The new dark-skinned intern at the company, Blake, was always finding excuses to hang around my wife's office. But no matter how much Blake flirted, my wife would frown and tell him to get lost. "I'm not interested in Black men. Try that again, and you're out of this company!" I thought my wife genuinely disliked him. Until I set my sights on a gold watch at an auction. Just as I was about to bid, a mysterious benefactor suddenly made a grand bid for Blake, securing the watch for him. A little while later, I saw through someone else's phone that my wife had hidden her social media posts from me: 【The most dazzling watch should adorn the most brilliant obsidian.】 The accompanying picture was a selfie of Blake wearing the gold watch. I let out a cold laugh and, in retaliation, extravagantly bid on all 99 remaining watches. I had them all thrown in front of Blake. "Wear them! Don't you dare leave this auction house unless every single one is on your arm!" 1 I was at home studying financial reports when my wife, Sophia Reed, slammed the door open. "Was that really necessary?" She frowned at me, her usually gentle gaze now filled with displeasure. I frowned back. "What's wrong?" She threw her phone at me. The video showed Blake with 99 watches weighing down his arm, causing him to collapse to the floor. The laughter of the onlookers was incessant: "Whose kept man is this? Making a fool of himself at an auction!" "Probably trying to show up the real sugar mama, but ended up making an even bigger ass of himself! Hilarious!" Blake’s arm was so heavy; he crawled out amidst roars of laughter. His breathing was ragged; he looked utterly pathetic. I turned off the phone. "I told you, people like me don't tolerate disrespect." Sophia sounded impatient. "Blake recently landed a major project for the company. I was just giving an employee a small reward. Can you stop being so suspicious and petty?" "Smash!" The desk ornament she had given me I hurled to the floor. Sophia quickly dodged, looking at me with some surprise. In five years of marriage, we had never raised our voices like this. This was our first real fight, our first act of aggression. And it was over a Black man. "A reward? You call making a spectacle of winning that gold watch for Blake, knowing full well your husband had his eye on it, a reward for an employee?" Sophia bit her lip. "But... even if you were angry, you could have yelled at him, even slapped him. What right did you have to make him crawl out of there on his knees?" "The right of being your husband!" I cut her off with a roar. "Is that so hard to understand? "Knowing your husband wanted it, yet you get it for another man – is that what a wife should do? "We might have had a marriage of convenience, but are you telling me there are no feelings between us after five years?" Sophia fell silent. Indeed, our marriage began as a business arrangement. But through countless moments of intimacy, feelings had undeniably grown between us. "Besides," I said with a bitter laugh, "even if there were no feelings, that doesn't mean you can deny me basic respect." Sophia looked at me as if I were a stranger. "You need to cool down." She threw those words at me and turned to leave. She didn't even glance at the lavish meal spread on the table. My smile was bitter— She seemed to have forgotten that today was our fifth anniversary. 2 Sophia hadn't responded to my messages for a while. I didn't pester her; instead, I went to inspect my project. But as soon as I arrived on site, the manager stopped me. "I'm sorry, Mr. Vance, but Ms. Reed has gifted the Galaxy Dome to Mr. Blake." I frowned. "Are you sure?" The manager gave an awkward smile. "Absolutely. The transfer contract has already been signed. This dome now belongs to Mr. Blake, and Mr. Blake said..." The manager's eyes darted towards me, his voice dropping. "...that you, Mr. Vance, are not allowed entry..." My fists trembled slightly— The Galaxy Dome. I had personally designed it, overseen its construction, guided every single component. Once completed, the entire dome would simulate the most realistic depiction of the Milky Way. I had poured 365 days and nights into it, all as a birthday gift for myself. Sophia had personally accompanied me to building material markets to confirm the panels; she knew all this... Yet, with my birthday just around the corner, she gave away my brainchild... This was a deliberate provocation... "Mr. Vance?" Blake's distinct accent sounded from behind me. "Are you looking for Ms. Reed?" He held his phone out to me. "Ms. Reed is very busy lately. Here, add me. If you need anything, just tell me." He tilted his chin up, looking down at me, every bit the master of the house. I chuckled softly. "Just tell you, huh?" His eyes were full of self-assurance. But I let out a cold laugh— I have to go through another man to contact my own wife? If I added him today, I'd be the one on the outside. So, I snatched his phone. And smashed it violently on the ground. Shards flew everywhere. Blake exclaimed, "Mr. Vance, are you crazy!" "You guys," I coldly gestured to my men behind me. "Tear it down!" My men surged forward, grabbing nearby shovels and clubs left over from construction, and began to brutally attack the dome I had personally designed and supervised. Tiles and glass shattered, some pieces flying directly at Blake. He frantically dodged left and right, grabbing at every one of my men who passed him. "Stop it! Ms. Reed gave this to me! She won't let you get away with this!" "Ms. Reed?" My men simply pushed him aside. "We only answer to Mr. Vance!" "You!" Blake gritted his teeth. He strode towards me. "Make them stop! Didn't you design this yourself? Are you just going to watch your hard work get destroyed?" "So, you do know I designed it, huh?" I smiled, looking at him. He caught his breath. "I... I only accepted Ms. Reed's gift because I admired your design. Otherwise, why would I want a building that's purely ornamental? "Stop them, quickly, or the dome will be completely ruined!" "Blake." I grabbed him by the collar, forcing him to look at me. "That's just how I operate: I'd rather destroy something than let someone else have it. "You think I have the patience to watch a homewrecker like you lording it over in a building I designed? I'm not that magnanimous!" With that, I slammed him to the ground. Blake's knees scraped, oozing blood, and he winced in pain. I looked at the ruins around us, kicked a piece of debris towards him, then turned and strode away with my men. But as soon as I got home, I discovered that my wife, who had blocked me, had suddenly made a social media post visible to me again. 3 In the photo, Blake stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a woman, the entire Milky Way before them. Location: Iceland. Caption: 【If someone destroyed your galaxy, I'll give you a sky full of stars.】 My grip on the phone tightened until my hand trembled slightly— Fine. Very fine. If Sophia wanted to fight me to the bitter end, then she couldn't blame me for disregarding the ties between the Vance and Reed families. Sophia returned a week later. But when she came back to the company, she didn't find me crying and begging for her forgiveness. Instead, she found a company with more than half its employees gone, and a significant portion of its investors vanished overnight. What she hadn't anticipated at all was— I, the husband in this joint family business, had also withdrawn my shares. When she found me, I was in lively conversation with my blonde, blue-eyed partner, Leah. When she saw Leah kiss me on the cheek, Sophia suddenly rushed forward and pulled us apart. I stumbled, almost losing my balance, and shot her a frowning glare. "What do you think you're doing!" Sophia's breathing was unsteady. "That's what I should be asking you! What are you doing!" "Just discussing a project. Haven't you heard of a cheek kiss as a greeting?" "I!" Sophia was taken aback. Of course, she knew about cheek kisses. But seeing me and my partner exchange them, she just couldn't help herself. "That..." she changed the subject, "about you withdrawing your shares..." I sounded impatient. "I didn't want to be partners with you anymore, so I withdrew my shares. What's the problem?" "So, you can be partners with her then!" Sophia pointed at Leah across from me. My expression turned icy in an instant. "Sophia, who I partner with is my business. If you disrespect my partner again, don't blame me for falling out with you right now!" "What partner!" Sophia's breathing quickened. "The way she looks at you, are you really that blind, or are you pretending not to see? I can see it perfectly clearly, she..." Leah's face paled. I interrupted Sophia: "My relationship with Leah is just like your relationship with Blake! Can you stop assuming the worst of people! You should know when to let things go, don't you understand such a simple principle?" Sophia froze. She seemed to realize. Those words, they were almost exactly what she had once said to me. Biting her lip, she took two steps back, then turned and strode away. That evening, I took Leah out to dinner as an apology. When Leah, a little tipsy, helped me home, I expected the house to be empty as usual, just me. But this time, as soon as I opened the door, the woman on the sofa looked up. "Honey..." Sophia's eyes were a little red. "Blake has been fired." Saying this, she handed me a resignation letter. "I really did dislike him at first. It's just that he shielded me from some falling debris when I was inspecting a project, and his arm got injured. I had to repay him. "I thought getting him that watch would settle the debt completely, but I didn't expect you to show up..." She paused, tentatively taking my hand. "I admit I was being stubborn. When you went after Blake, everyone was laughing, saying you were slapping my face. I got angry and kept opposing you. "Blake... I don't actually like him." Her phone buzzed incessantly. She took it out and handed it to me. Messages from Blake popped up one after another: 【Ms. Reed, did I do something wrong? Just tell me, and I'll change!】 【Or do you think I'm asking for too much? I've returned everything you bought me. As long as you let me stay by your side, I don't want anything...】 【Please, Ms. Reed, I came to this foreign country all alone. You're my only emotional support. If you don't want me, I'll die...】 Sophia tapped on Blake's profile picture and, right in front of me, deleted and blocked him. Then she took a deep breath and looked at me. "I'm sorry, honey. I thought being defiant would solve the problems between us, but when I saw you and Leah exchange cheek kisses, I realized I couldn't stand it at all... "I think all those games I played with Blake out of spite only caused you more pain. "I'm sorry..." The door behind her opened. Gifts filled the entire room. What surprised me even more was that the ceiling had been remodeled to look like the Milky Way. The gold watch I had once favored, now retrieved from Blake's wrist, had been redesigned and placed in a box. "Honey, let's make up. Let's be good to each other from now on..." "Okay." A five-year marriage of convenience, with some genuine affection mixed in – my intention was mainly to teach her a lesson. Since she’d come to her senses, we could still make money together. 4 I didn't forgive Sophia quickly. Because I noticed she would still stare at her phone in a daze from time to time. I secretly took a look. She hadn't unblocked Blake. But her business partner in Africa was sending her daily updates on Blake's situation. A dark-skinned foreigner, facing severe discrimination in his new company. Not only did he have to do work that wasn't his until the early hours of the morning, but if he was even one minute late the next day, he'd be dragged into the lobby for a public reprimand. If there was a single typo in a document he submitted, he had to kneel on the floor and wipe it for his colleagues. Some would even take the opportunity to spit sunflower seed shells on him. But he couldn't fight back; he could only endure it tearfully. Pictures of him were sent to Sophia's phone one by one, even photos of him being sexually harassed by his boss in the office. They sent a message: 【In his homeland, sexual relationships are more open. Blake isn't trying to break up your family.】 Sophia's expression grew increasingly grave. She typed a message and sent it: 【But this is America.】 Then she blocked this partner too. I stood silently behind her, saw everything, and quietly turned away. Good. It seemed my wife could still distinguish right from wrong. In that case, she could also participate in the cross-border acquisition of the German company. Not long after, the acquisition ceremony officially began. Not only were there business partners, but prominent local political figures also attended. If the acquisition succeeded, my and Sophia's joint company would become a local leader, boosting the GDP significantly. But just as the German party was about to sign the contract, the large screen behind them suddenly displayed a video of Blake being cornered by a group of men. His screams and the men's taunts about him being an "imported slave" made the German representative instantly put down his pen. "Ms. Reed!" The doors to the venue burst open. Blake's clothes were tattered and hung loosely on him, easily leading one to imagine what he had endured. He threw himself into Sophia's arms. "I was planning to go back to Africa, but I didn't expect your husband still wouldn't let me go... "He said if I was violated, you'd be disgusted and never look at me again. I wanted to end it all, but I held on just to see you one last time..." "What?" The German representative threw down his pen and turned to the local officials. "Is this how City A treats its foreign guests?" The officials' faces paled. Just as they were about to explain, the German representative looked at me. "We were willing to entrust our company to you because we admired Mr. Vance's character, but you're not the only excellent company interested in acquiring us!" I quickly grabbed the microphone. "Distinguished guests, regarding this video, I have a few questions. Firstly..." "Crash!" The vase on the table suddenly flew at my forehead. I fell to the ground, my forehead hitting the corner of the table. Blood trickled into my mouth, tasting strongly of iron. And the perpetrator—my wife—was now protectively shielding Blake, looking down at me. "Is there any point to this charade? "You think I don't know that Blake's unfair treatment at his new company was all your doing?!" The German representative be stunned for a moment. Sophia immediately showed them evidence of the injustice Blake had suffered at his new company. I looked at Sophia in disbelief. "How could you not see through such a clumsy trick! Have you ever seen workplace sexual harassment where someone is allowed to film nearby!" "To satisfy your twisted desire for revenge, what wouldn't you do?" My breath caught— Now I finally understood. I was wrong. Although she had blocked the African partner that day, in her heart, she had long since identified me as the culprit behind Blake's suffering... The German representative stormed off angrily. The official pointed at me, furious. "Don't expect any support for your company from now on!" Everyone began to leave the venue. Sophia gave me a cold look. "You can defend your own dignity, but not at the expense of trampling on someone else's!" Watching her lead Blake away. I pushed myself up, leaning on the table. My gaze grew colder. Since I've done all I could, don't blame me for taking things to the extreme! My bloodied hand picked up the phone. I gave an order: "Bring me the acquisition file for Reed Industries."
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