Chapter 1 The Anniversary

The door swings open under Bimbo's hand, and she freezes. "David!" He doesn't even jump. He just turns his head slowly, like she's the one who walked in at the wrong time. Renata is pressed against the wall behind him, her blouse open, his hand still resting on her stomach. "Get out," Bimbo says to Renata. Her voice shakes, but the words come out hard. Renata grabs her jacket and runs past Bimbo without looking at her. Her footsteps fade down the hall. David straightens his shirt like nothing happened. "Bimbo-" "Don't Bimbo me." She raises a hand. "Don't say my name like I'm the one who did something wrong." "It's not what it looks like." "It's exactly what it looks like." She laughs, but there is no humor in it. "Three years, David. Three years of you barely looking at me. Now I know why." He steps toward her. She steps back quickly. "She's pregnant," Bimbo says. It's not a question. She saw where his hand was. David's jaw tightens. That's answer enough. Bimbo covers her mouth. Her legs feel weak. "Say something," she whispers. "What do you want me to say?" "The truth. For once." David rubs a hand over his face. When he speaks again, his voice is calm and cold, the same voice he uses in meetings when he's already made up his mind. "The truth is this marriage was never real. You know that. I know that. We got married because it kept your father's company safe and kept my board happy. That's all this ever was." "It wasn't all it was to me." She hates herself as soon as she says it. Something crosses his face, but it's gone before she can understand it. "I want a divorce," she says. "No." "That's not your choice." "Actually, it is." He crosses his arms. "Your father's on the transplant list at Calder Health Network. His doctors, his medicine, his hospital room. All of it is paid through accounts with my name on them. Walk out that door, file those papers, and I pull every bit of it within the week." Bimbo stares at him. "You wouldn't." "Try me." Her father's life. Her father's treatment. He is using all of it to keep her trapped. "He's dying, David. He needs that transplant." "Then stay married to me." He says it like it's the easiest thing in the world. "Nothing changes. We keep up appearances. You keep his care. I keep my board happy. Everyone wins." "Everyone but me." "You'll survive it. You always do." Her hands curl into fists. She wants to grab the wine glass from the table and throw it at his head. She doesn't move. She doesn't trust herself to. "I hate you," she says softly. David doesn't answer. His face stays still, and she doesn't care enough to wonder what he's thinking. She turns and walks out. She doesn't look back. She doesn't cry until she's inside her car, her hands gripping the wheel so hard her knuckles turn white. Then the tears come fast, blurring the city lights through the windshield. Her phone buzzes. A text from Camila. *How's the anniversary dinner? Tell David I said happy 3 years lol* Bimbo laughs, but it turns into a sob. She types with shaking fingers. *He was kissing his secretary against the wall. She's pregnant. I want a divorce and he says no because of Dad's treatment.* Three dots appear right away. *WHAT* *Where are you?* *Car outside the restaurant.* *Don't move. I'm coming.* Bimbo drops the phone into her lap and stares at the restaurant. Warm light shines through the windows. Laughter comes from somewhere inside, faint and distant. Somewhere in there, David is probably still in that private room, his tie straightened, acting like nothing happened. She rests her forehead against the steering wheel and breathes. In. Out. In. He can't win this, she tells herself. He can't just keep everything. Fifteen minutes later, headlights flash behind her. Camila's car pulls up fast and stops crooked at the curb. She's out before the car is even fully in park, running across the lot in heels she clearly wasn't planning to run in. Bimbo rolls the window down. Camila leans in, takes one look at her face, and doesn't ask a question. She opens the passenger door, climbs in, and pulls Bimbo into a hug across the console. "I'm going to kill him," Camila says against her shoulder. "I mean it. I know people." Bimbo laughs through her tears. "You don't know people." "I know a guy who knows people." That gets another laugh out of her. It's small, but it's real. Camila pulls back and takes Bimbo's face in both hands. "Okay. Talk to me. All of it. Start from somewhere." So Bimbo does. She tells her everything: Renata against the wall, David's cold voice, the threat about her father's treatment, and the divorce he refuses to give her. Camila's face goes from shocked to angry, then becomes calm and focused. "He can't use your dad's life to control you," Camila says. "That's not a marriage. That's a hostage situation with a wedding ring." "I know." Bimbo wipes her face with the back of her hand. "But I can't lose him, Camila. Dad, I mean. I can't lose Dad too." "You won't." Camila squeezes her hand. "We'll figure it out. We always do." Bimbo nods, even though she doesn't believe it yet. David's calm voice is still in her head, telling her what will happen if she refuses to play along.