Chapter 1

1

I was at my buddy Mark's wedding, trying to keep the peace between the groomsmen and the bridesmaids, when I noticed it. The new assistant my wife, Summer, had hired was sporting a ring. And it wasn't just any ring; it was the one I'd designed and custom-ordered just two days before. The ring that was supposed to be a surprise for our anniversary.

It was sitting there on his left ring finger, plain as day.

I pulled Summer aside, asking what the heck was going on. She just mumbled some lame excuse about it being "a coincidence." The assistant, this dude named Chad, just grinned at me like he knew something I didn't.

I gave them a tight, sarcastic smile. "Well, isn't that just peachy."

Back home, I had the divorce papers ready to go by the next morning.

Later that day, I told her, "If you like him so much, then go ahead and marry him."

Her eyes got all red and puffy. "You're my guy, you know that."

She was wrong. Not anymore. The moment she put that ring on his finger, it was over.

......

At the wedding, as I was joking around with the groomsmen, a hush fell over the crowd.

"Isn't that Summer Reed, CEO of Reed Enterprises? She's gorgeous, wonder who's the lucky guy she's with."

"Heard she's a total career woman, a workaholic who's totally single."

Summer made her grand entrance, her new assistant, Chad, trailing close behind.

Halfway through the reception, she fussed over Chad's tie, a total 'look what I caught' move. Then she casually took a sip from his half-empty glass of orange juice. They exchanged one of those "we get each other" smiles.

And just like that, my last bit of love for her fizzled out.

Ten years we'd been married. Summer had said she wanted to build her own empire, so I'd poured money into setting up her company. She didn't want people thinking she was just riding on the coattails of my family's business, Reed Industries, so we'd kept our marriage on the down-low. Only a few people knew, including her brand-new assistant, Chad.

That morning, before I headed out, she'd even kissed me goodbye. I'd thought we had it all. That kind of love was what I was living for. That's why, on my way to the wedding, I'd even stopped at Dior to pick up a pair of earrings. I was going to surprise her with them later.

But clearly, there was no point now.

When she spotted me, Chad seemed a little uncomfortable, whispering something to Summer. A moment later, they approached.

"Mr. Walker, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Summer's new assistant, you can call me Chad."

He reached out to shake my hand, but I ignored him, my eyes glued to the ring on his finger.

"I have a custom ring I haven't picked up yet. It's similar to the one you're wearing; guess we have the same taste."

Chad gave me a weak smile, trying to play it cool.

Summer stepped in between us, a little defensive. "Chad liked the ring and I just gave it to him to try on."

"I didn't think anything about receiving it. I'll take it off right now."

I chuckled, then clapped my hands, slow and deliberate. "Perfect. A ring I designed myself over a month, and I haven't even worn it, but you've already given it away."

My tone turned dark and Chad was stumbling over his words, apologizing profusely.

"Mr. Walker, please don't be angry. It's not Summer's fault, I was just having a little fun. I'll take it off right now and give it back."

The more nervous he got, the harder the ring was to remove, almost to the point of tears. In front of everyone, I was starting to look like the bad guy.

"Do you not understand what a ring signifies?"

"Didn't you see what it said on the inside of the band?"

Chad's face was beet red as he tried to wrestle the ring off. All eyes were on him.