Chapter 1

Ruth Jensen is determined to cure Zeke Carlton of his jealous streak.

Every time he gets jealous, she buys her assistant, Calvin Ward, a present—everything from jewelry to expensive cars to villas.

Zeke goes from throwing hysterical fits to going completely numb.

One day, Ruth buys Calvin gifts for the 99th time. She looks at Zeke, who's shaking all over, his face drained of color. She says disdainfully, "Zeke, I can't stand men who are jealous and possessive. If you never learn to be generous and graceful, then I'll just keep treating Calvin well."

But this time, Zeke doesn't question her like he usually does, nor does he ask her for money.

He's actually gone to the office to pick something up today. To his surprise, he walks right into Ruth throwing a birthday celebration for Calvin there. The place is crammed full of gifts she's gotten Calvin, piled so high there's barely room to walk.

At the door, a few workers are hauling in boxes while gossiping.

"Careful. These are all this season's new releases Ms. Jensen bought for Mr. Ward. If we break anything, we'll never be able to pay it back!"

"How many times has it been this month? Every time Ms. Jensen does this, she buys him stuff worth millions of dollars…"

Zeke feels like someone has sliced his heart open. Every time he asks Ruth for money to keep paying his grandmother's medical bills, she always complains. Yet she doesn't even bat an eye when she buys Calvin these insanely expensive luxury goods.

Zeke turns to leave, but Ruth frowns and calls out to him. "Are you actually stalking me all the way to the office now? It's Cal's birthday today. Did you deliberately come here dressed like that just to be an eyesore?"

Chapter 1

It had been days since Ruth Jensen had seen Zeke Carlton. Her gaze swept over him. He wore black, his shoes still caked with the mud from mountain trails.

Calvin Ward, on the other hand, was in a bespoke seasonal suit, one arm wrapped around Ruth's waist. His eyes were full of mockery.

Zeke said calmly, "I'm not jealous, Ruth. I'll leave after taking my stuff."

A flicker of panic flashed in Ruth's eyes at how pale he looked, but she let out a cold laugh a second later. "You used to get all jealous to my face. Are you switching things up and playing hard to get instead?"

Zeke picked up the paperweight from the desk. It was a keepsake from his grandmother, Margaret Smith.

"Like I said, I'm not jealous. I'm not playing games, either. From here on out, I won't take another cent from you. However much you blow on Calvin has nothing to do with me anymore," he said.

Ruth's breath caught, and a flare of anger followed. She snapped, "How many times do I have to tell you that the money I spend on Cal is for work? You always lose it over this one thing! Is it because I called you out last time for lying about that medical bill? You're really something, Zeke."

Lying?

Zeke let out a sharp, humorless laugh.

The "lie" Ruth meant was when he'd scrambled for money to pay for Margaret's surgery when she was critically ill. By then, thanks to Calvin's manipulation, Zeke was receiving only 300 dollars a month.

The surgery would have cost 500,000 dollars. Every time Zeke had gone to Ruth for money and begged her over and over, she'd just taken it as him throwing a jealous fit over Calvin.

"Zeke, I told you that Cal's like a brother to me, and you promised me you'd knock off your antics. As for money—we'll talk once you learn to behave."

While Margaret had lain in the ICU, hovering between life and death, Zeke had set up a video call and dropped to his knees on camera, begging Ruth to give him that 500,000 dollars.

But Calvin was the one who'd picked up. "Your jealousy has gotten so bad that you've resorted to putting on an act, Mr. Carlton? Too bad Ms. Jensen is about to take me to an auction. We don't have time to play along."

Zeke snapped out of the memory as Ruth's cool voice rang in his ear. "Enough of this. Today's party is both a birthday celebration for Cal and a celebration of his success. You should head back. Once I'm done here, I'll visit your grandma at the hospital with you."

Visit Margaret?

She still had no idea that Margaret had been dead for seven days. In fact, Margaret had died the day Zeke had begged Ruth for the surgery money—the day Ruth had been overseas partying it up with Calvin.

That day, Margaret had died alone in a cold hospital room, and Zeke had broken down so hard he'd passed out from crying more than once. Meanwhile, a video of Ruth and Calvin blowing millions of dollars at the auction had gone viral.

Zeke let out a derisive snort. "Don't bother, Ruth. Cut the act."

Ruth's face darkened instantly, and Calvin jumped in right on cue to fan the flames. "What do we do, Ruth? Is Zeke mad again because you bought me something?"

She gave a chilly laugh. "Don't worry about it. It's your birthday, so spoiling you is the least I can do. I'll buy that limited-edition sports car you had your eye on last month."

Calvin lit up and slung an arm around her, grinning from ear to ear.

Zeke couldn't stand their affectionate act for another second. He turned on his heel and walked out.

He didn't even have money to put up a gravestone for Margaret, so all he could do was temporarily leave her urn and photo at a chapel for safekeeping. Then, he pressed his palms together and bowed to the priest beside him.

"Father, please help me look after my grandma for a month. I'll pull together the money for her grave and headstone within that time and bring her home."

In a month, he would leave to volunteer in Fredove for a wildlife conservation program. After that, he and Ruth would be done for good.

Chapter 2

As soon as he left the chapel, Zeke got a text. To punish him for his earlier "jealousy", Ruth had revoked his access to her account, even though his monthly spending limit had been only 300 dollars.

He let out a cold laugh, went home, and laid the signed divorce papers on the desk in her study. Then, he headed straight to his part-time job and started running delivery orders.

He had emptied his savings to pay for Margaret's medical bills. Now, to scrape together enough for a proper burial, he could only grind it out at work.

On the way, Zeke's thoughts drifted to his past. His mother had died young. His father had racked up a huge gambling debt and skipped town, leaving just him and Margaret to depend on each other. Later, he'd worked at a late-night food stall, earning money for Margaret's treatment.

The first time he'd met Ruth, she'd been drunk out of her mind and had thrown up all over him. He hadn't been disgusted—he'd even brought her home and taken care of her all night. He'd thought they would never cross paths again. He hadn't expected her to latch onto him after that.

For some reason, she'd started pursuing him like crazy, pulling every trick she could think of. Even though he wasn't part of the rich-kid crowd, he'd still heard plenty about her, the heiress of the Jensen family in Gristona.

He knew she changed boyfriends more often than outfits, and he knew she was just playing the field. He'd refused to accept her advances. On top of that, his family had been heavily in debt, and he had a sick grandmother to look after. Dating had been way too much of a luxury.

Ruth had refused to give up. She'd even shown up at the food stall to work alongside him. She'd given him all the money she'd earned, her eyes gleaming with devotion. "Zeke, I made this money myself. Use it to pay for your grandma's medical bills."

Zeke had felt too guilty to take the money. He'd even snapped at her, saying some really harsh things. As he'd watched her eyes fill with hurt, he'd still forced himself to drive her away.

Then, late one night, a drunk customer had cornered him at the food stall. Ruth had suddenly shown up, grabbed a stick, and struck the man repeatedly. In the fight, her leg had been broken, and the Jensen family had to drag her out of there and rush her to the hospital.

Zeke had thought he'd never see her again. But in the middle of the night, someone had tapped on his window. Ruth had slipped out under her family's noses and hobbled all the way over on her injured leg just to see him.

His heart had completely melted. He'd finally admitted he'd fallen for her, and he'd been madly in love with her since then. Back then, he'd believed nothing could ever come between them. After that, they'd naturally transitioned from dating to marriage.

During their first year as newlyweds, Ruth had genuinely treated Zeke well. But a year later, she'd suddenly gotten bored of him. She'd started resenting his frugality and acted like he was an embarrassment.

She hadn't even bothered to hide it when she started shamelessly flirting with Calvin, her new assistant at the time, the same way she'd once chased after Zeke.

Zeke had completely lost it and started getting revenge by maxing out her card. Every time Ruth spoiled Calvin, Zeke would buy himself something too, trying to compete for her attention—even if he hadn't liked the stuff at all. He'd just wanted Ruth to come back to him.

But all Ruth had done was sneer at him. "Looks like my mom was right about you after all. A social climber from some nameless family like yours was only ever after my money. If you can't learn to behave, I'll just have to teach you!"

At that moment, Zeke's heart had shattered. Before he could even process how fast Ruth's feelings for him had changed, Margaret's condition had suddenly taken a turn for the worse.

When he'd finally needed Ruth's money for something that mattered, she'd decided he was just being jealous, frozen his cards, and instead blown through her limit on Calvin overseas.

Now, Margaret was gone. Zeke's heart had gone numb with her, and he no longer needed Ruth's money.

…

When Zeke went home to pack, there really wasn't much that actually belonged to him. Since she'd lost interest in him, Ruth had hardly bought him anything.

He left with a single suitcase, found somewhere cheap to crash, and went right back to grinding deliveries.

One particular order came in. The note on it told him to pick up a box of condoms and said he'd get a fat tip. The delivery address was a villa way out in the suburbs. Clearly, whoever placed the order had money to burn.

Zeke figured that if he did a really good job, maybe he could land a big enough tip to speed up saving for Margaret's headstone.

The moment the villa door swung open, he froze. A couple's photo of Ruth and Calvin hung on the wall. The living room was overflowing with beautifully wrapped gifts, more than the space could possibly hold.

A moving truck was parked out front. Two workers were hauling in more boxes.

"Man, the lady who owns this place really spoils her husband. I heard even the cheapest thing here costs a few million dollars!"

"And there's another whole truckload of luxury goods on the way. Apparently, one house wasn't big enough to hold everything, so she bought this villa just for all the stuff."

Chapter 3

Hearing those words made Zeke feel as if every last bit of strength had been sucked out of him.

So while he'd been running himself ragged, trying to scrape together money, so broke he'd had to take on almost three jobs a day, Ruth had been showering Calvin with luxury goods—so many that one house couldn't even hold them all, and she'd had to buy a second villa just to store the gifts.

What a joke. What an absolute joke.

Zeke didn't want to think about it anymore. His hands shook as he marked the order as delivered, set the bag down, and turned to leave.

An angry shout exploded behind him. "Hey! Delivery guy! Who said you could leave?"

Calvin grabbed the bag and pulled out the box of condoms. "Why the hell did you buy mint flavor? I clearly wrote that I wanted strawberry. You can forget about your tip!"

Zeke felt like someone was slicing his heart open with a dull knife. He said in a low voice, "Sorry. That was the last box the store had."

He didn't dare ask about the tip anymore and turned to leave, but Calvin grabbed his arm and wouldn't let go. "Who said you could leave? I'm gonna complain about you!"

Ruth stepped out from the back, a flicker of surprise and pleasure in her eyes before she grabbed Zeke by the wrist. "I knew you were jealous, Zeke. I can't believe you actually disguised yourself as a delivery guy just to stalk me. That's so not like you."

Zeke yanked his hand back, his voice icy. "You've got it wrong. I'm just doing my job."

"Your job?" She frowned so hard a crease formed between her brows. "I give you more than enough spending money every month. Why would you need to be out here making deliveries? Apologize properly for what happened last time, and I'll go home with you."

Calvin instantly looked alarmed, but Ruth's eyes stayed locked on Zeke.

Zeke sneered to himself, finding it all ironic. 300 dollars a month for living expenses wasn't even enough to cover Margaret's medicine. Ruth was worth billions, yet she thought 300 dollars was more than enough.

"My being a delivery guy has nothing to do with you. If we're done here, I need to get to my next order," he said.

He turned to go, only for Ruth to clamp down hard on his wrist again. "Who said you could leave? Didn't you hear what Calvin just said? You bought the wrong flavor."

Calvin immediately chimed in, sounding smug, "Yeah. Ruth and I only like strawberry. Since you messed up, go buy it again. Otherwise, we're filing a complaint."

Zeke's breath hitched, a note of pleading slipping into his voice. "Please don't. I'll go buy more for you. Just… don't file a complaint…"

He desperately needed this money. To pay for Margaret's treatment, he'd been doing deliveries nonstop for two whole months. He'd finally clawed his way to the top of the monthly rankings, and he was on track to get the full bonus for the best delivery rider—8,000 dollars in total.

A complaint or a negative rating would cost him the bonus.

Ruth's lips curled into a vicious smile when she saw him begging so pathetically. "Fine. Keep buying condoms until we're satisfied, or we're definitely filing that complaint."

Swallowing the pain in his chest, Zeke turned and ran out. He went all over town, hitting one convenience store after another, buying every flavor of condom he could find.

The moment he stepped back into the villa, he was hit by an obscene scene. Ruth was wrapped around Calvin and kissing him like she couldn't get enough. Their hands were all over each other.

When she caught sight of Zeke out of the corner of her eye, her face twisted in annoyance at being interrupted. "Get the hell out!"

Zeke bit down hard on his lower lip and set the plastic bag on the floor. "They're all in here. Please leave me a five-star rating."

Then, he bolted like he was running for his life as Ruth's heavy breathing grew louder behind him.

Outside the villa, the sky was a hazy gray. He didn't dare waste time and got right back to making deliveries.

The whole day, Zeke was on edge, anxiously waiting for that one crucial rating. By nightfall, when he refreshed the app, he saw a brand-new one-star review.

His heart almost stopped. A second later, Calvin's call came in. "Enjoying that bad review, Zeke?"

"Why…" Zeke's voice cracked. He was on the verge of breaking down. "I bought everything you asked for. Why have you done this to me?"

Calvin chuckled on the other end. "Because buying them was pointless. Ruth said we don't need condoms anymore because she wants to have my baby. You showing up with a whole bag of them just killed the mood. If I didn't give you a bad review for that, who do you think should've gotten it?"

Chapter 4

Zeke clutched his chest as pain ripped through every inch of his body.

So Ruth loved Calvin that much, huh? She was even willing to get pregnant for him.

Thinking back, she'd never wanted kids with Zeke. She'd always said her career came first and that pregnancy would just distract her, but now it was clear that was just an excuse. She simply didn't want his baby.

As he walked home in a daze, his phone buzzed in his hand. A notification from the delivery platform popped up—he'd been fired.

Ruth had to be behind this. Just like that, he'd lost his wages and bonus.

No way. That was the money he needed to bury Margaret.

Every muscle in his body was pulled tight as he rushed back out the door, determined to demand an explanation from the delivery platform.

But as he cut through a deserted side alley, a red sports car came speeding straight toward him. With a sickening bang, the impact sent him flying nearly 30 feet.

Through the pain, Zeke saw someone stumble out of the driver's seat, panic all over his face as he frantically made a call.

"Ruth, help! I accidentally hit Zeke! He got jealous and tried to attack me. I was already in the car and about to drive off, but he suddenly jumped out to stop me!"

The call was on speaker. Ruth's breath hitched on the other end, but when she spoke, her voice was soft and gentle. "It's his own fault for throwing a tantrum and getting jealous. Don't worry, and don't be scared. I'll come over and take care of it."

A few minutes later, Ruth arrived. She first took a moment to calm the shaken Calvin. Then, she walked toward Zeke, who lay limp on the ground. She bent down, ready to help him up.

Calvin suddenly spoke up, sounding weak, "Ruth, my heart's beating so fast. I'm scared…"

Ruth panicked at once. She immediately left Zeke to her bodyguards and turned back to steady Calvin. "Take him to the hospital. I'll stay with Cal."

The last thing Zeke saw before blacking out was Ruth walking away without looking back.

…

When Zeke opened his eyes again, he was lying in a hospital bed. He tried to move, but every organ in his body hurt, and it felt like his bones were about to fall apart.

He had just dialed the police when the door swung open, and Ruth strode in. She snatched the phone right out of his hand, her eyes cold.

"You can't call the cops. Calvin didn't hit you on purpose. You're the one who went looking for trouble by picking on him."

Zeke's heart clenched hard. "I wasn't picking on him, Ruth. He rammed into me on purpose. You can check the dashcam!"

A flicker of impatience crossed Ruth's eyes, as if everything he said was just some lie he'd cooked up out of jealousy. She gripped his shoulders with both hands, her tone suddenly turning coaxing.

"Fine, fine. It's Calvin's first time driving a sports car. He isn't used to it yet. He didn't mean to hit you. Don't blow this out of proportion, alright? If word gets out, people will think my husband doesn't know how to behave. How about I buy you a Rolex to make it up to you?"

Zeke couldn't believe his ears. His chest ached like someone was sawing through his heart with a dull blade. He was in pain from head to toe, and there was a real chance he had internal injuries. Yet she thought a watch was enough to get him to forgive the culprit and keep him from calling the police?

He grabbed the glass of water on the bedside table and hurled it at her, roaring, "I'm never taking another cent from you. Get out!"

Ruth's face darkened. She called him ungrateful, then stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Zeke gritted his teeth and forced himself to think through the heartache. He had no job, no bonus, and now his body was wrecked. How was he supposed to make money to pay for Margaret's burial?

His gaze dropped to the IV needle in the back of his hand, and an idea flashed through his mind.

…

Zeke found someone offering cash for blood and called to arrange a meeting. Then he staggered out of the hospital to meet him.

"Hi, it was me who called earlier. You said you'd pay for blood…"

A middle-aged man was leaning against a van, looking bored and annoyed. "Hurry up and get in. It's 500 bucks for seven ounces. The more you give, the more you get."

Zeke's heart lurched. Still, he agreed to do it. He was too desperate for the money.

By the time they were done drawing his blood and he finally had the cash in hand, he was so weak he could barely walk straight. He clutched the hard-earned thousand dollars tightly and headed back.

But just as he reached the mouth of a narrow alley, someone slammed into him. Before he could react, the money was ripped from his hand.

"Get back here!"

Zeke shook all over as he staggered after the thief, but his body was too weak. No matter how he pushed himself, he just couldn't catch up.

He was on the verge of breaking down. The money he had literally sold his blood for was gone, just like that.

He was still shaking as he made his way back to his hospital room, planning to pull the security footage and call the police to catch the thief. But as he neared the neighboring room, he heard a burst of familiar laughter.

He walked up to the door and saw Calvin inside, doubled over with laughter. He had a thousand bucks in cash fanned out in his hand.

"God, Zeke's such an idiot. Did he actually think selling his blood for money would win Ruth's attention? As if I'd let him get what he wants!"

The man next to him nodded. "I grabbed the money like you told me to, Mr. Ward. So…"

"Relax. It's all yours."

With a grand wave, Calvin handed the thief the money Zeke had risked his life to earn.

Chapter 5

Zeke burst into the hospital room and grabbed Calvin by the throat. "Why are you doing this to me? Give me my money back!"

But the thief was quick. He slipped out of the room in a flash.

All hope drained out of Zeke. He was just about to chase after the thief when Calvin clamped down hard on his wrist. "You must be really desperate for cash, huh, Zeke? How about this—I'll give you money, but you've gotta beg me on your knees."

"In your dreams!" Zeke barked.

The next second, Calvin pulled out a photo. "These are your grandma's ashes and her memorial photo. I already had someone pick them up from the chapel. You've been busting your ass making money just so you can bury her properly, right?"

Zeke's breath caught. "What did you do with my grandma's ashes?"

"Beg me. Get on your knees and beg me with everything you've got, and I'll tell you."

Zeke swallowed his pride and knelt. He didn't care what he had to endure as long as he could lay Margaret to rest. He prostrated himself before Calvin, slamming his forehead into the floor over and over, each thud louder than the last.

Calvin just watched, all smug and satisfied. He didn't tell Zeke to stop.

Zeke's forehead was red and swollen by the time he choked out, "Can you tell me now?"

Calvin curled his lips. He snatched up a fruit knife, dragged it hard across his own wrist, and then shoved the handle into Zeke's hand. He let out a shout, then cried, "Zeke, what are you doing? Ruth, save me!"

Before Zeke could even react, a powerful force slammed into him. Ruth burst into the room and drove a vicious kick into his side.

Calvin played it up. "Ruth, I just wanted to apologize to Zeke, but he got jealous because you're so good to me. He said he was gonna kill me…"

Hate burned in Ruth's eyes as she glared at Zeke. "Have you lost your mind, Zeke? You wanted to kill Cal?"

"My grandma's dead, Ruth! He stole her ashes and her memorial photo, and he slashed his own wrist with this knife!" Zeke had no way to prove his account and bitterly regretted not recording the exchange on his phone.

Ruth snapped, "I didn't think you'd stoop so low. You'd even lie about your own grandmother being dead just because of this jealous game you're playing? Aren't you afraid of karma?"

She ignored him after that, pressing down on Calvin's bleeding wrist as she rushed him out.

Zeke crumpled to the floor, his chest aching like it was full of needles.

No. He couldn't just let this slide. He had to get Margaret's ashes back.

Calvin had already admitted he'd taken them. Zeke just had to call the cops. They would definitely find the ashes after an investigation.

He pulled out his phone and started to dial when someone kicked the hospital room door open from the outside.

Ruth stormed back in, her eyes bloodshot. She grabbed his wrist in a vice grip and dragged him out. "The blood bank is low on type AB. You're gonna donate blood for Calvin. Now!"

Zeke struggled with everything he had. "Let me go, Ruth! I'm not giving him my blood!"

He was weak. Whatever strength he had couldn't match hers. She soon had him pinned to the chair in the blood collection room.

"Forced blood donation is illegal! Let me go!" Zeke shouted.

On top of that, he'd just sold 13 ounces of blood. He couldn't afford to lose any more, or he'd die!

His voice cracked with panic. "Ruth, I'm begging you. I already had 13 ounces drawn earlier. I really can't donate again!"

But no matter how he struggled or pleaded, Ruth just had her bodyguards hold him down in a death grip. Her eyes glinted with a hard, cold resolve.

"Stop with all this jealousy, Zeke. Every time you see me treat Cal a little better, you throw a fit. This time, you're donating whether you like it or not."

Zeke's heart felt as if it were being ripped apart. His lips twisted into a bitter, broken smile.

Jealousy. Again with that.

He hadn't felt a smidgeon of jealousy ever since he'd seen her true colors—only the crushing pain of having given his heart to the wrong person.

"Is that really what you think of me, Ruth? You don't believe me at all, do you?" he asked.

Ruth answered without hesitation, her tone almost coaxing. "Zeke, just be good. Give Cal your blood and stop hurting people just because you're jealous."

Zeke watched with wide, unblinking eyes as the thick needle slid into his arm and bag after bag of his blood was drawn. It felt like his very soul was being drained.

He had no idea how much time passed before they finally finished.

Ruth rushed off clutching the bags of blood, while his vision went dark at the edges and his consciousness started to blur.

As his body slid from the chair to the floor, he murmured, soft as a whisper, "Ruth, you're gonna regret this…"

Chapter 6

When Zeke opened his eyes again, he was lying in a hospital bed. His mouth was painfully dry. He forced himself upright, and his phone immediately lit up with taunting messages.

One of them was a video. In it, Calvin was curled up in Ruth's arms, eating the peeled grapes she was feeding him.

"Ruth, Zeke was so fierce just now. Do you think he's serious about wanting to kill me?" he asked.

Ruth tapped his nose, her eyes full of indulgence. "Of course not. No one gets to bully you as long as I'm around."

Calvin let out a long, gloomy sigh and said, "But I don't wanna be some dirty little secret for the rest of my life. Can't you at least give me a wedding, Ruth? Let's register our marriage!"

Zeke's hand clenched tightly around his phone, a sharp pain stabbing through his chest.

A second later, Ruth spoke up hesitantly, "Cal, I can't promise you that. Zeke is still my husband, and no one in the Jensen family has ever gotten divorced. If I divorce him, it'll hurt the company's reputation."

Calvin instantly choked up. "So what, I'm supposed to stay in the shadows for the rest of my life?"

Ruth went quiet for a moment, then finally gave in. She said, "I'll give you a fake wedding."

"That's not enough! It's far from enough!" Calvin shouted, throwing a fit.

Ruth soothed him, rubbing his back. "I'll divorce him and marry you. We'll have a baby together. After the baby's born, I'll marry him again."

Calvin huffed. "And you have to promise you'll never have kids with Zeke. After our baby's born, you're getting an IUD!"

The second those words left his mouth, the room went dead silent. Just when Zeke thought Ruth wouldn't answer, she said in a low voice, "Okay."

The video ended there. Zeke was still wrapping his head around it when, the next second, Ruth walked into his hospital room. She held a stack of papers disguised as a property purchase contract, but it was actually their divorce agreement. She sat down by his bed.

"Zeke, I bought you a house out in the suburbs. Sign this. Once your grandma's better, we'll move there with her." She quickly added, "Don't get the wrong idea. I only treat Calvin well because I see him as a little brother. As long as you stop getting jealous and throwing fits, we can still live a good life together."

Zeke signed his name, feeling numb. He pretended not to see the words "Divorce Agreement" on the page.

Honestly, this worked out for him. It saved him the trouble of approaching her and getting her to sign the divorce papers.

Ruth sighed in relief. She even reached out, wanting to ruffle his hair affectionately, but he tilted his head just enough to dodge her touch.

"Don't bother," he said. "Go keep your 'brother' company."

She froze, a hint of annoyance creeping into her tone. "Fine. Remember that you're the one who pushed me away."

She closed the door behind her as she left.

Zeke sat on the bed and let out a cold, bitter laugh. This was ridiculous. She used to complain that he controlled her too much, but now that he didn't care anymore, she couldn't stand it.

People were just born ungrateful.

…

Over the next few days, Ruth left Zeke in the hospital to rest and recover, then used a business trip as an excuse to parade Calvin all over town.

Zeke checked his phone. A headline shot to the top of the trending list.

"CEO of Jensen Group, Ruth Jensen, Proposes to Her Boyfriend and True Love!"

In the video, Ruth kissed Calvin in a rose-filled villa, slid a custom-made diamond ring worth millions of dollars onto his finger, and even transferred assets worth over a hundred million dollars so he'd be set for life.

The comments were full of people squealing over how romantic it was. No one cared about Zeke, the husband she had cast aside.

Zeke's heart had long gone numb. He even left a comment under the post. "Wishing you both a lifetime together."

Right after that, Calvin texted him. "See that, Zeke? Ruth's first choice will always be me."

Zeke replied, "Congratulations. Now, can you give me my grandma's ashes back?"

Calvin, however, insisted they meet in person first.

Chapter 7

Calvin got straight to the point when he met Zeke. He said, "I really don't get you, Zeke. You're already married to Ruth. You could be living it up and rolling in money, yet you insist on acting all noble, as if you're not after her fortune.

"Your monthly allowance has gone from 100,000 dollars to 300,000 dollars, but I only give you 300 bucks. The rest stays with me. Can't help it—Ruth never asks how I transfer your allowance. She trusts me that much…"

Zeke had already guessed as much. His voice was hoarse as he cut him off, "Where are my grandma's ashes?"

Calvin didn't answer. Instead, he kept talking like he hadn't heard Zeke. "You know why Ruth suddenly stopped loving you? Because I lied to her about something…"

He leaned in close, his voice dripping venom. "Three years ago, you stumbled upon my deal to sell company secrets and got your leg broken by Ms. White's men. I set that up on purpose. Ruth thought you seduced Ms. White for money and sold out the company. Of course she wouldn't love you after that!

"But I'm the one who actually seduced Ms. White, and I'm the one who traded company intel for cash. Too bad that in Ruth's eyes, you're now nothing but a rotten loser who'd sell anything for money. Meanwhile, I'm the one who stuck by her, no matter what. She'll never believe you ever again."

A sharp pain slammed into Zeke's chest as memories came crashing back all at once.

One night, while Ruth worked late, he'd decided on a whim to bring her dinner. When he reached a side alley near her office, he'd recognized Rebecca White from a rival company.

In the dark, someone wearing a hat and a mask had sneakily handed Rebecca a USB drive, saying it contained Jensen Group's trade secrets.

Zeke had instantly realized what was happening and raised his phone to record the scene as proof, but his phone had gone off by accident.

Rebecca had panicked and immediately ordered her bodyguards to grab Zeke and smash his phone. In the struggle, they'd broken his leg, but he'd still fought tooth and nail to seize the USB drive and protect the company's secrets.

When he'd woken up in the hospital, the first thing he'd done was hand the USB over to Ruth, his hands shaking. But all that had greeted him was the look of utter disappointment in her eyes.

Back then, he'd thought she was just upset that he'd broken his leg and caused trouble for her. He'd even felt guilty about it for a long time. He'd never imagined that she'd mistaken him for the traitor who'd leaked her company's secrets—and that Calvin had orchestrated it all.

Zeke shot to his feet, his voice cracking. "Aren't you afraid of karma after pulling all this crap, Calvin?"

Calvin let out a dismissive laugh. "Karma? You gave Ruth your heart and soul, and now you're living worse than a stray, aren't you?"

With that, he tossed out an address and hurried off to his date with Ruth.

Zeke's chest tightened. Without hesitation, he headed straight to the address. But when he got there, all he found was Margaret's shattered memorial photo and her empty urn. Inside the urn sat a single mocking note.

"I flushed the ashes down the drain a long time ago, Zeke. Get mad all you want—it'll be pointless because you can't touch me anyway. Ruth will always protect me! Even if you told her right now, she'd just think you're being unreasonable."

The harsh words stabbed straight into Zeke's heart like a knife. His hands shook, and his eyes went red in an instant, but he wasn't even surprised. The hatred roaring inside him surged again and again, then finally cooled into ice.

He snapped a photo of the note. He swore he'd make Calvin pay.

…

In the days that followed, Ruth flaunted her love for Calvin in the most over-the-top way possible. She bought countless expensive cars and designer watches just to fill up the huge mansion she'd gotten him.

She commissioned a celestial-themed light show that lit up the night sky with his name. She even built him his own private amusement park, just so her golden boy could stay innocent forever.

This insane spending spree made everyone online green with envy, and their names sat glued to the trending list for over ten days.

A month after Zeke signed the papers, the divorce was finalized.

Zeke went to the courthouse early. He knew Ruth had already pulled strings to push the divorce paperwork through. He was just there to pick up his copy of the divorce certificate.

His phone buzzed with a video from Calvin. The latter was out with Ruth, helping her try on wedding dresses. In the clip, Calvin hugged Ruth from behind and kissed her neck.

Ruth stood in a rhinestone-studded wedding gown worth a fortune, smiling like she didn't have a care in the world.

Zeke didn't reply to the taunt. He took his copy of the divorce certificate and walked out of the courthouse.

A car rolled to a smooth stop in front of him. The driver leaned over and asked, "Are you one of the volunteers heading to the airport?"

Zeke nodded, got in, and shut the door.

The car headed straight for the airport. He was finally about to step into a brand-new life, carrying Margaret's hopes with him.

As for Ruth—he would never see her again.