2.
I left work early to go back to the marital mansion and pack.
Three years living there, and I'd accumulated plenty of things.
But the only things that belonged to the man of the house, Oliver Gilbert, were the two sets of pajamas his mother had prepared before the wedding, one red and one blue.
On our wedding night, he'd worn the red set and wrapped his arms around me from behind.
"You smell so good, Jennifer Fox. Too bad you're not her."
Before I could even ask who she was, he let go and went to sleep in the guest room.
The next day he moved into an upscale downtown apartment, and he never came back after that.
And back then I'd actually been foolish enough to hope I could make this marriage work.
Looking back now, I only think how truly stupid I was.
Oliver hated that I had suddenly agreed to the arranged marriage, ruining what he had with Bella White, so he'd been cold and hostile to me the whole time.
Because there was only Bella in his heart.
So after the wedding, he stayed faithful for Bella's sake, and threw away his dignity for Bella's sake.
But an arranged marriage was never something people like us, sons and daughters who lived off the family's resources, got to choose. It looked like I had agreed to marry him, but really it was all decided by the elders of the family.
He only had to think about it for a moment to understand the truth of it.
But he insisted on pinning the blame on me.
I'd carried that blame for three years. After the divorce, all I wanted was to never have anything to do with him again.
By the time I finished packing, it was seven in the evening. I picked up my phone and found, to my surprise, that Oliver had sent me a string of messages.
Jennifer Fox, you ask me to meet and then you don't show? Are you messing with me on purpose?
Why aren't you answering?
You don't actually think this is how you get my attention, do you?
Insane.
I blocked him and deleted the thread in one clean sweep.
What I didn't expect was for Oliver to come charging into the marital mansion with Bella in tow.
"Jennifer Fox, right now! This instant! Apologize to Bella!"
He was shouting the order before he'd even laid eyes on me, and it startled the housekeeper cooking in the kitchen so badly her hands shook and she nearly cut herself.
I calmly steadied her.
"Narelle Chavez, keep cooking. I'll go see what this is about."
"Miss Fox, between husband and wife, it's kindness and patience that go the distance. Mr. Gilbert hardly ever comes home. Couldn't you just bear with it a little?"
I walked out of the kitchen with a faint smile and fixed a cold stare on Oliver's dark face, questioning him without any courtesy.
"Oliver, didn't you once say that if you ever set foot in this marital mansion again, you'd be a dog?"
His face darkened further, and he ground out through his teeth, "I came for the pajamas my mother put together for me. I certainly didn't come back for you."
Then he steered straight back to the topic of me apologizing to Bella.
My voice came out colder than before. "Oliver, did you not see the local courier I sent you today?"
He frowned and guiltily looked away from me.
Bella stepped up again to apologize on his behalf.
"Miss Fox, Oliver didn't mean it. He, he was just so worried about me that he didn't open the package in time."
Then she glanced toward the luggage stacked by the floor-to-ceiling window on the ground floor and asked me, puzzled.
"Miss Fox, are you leaving here?"
"Yes."
Bella was shocked. "But this is your and Oliver's marital home."
I let my eyes sweep coolly over her and Oliver.
"The marriage was never real. There's no point living in the marital mansion anymore."
Oliver gave a cold snort. "Jennifer Fox, at least you know your place. But don't expect me to be nice to you just because you're being sensible. Hurry up and apologize to Bella."
I looked at Bella, cold and steady. "Does Miss White need that sum of money that's coming due?"
She let out a nervous little laugh and said stiffly, "Oliver, you're being too harsh. Miss Fox is your wife. You shouldn't talk to her like that."
"People who know the situation will say you're protecting me. People who don't will only say you can't separate business from personal feelings, that you're being unfair to Miss Fox."
Oliver didn't mind in the least. "Let people say what they want. All I care about is that you're happy."
Bella shot me a smug glance. I acted as if I hadn't seen it.
I was leaving anyway. Better one less thing to deal with than one more.
I hadn't expected that, seeing I wouldn't apologize, Oliver would turn on me and bark it outright.
"Jennifer Fox, you've already packed everything, so get out of the marital mansion right now. You never deserved to live here in the first place."
"Fine."
Nothing could have suited me better.
