Chapter 4

“My fault?”

My fist clenched until the knuckles cracked, and all the blood in me seemed to rush up into my skull.

For her, I'd given up a ten-billion-dollar inheritance, cut ties with my family, carried every ounce of pressure and every swallowed grievance.

And in the end she'd used me up and thrown me out, left me standing here like a worthless nobody.

I stared her down and asked, one word at a time, “Kathryn, that two hundred million of mine — did the investment really fail……”

“Or did you just hand it straight to Rufus?”

The air went dead still.

Kathryn's face drained white, but she recovered fast, chin high, all defiance.

“And what if I did?”

“You've got nothing left now. You'll be dead weight for the rest of your life!”

“I'm begging you, stop embarrassing yourself here and get out!”

“Baby, look at you, getting worked up again.”

Rufus just laughed and slung an arm around Kathryn's shoulder.

“Champ James, this is a country of laws now. You'd better have proof before you talk.”

“Kathryn's investments all went through proper channels, proper paperwork, everything legal and above board, in black and white.”

“Say the wrong thing and I'll sue you for defamation.”

With his arm around her, he kissed her right in front of me, then swept a contemptuous look my way.

“Besides, the money you earned in the ring — wasn't that always meant to be spent on a woman?”

“Kathryn's suffered enough, stuck with you.”

“Tell you what.”

Rufus pulled a bank card out of his suit pocket and flicked it carelessly at my chest.

“Don't say I never looked out for you. There's a hundred grand on that card. Take it.”

He looked down his nose at me. “Hurry up and divorce Kathryn. Stop dragging a good woman like her through misery with you.”

Kathryn looked at me too, all expectation on her face. “Oliver, Rufus is right.”

“Since we've both come to this, let's stop torturing each other.”

“Here's the deal. In a bit we'll go file for divorce, give each other a little dignity.”

The laughter all around drove into my heart like so many knives.

Every bit of love, of resentment, of rage, all of it burned down to ash.

I looked at that glaring bank card on the floor, then raised my eyes to the man and woman clinging to each other.

And suddenly all the years I'd given, all the effort, felt like one enormous joke.

I walked up to Kathryn and looked at the diamond ring on her hand, the one we'd bought when we married.

“Give me back the ring.”

“You don't deserve to wear it.”

I'd bought it with my first fight purse, and once she'd treasured it like nothing else.

Kathryn froze for a second, then looked at me with disgust all over her face.

“Oliver, you gave it away, and now you want it back?”

“Poverty really has ground you down. You've got no shame at all!”

She dragged the ring off her finger without a moment's hesitation and, without even a glance, tossed it to the floor.

“Like anyone wants it! Come file the divorce with me, now!”

“You're not good enough for me. You weren't before, and you're even less now!”

And to prove how done she was, she kissed Rufus again, right there in front of everyone.

The jeering around me got louder.

Slowly, carefully, I picked up that dust-covered ring and closed it in my palm.

“I'm not good enough for you?”

I stood up and looked at her, calm.

“Kathryn, do you have any idea what you just threw away?”

“Threw away what?”

Rufus had his arm around Kathryn, doubled over laughing.

“A window cleaner a few hundred million in debt? Hahahaha!”

The whole office was thick with glee, every one of them looking at me like I was the clown.

Watching those smug, gloating faces, something in me went cold.

The old man was right. A true dragon doesn't measure itself against worms.

I was the one who'd lost sight of that.

I took out my phone, dug a number out of the blacklist that had sat untouched for three years, and dialed.

It was answered almost the instant it rang.

“……You little punk?”

I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, all the humiliation and defiance had settled into a cold calm.

“Dad. I'm done boxing.”