Chapter 4

"I didn't! Dot, you've really got it all wrong!" Meg was so frantic the tears were about to spill over. She clutched my hand and shook her head desperately. "Solomon and I... we're just ordinary friends, we always have been..."

"Ordinary friends?" I laughed as if I'd heard the greatest joke in the world. "Ordinary friends keep each other company working late into the night? Ordinary friends post the kind of photos that make people's minds wander? Meg, do you take me for a fool, or does everyone here look like a fool to you?"

Whispers began to ripple through the room.

The way those socialites looked at Meg turned subtle too.

In their circle, nothing was more despised than the kind of "sweet little schemer" who slept her way in and then wanted a medal for her virtue.

"I... I just happened to be passing by that day, I was only dropping off some documents for him... and that photo, I took it without thinking, I..." Meg stammered through her explanation, tears already welling in her eyes.

Just then, a cool voice came from behind us.

"What's going on here?"

I turned and saw Solomon standing in the doorway. When he'd arrived, I had no idea.

He wore a crisp black suit, his face hard, and he was striding straight toward us.

At the sight of him, Meg looked as if she'd found her savior, and her tears came pouring down in an instant.

She let go of my hand and stumbled back two steps, the very picture of someone who'd suffered a terrible wrong, and choked out, "Solomon... I... I don't know why Dot would say these things about me. I really didn't..."

Before she could finish, Solomon cut her off, his voice cold.

"I asked what's going on." His eyes weren't on Meg at all. They landed straight on me, with a trace of scrutiny and displeasure.

The few socialites who'd been enjoying the show fell silent, lowering their heads and pretending to sip their drinks.

The whole café went so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

I met his gaze, and something in me went cold.

There it was. He'd come.

In his mind, I would always be the unreasonable, overbearing villain, and Meg would always be the fragile, gentle little flower who needed his protection.

Suddenly it all felt pointless.

Like an actor pouring everything into a one-woman show, only to find that the single person in the audience had long since stopped paying attention.

I put my phone away, and every sharp, cutting edge on my face fell away, leaving nothing but indifference.

"It's nothing," I said flatly. "Just a little joke with Miss Swanson. Since you're here, Mr. Delgado, I'll leave you two to it. I'm going."

With that, I turned to leave.

"Stop." Solomon's voice came from behind me, carrying a command that left no room for refusal.

My steps paused, but I didn't turn around.

He crossed to me in a few strides and blocked my way.

He stood more than a head taller than me, and at this distance I could almost feel the pressure coming off him.

"Dorothy," he said, looking down at me, his black eyes churning with emotions I couldn't read. "Are you done making a scene?"

"A scene?" I twitched my lips into a mocking smile. "You're joking, Mr. Delgado. How would I dare make a scene in front of you?

I only came to remind Miss Swanson that people should know their limits.

After all, I'm still your wife in name, at least. When she keeps flaunting things in front of me on her feed like this, over and over, anyone who didn't know better would think you were playing both sides, Mr. Delgado."

"You!" Solomon's face darkened at once, the pressure rolling off him dropping to something frightening.

Seeing it, Meg quickly stepped up and took hold of his arm, coaxing him gently.

"Solomon, don't be angry, it's all my fault, I'm the one who did wrong, I shouldn't have posted that and made Dot misunderstand. I'll delete it right away, so don't blame her, all right?"

Her words sounded like she was pleading on my behalf, but every one of them poured oil on the fire.

Sure enough, Solomon's face grew even uglier.

He drew a deep breath, as if forcing down his anger, then only gave me one cold glance, took Meg by the wrist, and turned to go.

"I'll take you home." He didn't spare me another look.

I stood where I was, watching the two of them walk off side by side, the man tall and upright, the woman small and delicate. They looked so well matched.

The socialites around me watched me with eyes full of pity and mockery.

I felt like a complete joke.

A pathetic, laughable failure who didn't know her own limits, who'd tried to hold on to a man who didn't love her with money and power.

In that moment, something that had held me up all these years seemed to collapse with a crash.

All these years, I'd been like a tireless moth chasing after Solomon, that flame forever out of reach.

I'd thought that as long as I was brave enough, stubborn enough, I could eventually warm that cold heart of his.

Only now did I understand. Some people are like ice that will never warm no matter what. The closer you get, the worse you're burned.

Back home, I shut myself in my room and, for the first time, didn't smash a single thing, didn't cry either.

I just sat quietly on the carpet, watching the daylight fade little by little outside the window, my mind a blank.

So it turned out that when disappointment piled up high enough, there was no more fighting, no more scenes.

There was only exhaustion.

That evening, Sam Fox called, a careful, ingratiating note in his voice.

"Dot, are you busy? Your father just wanted to ask how things are between you and Solomon lately."

Ever since I married Solomon, the Fox family had climbed aboard the Delgado ship, their standing in Ashford City rising with the tide, and Sam Fox's attitude toward me had done a complete one-eighty.

The old neglect and exploitation had turned into concern and dependence.

"If you've got something to say, just say it." My voice held no feeling.

"Ah, it's like this," Sam Fox said, rubbing his hands, a little sheepish. "Your brother's project has hit a snag lately, hasn't it?

The other company specifically wants to work with the Delgados before they'll budge. So your father was thinking... could you mention it to Solomon, ask him to help out?"

My brother. Herbert Fox.

The man who'd once seen me as a thorn in his side, who'd wanted nothing more than to grind me into the dirt.

And now he needed to turn around and beg me for help.

How ironic.

"On what grounds?" I gave a cold laugh. "Because he's my brother? Chairman Fox, have you forgotten what my mother's last name was?"

On the other end, Sam Fox was left speechless, unable to get a word out for a long moment.

"Dot, don't talk like that, we're all family..."

"I don't have family like you." I cut him off flatly. "You want my help? Fine. Send that precious son of yours to come beg me himself."

With that, I hung up.

Listening to the dial tone on the other end, I suddenly felt drained of all interest.