing experiments, was utterly lost.
Salma pulled me back from the rooftop and we quickly got married. As the daughter-in-law of the Lance Family, she handled everything. Since then, I had yearned deeply to have a child of my own blood.
But repeated business failures made me felt unworthy of asking her for a child. Because I could endure being looked down on, but my child must not.
So for the past five years of marriage, we always took precautions.
"Honey, can we?" Her question snapped me out of my thoughts. Afraid she would notice, I pulled her into my arms, but my eyes turned colder.
She mistook it for excitement and ran off to prepare, casted a flirty glance back at me.
I stared at her retreating figure and whispered, "Salma, I no longer want a child with you."
That night, I never saw her again. By the next morning, neither she nor Adam were anywhere to be seen.
Left with no choice, I went alone to the product launch. Just as I was about to enter the hall, I was stopped by the security guard at the entrance.
The guard asked, "Sir, may I see your invitation?"
When I didn't respond, the guard added, "Today's venue has been fully reserved by the Haynes Group. Only prominent figures in the capital are invited. If you don't have an invitation, please leave."
