Chapter 4

I carried the laptop out and slammed it down on the coffee table in front of Ethan.

"Was this part of the test too? Throwing money at your first love while watching your wife go gray with worry over twenty thousand dollars in 'medical bills'?"

"You lay there every day watching me run myself ragged for you, watching me break down from collection calls—did that give you a sense of accomplishment?"

"Ethan Cole, do you even have a heart?"

I couldn't control myself anymore. I grabbed the water glass from the table and hurled it at him.

He dodged it easily.

That agile movement stabbed my eyes once again.

"Emma! Are you done with your tantrum?" He finally exploded, grabbing my wrist. "Money, money, money! That's all you care about! Fine, I admit I lied to you, but haven't I been good to you? I let you live in my house, gave you food and shelter—what more do you want?"

"Food and shelter?" I laughed in disbelief. "I live in what you called 'the only place left after selling everything to pay off debts'—a tiny dump! I wear secondhand clothes from thrift stores! I eat leftovers from restaurant kitchens! This is the food and shelter you gave me?"

"Then what do you want? Lily is different! She's never suffered a day in her life! I owe her! I have to make it up to her!" He shouted righteously.

"You owe her, so I have to pay?" My heart turned completely cold. "Ethan, let's get a divorce."

"Divorce?" He froze, then sneered. "Emma, don't push your luck. Who do you think you are? Without me, can you even survive? A woman with no education and no connections—where are you going to find someone as good as me?"

"Oh? Really?" I shook off his hand, walked to the door, and pulled it open.

Outside stood a man in a tailored suit—my new boss, the CEO of a publicly traded company.

Earlier that day, in that office building, I had knelt to polish his shoes.

When he saw me, he nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to Ethan inside.

"Mr. Cole, I've heard so much about you. I'm Ms. Emma Scott's attorney, and also her new employer."

The man handed over a business card, then turned to me and gave me a document.

"Ms. Scott, the equity transfer agreement left by your father has taken effect. As of today, you are officially the largest shareholder of Global Group. Here is the asset report on Mr. Ethan Cole that you asked me to investigate."

I took the documents without even glancing at them and threw them in Ethan's face.

Papers scattered across the floor, each one recording his lies and betrayal.

Ethan's expression shifted from shock to disbelief to utter incomprehension.

"Ms. Scott?... Global Group?" he muttered as if hearing a fairy tale.

I looked at him and spoke, word by word.

"I forgot to tell you—my father is the chairman of Global Group. He said if the man I married truly loved me, all this would be my dowry. If not, consider it a lesson learned."

"Ethan Cole, congratulations. You've taught me the most expensive lesson of my life."

Ethan's face lost all its color instantly.

He staggered back a step and crashed into the wall with a dull thud.