Chapter 3

In the days that followed, Lucas never brought up divorce.

Everything seemed normal, except he sometimes came home a bit later from work.

When I asked, he just said an old classmate was looking for investment in a new startup project, and he was still considering it.

I told him to send me the details.

Sure enough, Ruby's name was on the list of founders.

Looking at the company's messy accounts and pitiful revenue, I shook my head.

With the economy in a slump and companies cutting costs left and right, she had the nerve to try and scam money with such a shoddy company.

Dream on!

"What do you think?" Lucas asked.

I hadn't told him about Ruby showing up yet.

Lucas and I had been married for years and had a son. We were planning for a daughter when Ruby suddenly appeared.

But as my mom said, Lucas and I were more of a business alliance. Our families were deeply intertwined, childhood sweethearts with a complex relationship. Pulling one thread could unravel the whole tapestry.

So I didn't believe he would cheat, let alone divorce me.

"I think we need to be cautious. You know this area better, so why don't you handle it?" I said, nodding slightly, feeling a bit relieved. I handed him a bowl of soup I'd made specially for his weak stomach.

The next day, I arrived at the company with a prepared proposal.

I rarely came to the office these days due to our baby plans, so many old employees were surprised to see me, looking eager for gossip.

The new employees didn't even recognize me.

Just as I reached Lucas's office door, I heard Ruby's familiar voice: "Lucas, please help me. This is my dream!"

Lucas didn't respond. I knocked lightly and pushed the door open.

Ruby was sitting next to him on the couch. When I entered, not only did she not stand up, but she even moved closer to him.

I glanced at her dress, cut so low you could almost see her underwear, then calmly placed the documents on the desk. "Am I interrupting?"

"Not at all, honey. This is Ruby, the one I mentioned," Lucas jumped up from the couch like he'd been electrocuted, quickly moving to my side to introduce us. "Ruby, this is my wife, Jade."

I caught a flash of resentment in Ruby's eyes as she looked at Lucas with an innocent expression. "Jade is so beautiful. I can't believe you never mentioned her."

What a joke. Who was she to deserve a mention?

Besides, mentioned or not, didn't she show up anyway?

Lucas looked uncomfortable. I couldn't help but laugh, "There's no reason to discuss family matters with outsiders all the time."

I handed Lucas the thermos I'd brought. "I heard you have a dinner meeting tonight, so I made this specially. I have afternoon tea with Mrs. Zhou and the others, so I'll head out first."

Years of understanding meant Lucas knew what was inside without opening it.

He nodded with a smile. "Thank you for your trouble."

But Ruby wouldn't let it go. "I'm going to that dinner with Lucas tonight. Jade, what's this good stuff? Can I have some too?"

Lucas frowned, putting the thermos on his desk. "You can't just drink someone else's medicine!"

"Is it some folk remedy for hangovers?" Ruby pouted strategically. "I used to think those TV shows where housewives always brewed weird concoctions were just making stuff up. I didn't expect..."

She covered her mouth and laughed.

But neither Lucas nor I were laughing.

On the contrary, the atmosphere in the office grew tense as Lucas's face darkened.

Lucas's grandmother was a top doctor in China. This soup was her recipe for Lucas's weak stomach.

Clearly, Ruby didn't know this.

I sighed. From the start, I felt this woman was missing something upstairs. She didn't seem like Lucas's type at all.

But if it were anyone else, Lucas would probably be furious by now.

Yet his patience with Ruby exceeded that for others.

He didn't respond, just gave Ruby a complex look. "Jade knows a lot about the food industry. Ruby, if you're serious about this, you should talk to Jade first."

Huh?

I was taken aback.

I could understand Lucas not wanting to directly refuse Ruby's shabby company's financing.

But what was this about the food industry?

Wasn't Ruby's company's main product some kind of couples' app according to the documents?

Seeing my confused expression and silence, Ruby, clearly missing a few brain cells, started talking flippantly. "Lucas, you don't really think Jade knows about the food industry just because she spends her days having tea and meals with friends, do you? There's quite a difference. Besides, I want to open a cat café. The main customers are white-collar workers and students..."

She looked at me challengingly as she spoke. "We can discuss business matters ourselves. I won't keep Jade from her shopping and afternoon tea!"

I was speechless. Was Ruby putting on an act?

Even if she'd done the bare minimum of research, she couldn't be this stupid!

Me, the Young Miss of the Jones family, with a PhD in Economics from Stanford Business School, only good for shopping and drinking tea?

Did she know how much it cost for me to give one lecture?

Looking at her smug expression, even showing disdain and contempt towards me, I was sure she didn't know.

Even if she knew I graduated from Stanford, she'd probably stubbornly believe my degree was fake or bought.

Lucas was clearly struggling to keep his composure. I could see he was holding back.

But I didn't understand why he was holding back.

Was it because she was his first love, and he couldn't bear to hurt her?

"I have something to attend to later. Ruby, just do as I said. For the project follow-up, you can discuss with Jade," he said, picking up his constantly ringing phone and quickly walking out.

As the office door closed, only Ruby and I were left in the room.

With Lucas gone, she didn't need to keep up the act. She looked at me coldly.

"You're really patient, aren't you? Running to the company, bringing soup, showing concern... all to win him back. But you saw it too. We're business partners who can support each other, progressing side by side. And you? You can make soup? Any housekeeper can do that. Other than that, what can you do besides shopping, drinking tea, and spending money?"

"I can discuss your project with you!" I pointed at the documents on the desk, adding with a smile, "That's what Lucas said."

"Hah!" She sneered, her eyes full of contempt. "You don't really believe that, do you? Lucas was just being polite, saving face for you. He's afraid you'll accuse us of transferring your marital assets this way. You think he respects you? He's worried you'll make a scene at the company and cause trouble for him!"

I looked at her like she was an idiot.

Putting aside whatever Lucas had done to give her such confidence.

Even if it were true, how could she so casually discuss transferring assets with me? Was something missing in her brain?

My silence made Ruby even more smug. She continued, "Lucas's kindness to me isn't just this. You heard it too, he's taking me to that important dinner tonight. And he said before me, he never took any other woman. Do you know what that means? It means I'm the most important, the only woman in his heart. You've been married to him for so long, and he's never taken you. How pitiful..."

She stared at me intently. "You must feel wronged, right? Go ahead and cry if you want. It's okay. Actually, failing in love or marriage isn't a big deal. You're not bad-looking, and even if your family background isn't great, Lucas will give you enough money to live comfortably. You should let go when it's time. Otherwise, if things get too ugly, be careful you might not even get alimony!"

I finally couldn't hold back anymore.

I burst out laughing.

Not just at her bizarre logic.

But because she never understood that I didn't care about intangible things like love.

What I cared about were tangible things that kept the power in my hands.

Like career, money, power, and marriage.

Like the fact that Lucas and I had a child.

And like the fact that I held the power of life and death over her project.

I told her coldly not to daydream. We wouldn't invest in either her bug-ridden app or her cat café.

But Ruby was full of confidence. "Jade, use your brain. The fact that I can be here, that Lucas dared to mention this to you, proves he values it. He will definitely agree."

I watched her sway out of the room, then opened the office window.

The heavy perfume scent was blown away by the wind, along with my unwavering certainty.

That night, I didn't sleep, waiting for Lucas to come home instead.

At four in the morning, a drunk Lucas stumbled through the door.

Our live-in housekeeper, Mrs. Wang, grumbled as she helped him to the bedroom.

The room was instantly filled with the strong smell of alcohol and the pungent perfume from the office earlier.

It was Dior J'adore, a fragrance I never used.

"Jade, I'll go make Lucas some hangover soup," Mrs. Wang said, noticing my displeased expression and quickly leaving after setting Lucas down.

"Honey," Lucas slurred.

"Mm. Sit up, I need to talk to you," I said, pushing away his arms as he tried to hug me. "That Ruby came to see me before. She said you two were in love and told me to divorce you."

Lucas's arm noticeably stiffened.

He mumbled incoherently, face down on the bed, repeating over and over, "Jade, honey, I love you."

Then, loud snores filled the room, and my heart sank a little.

I knew he was faking it, and I also knew you could never wake someone pretending to be asleep.

But he couldn't keep sleeping forever.

I planned to have a good talk with Lucas when he woke up.

But I ended up sleeping until late morning, and Lucas had already left for a business trip.

Worse still, Mrs. Wang came to tell me that our son, Ethan, seemed to have a fever.

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