Chapter 2

When I got home, Claire had dinner waiting.

"Babe, you're back?"

She stepped out of the kitchen in an apron, a sweet, warm smile lighting up her face.

"I made your favorite chicken stew to keep your energy up. You have to eat plenty tonight."

I stared at the spread on the table. The contradiction inside this woman made my skin crawl.

Claire and I met in college.

She was the gorgeous it-girl of our computer science department, from a wealthy background with endless suitors.

I was a nobody—poor, with nothing to offer except top grades and raw coding talent.

Yet she chose me. She defied her family to marry a broke kid fresh out of school.

We lived in a five-hundred-square-foot basement studio. We lived off dollar-store instant ramen for a month straight, cramming onto the earliest subway trains...

Back then, I made her a promise.

"Claire, once I make enough money, I swear I'll make you the happiest woman alive."

She’d smile and reply, "Silly, I already am."

Those years were brutal, but they were the happiest of my life.

Eventually, our startup took off. The company flourished.

We bought the mansion in the hills, traded our beaters for luxury sports cars, and lived the life everyone envied.

I never forgot my promise. Every share, every patent—I put everything in her name.

And now, looking at this woman with her gentle smile, I couldn't reconcile her with the calculating executive from this afternoon.

"Babe, the tech team said the fourth rebuild plan is ready. It's guaranteed to work this time."

Claire walked over, reaching out to touch my forehead. "Why do you look so pale? Did you stay up all night again?"

Instinctively, I stepped back, dodging her touch.

Her hand froze in midair. Her smile stiffened.

"Are you under too much stress? Maybe let Lucas take over tomorrow’s briefing. You need to rest."

What a masterclass in acting. If I hadn’t seen the truth with my own eyes, I’d still believe she actually cared.

"No need," I said, sitting down at the table. "Seems like Lucas is handling a lot of things lately."

Her eyes flickered. "Just giving the junior associate some room to grow... Why ask all of a sudden?"

"Just curious." I poked at my food casually. "He seems unusually invested in our personal life."

Claire came up behind me, wrapping her arms around my neck. "He’s just a kid who doesn't know better, thinking he can play homewrecker."

Her voice turned slightly anxious. "Babe... you’d never leave me, right? You promised that no matter what happens, you’ll always love me."

Yes, I did.

I promised that right after she took a splash of boiling water meant for me during an office riot years ago. She still has the scar on her back.

Back then, I swore I'd never betray her.

Now, she was the one who broke the vow first.

"I've decided to abandon the rebuild," I said flatly.

"Abandon it? Why?" Claire gasped, pulling back. "You said this system was like your baby!"

"Ten years of work... you're just going to throw it away?"

I turned to read her face. "What if the code can never be restored?"

"Then we rewrite it!" She grew agitated, her tone desperate. "You’re Ethan Vance! You’re a prodigy!"

What an inspiring cheer. If I didn't know that "rewriting" meant stealing my latest architecture to hand over to her lover, I might have fallen for it again.

My phone buzzed. It was a screenshot from Evelyn.

A still from a security camera showing Lucas slipping into the server room late at night.

Evelyn texted: [Your office security is a joke. Anyone can walk in, and your camera logs were wiped effortlessly.]

[Want me to drop the hammer now?]

I replied: [Not yet.]

Looking up at Claire’s worried face, I felt a wave of disgust.

This woman pushed me into hell with one hand while pretending to be my savior with the other.

"Babe," she asked suddenly, "who are you texting?"

"A headhunter with a massive offer," I lied without blinking. "Only condition is that I have to be single."

Her pupils dilated. That was the most genuine flash of panic she had shown all day.

"What kind of psycho company says that? You wouldn't actually consider it, would you?!"

"I told them," I said, setting my phone down smoothly, "I have to ask my wife first."

She visibly deflated, playfully smacking my chest. "You almost gave me a heart attack..."

Look at her.

She wanted to destroy my career, but she still wanted to own my life.

Greedy beyond belief.