Chapter 2

Chloe froze, her eyes darting nervously toward Clara.

Clara stood with her arms crossed, a statue of cold disapproval. "Why are you looking at me? If he gave it to you, it's yours. Keep it."

Chloe hesitated, trying to gently dissuade Clara with a smile.

"Liam's just joking, Clara. You know him."

A chorus of nervous agreement rose around the table.

"Come on, Clara, it's your birthday! Let's not let anything ruin the mood."

"The cake! Liam special-ordered it from that place you love."

Clara cut through the chatter, her tone final. “No cake. Leo has a crucial interview tomorrow. I'm taking him back to prepare."

A heavy silence fell. Every pair of eyes at the table shifted to me. They all knew how much I'd done for Clara.

Five years of marriage, I worked relentlessly, all to give her a better life.

So why was she still treating me like this?

Did she really value Leo, that struggling student, more than me?

"Clara, everyone's here for you," Chloe tried again. "Don't spoil the night. Liam planned this for a month. You're the guest of honor. You can't leave him like this."

Clara looked at me. A flicker of hesitation passed through her eyes.

She was actually hesitating.

A bitter laugh tore through me.

Leo smiled. "Clara, you should stay. My interview tomorrow is nothing."

""Nothing?" Clara's expression sharpened. “It's your first interview. It shapes your entire future. How could I not make sure it's perfect?"

Seeing my face darken, Chloe laughed lightly. "When Clara sponsors someone, she sees it through."

See it through?

Watching Clara's undisguised worry for Leo felt like a fist squeezing my lungs. I couldn't breathe.

Leo was her charity case. Her "project." Of course she felt responsible for him.

And I? I was her husband. The man she'd vowed to build a life with.

Shouldn't she feel responsible for me?

She left anyway. Just as she reached the door, she turned back..

"Oh. Hand over the keys to that new sports car. Leo needs something to drive."

I laughed then. A short, hollow sound. I shoved the keys directly into Chloe's hand.

"Sorry, I already gave the car to Chloe." I said, my voice flat. "And if memory serves, the funds you've funneled to Leo over the years could have bought him a fleet of his own. He doesn't need mine."