Chapter 2

The next morning, after finishing the housework, I left the house early.

It wasn't until I stepped into the law firm's elevator that I came back to myself a little.

On the way over I had deliberately taken a detour, retracing the places where Reuben and I used to laugh together.

In front of me he had always been so mindful of chastity and propriety, and the time he spent with me could be counted on one hand.

But I remembered every single one of those times.

Having lost both parents young and become an orphan, I had never been sheltered by anyone. The first time I felt the warmth of a protecting wing—

it was Reuben.

When I ran into a violent, drunken man while working overtime, the one who stopped him was Reuben, the man I had just met.

The second time, after I'd found a bit of success at work and a distant relative showed up ranting that I was bullying a young girl, he was the one who drove the man off, too...

"Miss Dickerson? Could you provide the evidence, please?"

As the lawyer's face slowly came into focus, I silently took out the USB drive I'd copied everything onto.

"What are the chances the court orders him to walk away with nothing?"

After reviewing and verifying the documents, the lawyer looked at me with a trace of sympathy.

"According to these records, Mr. Gilbert engaged in misconduct during the marriage—he had an extramarital affair."

"He also privately transferred marital assets into another person's account. As compensation, having him leave the marriage with nothing is something we can pursue."

"It's just..."

Attorney Chavez hesitated here, uneasy.

"It's just that Mr. Gilbert has been transferring money every year under the name of eight hundred eighty thousand dollars in engagement money, so there's very little marital property left. Getting him to leave with nothing now wouldn't do you any good."

"My advice is to file suit to recover the assets first, and then divorce."

I closed my eyes and tapped my fingers lightly on the table.

Just a lawsuit?

The scenes from last night kept replaying in my mind—Reuben's cold resolve, the viciousness of leaving me for dead.

My eyes snapped open. Why should he get away with it?!

Reuben, everything you took from me, I will get back a hundred, a thousand times over!

The holiday had barely ended when I got an urgent call from the general manager.

Only when I arrived did I learn that the project, which should have been moving along smoothly, had hit some kind of snag.

If I wanted to stay on as the project lead, a close relative had to act as guarantor—otherwise they'd replace me.

Thinking of all the days and nights I'd poured into it, I steeled myself and had no choice but to go begging to Reuben.

The call connected, and a man's impatient voice came through, but I couldn't afford to worry about that.

"Reuben, there's a problem with my project. Can you come be my guarantor? You're the only family I have."

"What! Is that the project with the big bonus?"

"How do you do your job? Can't you be more careful..."

The scolding kept pouring out of the other end of the line, and I lowered myself pitifully.

"Reuben, I'm begging you. This project means a lot to me. Please help me, okay?"

"Once it goes through—you've been wanting to do something outdoors, right? I'll go with you, and I'll give you the whole bonus too, okay?"

An angry voice came from the other side: "Every single day all you do is bring me trouble!"

My lowered hand clutched the hem of my clothes tightly. That last line of his had been loud enough that even the general manager glanced over.

"Please. I'm begging you."

Thinking of his own plans, and of how this bonus was an indispensable part of the 5.2 million dollars in engagement money—

Reuben still couldn't bring himself to pass up such a perfect opportunity.

About an hour later, the reply finally came.

"There is risk, yes, and how much depends on the ability of the person in charge. And the project bonus really is considerable."

He had seen how seriously Lucretia took her work; surely this was just a minor accident.

In the end, Reuben gritted his teeth.

"Fine, it's just being a guarantor. I'll sign!"

The whole time I waited for his answer, the call stayed connected.

After all the paperwork was done, just before I left, the general manager said one thing to me—that the person sharing your bed isn't always a good one—and then I stepped out.

Yes. Not a good man. And yet I'd been foolish enough to believe otherwise for so long.