Chapter 3

3

If I was going to leave, I wasn't going to hand over my hard-earned resources to them.

As I expected, the project fell through.

No high-end client would want to work with a company that lacked a basic code of conduct.

Soon, it was time for the company's retreat day.

The festive mood seemed to lift the gloom Winston had been carrying.

They decided to go to a high-end lounge nearby.

I wasn't included in the invite, as the clique always excluded me.

Over time, I had lost interest in trying to fit in anyway.

In the middle of the night, my phone buzzed with a text.

"The Sapphire Lounge on 5th Avenue."

"My head hurts like hell. Can you come get me?"

It was from Winston.

I hesitated, but eventually, I got dressed and called a cab.

I walked through the lounge and pushed open the door to their private suite.

The scene before me felt like a physical blow to my nervous system.

It was freezing outside, but Fiona was wearing a tiny white silk dress, sitting on Winston's lap.

Under the strobing lights, both of their faces were flushed from alcohol.

Fiona's lips were grazing Winston's cheek in a teasing, lingering way.

The rest of the group was sprawled out around them, cheering and whistling.

Even when they saw me, the two of them didn't move apart.

I struggled to keep my composure and reached out to close the door.

I set my phone down on a high glass table near the entrance.

Winston looked annoyed. "What are you doing here?"

Fiona let go of his neck and smiled brightly.

"Hey Cindy! I used his phone to text you. We needed a victim for Truth or Dare."

Winston pinched her nose affectionately.

"You little devil. Fine, I am not mad. What do you want to do now?"

Fiona rubbed her nose against Winston's palm, acting like a pampered pet.

"The game is better with more people, right?"

"I want Cindy to join the game."

"No," Winston said firmly and without hesitation.

Fiona pouted. "Why not?"

The others in the group started to sober up, looking on with interest.

Winston's eyes were dark and unreadable.

After a long pause, he said, "Cindy is a germaphobe. She does not like people touching her."

Fiona bit her lip, looking slightly frustrated.

She probably thought Winston was being protective or jealous over me.

But I knew Winston. He was arrogant and possessive.

He was the one who was a germaphobe about things he considered his.

If he decided something belonged to him, he wouldn't let anyone else touch it.

However, that rule never applied to his own behavior.

He felt perfectly entitled to touch, hug, or kiss whoever he pleased.

Nobody in the room dared to cross him.

Fiona suddenly let out a sharp laugh.

"Okay, my bad then."

"I should apologize to Cindy for making her come all this way for nothing."

She picked up a beer bottle and walked toward me.

Her dark eyes looked like they wanted to swallow me whole.

She stopped just inches from me.

A second later, a triumphant smirk crossed her lips.

She poured the beer all over her own white dress.

Then, her face transformed into a mask of agony.

She threw herself backward onto the floor and started sobbing.

"Cindy! Why would you push me?!"

"I know you are mad at me, but… I am sorry! I am so sorry!"

The group immediately rushed over to help her up.

"Fiona, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Winston's voice was thick with panic and concern.

Fiona looked at me with tearful eyes and then quickly looked away, acting terrified.

"It is fine. As long as Cindy is not mad anymore."

"My life is cheap anyway. It does not matter if I get hurt."

I had to admit, Fiona was a natural-born actress.

Winston turned around, his veins bulging with rage.

He didn't hesitate for a single second before his hand whipped across my face.

The sting was immediate and searing.

I held my cheek and opened my mouth to speak, but then I stopped.

What was the point?

Experience told me he would never believe a word I said.

Winston's voice was dripping with venom.

"You really are a piece of work."

"Cindy, when did you become so bitter and ugly?"

"The woman I married wasn't a jealous, pathetic bitch. I do not even recognize you."

He scooped Fiona up in his arms and walked out without a backward glance.

The rest of the group followed them out one by one.

I was left standing alone in the empty, cold room.

His words kept looping in my head.

I couldn't help but think the same thing.

Winston, you aren't that sincere young man who swore to love only me anymore.

Nostalgia is a dangerous thing when you are hurting.

Hot tears finally escaped and rolled down my face.

But after the sadness passed, I knew I had to move on.

I walked to the door and picked up the phone I had left on the glass table.

I swiped the screen and stopped the video recording.

Getting a divorce wasn't going to be a simple task.

Winston and I had been college sweethearts.

Our marriage was also a strategic alliance between two wealthy families.

The reputation of both families was at stake.

I needed enough hard evidence to ensure I could walk away without losing everything.

A wave of exhaustion hit me.

I sighed, and then my phone buzzed with an image from my aunt overseas.

My grandfather, who had raised me, was lying in a hospital bed covered in tubes.

"Cindy, get here now. Your grandfather might not make it!"