Kevin drove over to pick me up. He was always so cool and distant. But today, his new secretary was sitting in the passenger seat. Right then, I knew. This marriage was over. 1 The day Kevin came to get me, I opened the passenger-side door and froze. A pretty young woman was sitting there, a sweet smile on her face. "Hi, Mrs. King!" She was polite, but she made no move to get out of my seat. My eyes narrowed, my gaze shifting to Kevin. He was on the phone, his head down, oblivious to the storm brewing right beside him. We were supposed to go to an auction together tonight. It was a date I'd been looking forward to, one I'd dressed up for. And here was someone else, sitting in my seat. "Hi, Mrs. King. My name is Bella. I'm Mr. King's new assistant," the girl said, her smile widening into two charming dimples. "I heard you were going to a private auction tonight, so I begged Mr. King to let me tag along and see what it's like. Don't worry, I won't be a bother." My heart plummeted. I knew this man. I knew the cool, perfect man I'd married. He kept his distance from everyone. He didn't let people get close. Our marriage had been an arrangement, a strategic alliance between our families. We chose each other after careful consideration. People had joked that I was signing up for a life of lonely nights. But after we were together, he would hold me, his eyes soft. In moments of passion, the corners of his eyes would turn a faint red. "You're my wife," he'd said. "We are one. You're different from everyone else." Today, something was different. 2 But I am not some wilting flower who swallows her pride. I am Mary Lane, and I've never had to watch my words for anyone. "Get out." My voice was ice. I showed no mercy. The girl stared at me, stunned. She clearly hadn't expected me to be so blunt. The coldness in my tone left her speechless. "I… I'm sorry, Mrs. King," she stammered, her voice trembling on the verge of tears as she scrambled into the back seat. Kevin hung up the phone just in time to see the aftermath. He knew I was angry. A look of weary indulgence crossed his face. He leaned over and fastened my seatbelt for me. I noticed the seat had been adjusted. Annoyed, I readjusted everything—the seat, the mirrors, the steering wheel—fuming. "This is so annoying! Who the hell dares to mess with my seat?" The air in the car turned frigid. The girl in the back didn't dare make a sound. Kevin's brow furrowed. "If you're not in the mood today," he suggested calmly, "we can just go home." In the rearview mirror, I could see the woman silently crying. I was seething. "Bella, was it?" I said, my voice sharp. "I'm not in the mood anymore. You can take a taxi home. Mr. King and I are leaving." The girl's face went pale. She looked at Kevin for help, but he offered none. Dejected, she got out of the car. 3 Kevin would never humiliate me in front of others. He was a master of self-control. That's why he suggested we go home. Whatever the problem, we would deal with it at home. That was our understanding. "She's just a kid, fresh out of college," he said, pulling me into his arms once we were inside. "Why are you getting so worked up over something so small?" "It's the first time." "What is?" "In all these years, this is the first time you've let another woman sit in your passenger seat." He hadn't expected that. He knew how many women were interested in him. He was a catch. But he'd always been so disciplined, never straying. He smiled, ruffling my hair. "I can't believe I finally made you jealous." He leaned in and kissed me, his nose brushing against my cheek. "She's just my employee. That's all. There will never be anything else between us." He held my face in his hands, his gaze intense. "I promise." 4 A woman's intuition is rarely wrong. Even though I'd only met Bella once, I knew she had her sights set on Kevin. I thought my little display of dominance would be enough to put her in her place. I was wrong. The necklace from the auction—the one that was supposed to be mine—was around her neck the very next day. Michael, Kevin's chief of staff, sent me a photo and a screenshot. In the photo, a diamond crescent moon necklace rested against Bella's pale skin, making her look even more delicate and lovely. Her eyes were red and swollen, but she was smiling. She must have cried all night and received a little "gift" as a consolation prize. The screenshot was of her social media post: [ The boss says girls have to be strong, even when they're upset! Wiping away the tears. Yes, sir, Mr. President! ] Followed by a series of cute, flexing-bicep emojis and a picture of the necklace in its box. My blood ran cold. I have to admit, it was hard to swallow. It felt like finding a dead mosquito squashed on a pristine white handkerchief. It was a strange, unsettling feeling. For a moment, I wanted to jump into my yellow Ferrari, redline it to her office, and slap her across the face. But then I looked at my own hands and thought, why am I even giving this cheap little tramp the time of day? I called my personal shopper at Hermès. Her voice was practically vibrating with excitement. "Don't you worry, Mrs. King," she promised. "I'll move heaven and earth if I have to, but I'll get you everything you need. It will all be delivered today!" And so, that afternoon, before the end of the workday, every single female executive assistant and senior administrator at King Corp—forty-six women in total, everyone except Bella—received a generous gift from the CEO's wife: a twelve-thousand-dollar Hermès necklace. It wasn't as expensive as the two-hundred-thousand-dollar auction piece, but the sheer volume of it made a statement. Michael, ever the smooth operator, instructed each recipient to post a picture on their social media with the caption: [ The boss's wife says every girl deserves the best! Flexing my muscles. Yes, ma'am, Mrs. King! ] The women were more than happy to oblige. The executive assistants and senior admins were the gossip hub of the entire company. A gift from the CEO's wife? They were ecstatic to post. Some of the savvier ones even added their own little flair: [Mrs. King really knows how to play the game!] Individually, these assistants might not have had much influence, but their collective reach was terrifying. Within half an hour, the entire company knew that the boss's wife had gifted them all Hermès necklaces. As for why… the rumor mills were working overtime. Bella's face was ashen. She looked utterly humiliated. With red-rimmed eyes, she fled to the bathroom and took off the diamond necklace. Two colleagues who came in to touch up their makeup saw her and snickered. Mortified, Bella kept her head down and hurried out, the sound of their laughter chasing her down the hall. Her cheeks burning, she put the necklace back in its box and returned it, untouched, to Kevin. 5 Kevin had just finished a video call with a partner when he saw her standing there, clutching the necklace box, looking miserable. She'd clearly been crying again. "What's wrong?" he asked. Tears welled in Bella's eyes before she could even speak. "Mr. King," she whispered, her voice choked with sobs, "you should take this back. I can't accept it." A flicker of annoyance crossed Kevin's handsome face. His gut told him something had happened, but he didn't press. He just watched her. Bella bit her lip, hesitating, before finally telling him everything that had happened in the office that day. "I'm so sorry, Mr. King. I'm always causing trouble for you. I was just trying to cheer myself up with that post. I don't know how Mrs. King found out." She sniffled pitifully. "I didn't think she would get so angry." She looked like a sad little bunny. "Mr. King, I want to apologize to her. I can explain everything to her in person." Kevin never looked at social media. His life was consumed by work. But as the CEO of a major corporation, he was all too familiar with the vicious cycle of office gossip. His already stern face grew even colder. "I see," he said, his voice low. 6 That night, Kevin brought Bella home. The girl stood timidly behind him. "I asked Bella to come so she could explain things to you in person," Kevin said with a sigh. "Mary, Bella is just my secretary. I gave her a gift to apologize for what happened yesterday. That's all." I stirred my spoon in the bird's nest soup our cook had prepared and took a sip. "I'm sorry, Mrs. King," Bella said, bowing deeply. She looked terrified, fragile. "It was the first time I'd ever received such an expensive gift. I got carried away. If I did something to upset you, please tell me. I'll change, I promise!" I raised an eyebrow. "Bella, is it?" She glanced at Kevin, as if drawing courage from him, and nodded slowly. Seeing this little lamb trying to go head-to-head with me was almost comical. "I'm not your teacher, and I'm not your boss. I don't have time to teach you how to behave. But I am Kevin King's wife. And I don't give second chances to anyone who tries to get too close to my husband." The girl had probably never met anyone as direct as me in her entire life. Her face flushed, and she looked even more helpless. "Mary, Bella came to apologize," Kevin said. He knew my temperament, my methods. Even if he didn't approve of what I'd done, he understood why I'd done it. That's why he'd agreed to let her come and apologize. He was trying to meet me halfway, to clear up the misunderstanding. We were both smart people. We could read each other with a single glance. "I know." I decided to give him a chance. After all, he hadn't actually cheated. "But there won't be a next time. Not with anyone." 7 "You didn't have to resort to those kinds of tactics with her," Kevin said as we were getting ready for bed. "You should have just told me." I sat at my vanity, brushing my hair, staring at his handsome reflection in the mirror. "You knew I liked that necklace, but you gave it to another woman. Don't I have a right to be angry?" I couldn't imagine what I would do if this perfect man were ever to become tainted. Could I still love him? Kevin calmly poured himself a glass of ice water. "She cried all night because of your misunderstanding. I saw how swollen her eyes were in the morning, so I gave her the necklace as an apology." His story was flawless. I studied him for a long moment. Two hundred thousand dollars was nothing to us. Giving it away on a whim was plausible. It just depended on whether the recipient was worth it. His fingers tapped against the marble countertop. He was waiting for me to think. This was the first time a third person had caused a rift between us. Our upbringings, our dispositions—we were both weary of this kind of drama. We were people who valued our dignity. "Kevin, I love you," I said suddenly. His fingers stilled. He clearly hadn't expected that. "Kevin, I love the version of you that is untouched, pure. That's what sets you apart. You used to keep your distance from other women because you had emotional boundaries, because you wanted a clean marriage. I wasn't like that before, but your values changed me. Now, we want the same thing. I hope our marriage never has to face a crossroads." "It won't," he said, a note of frustration in his voice. "I haven't done anything." 8 Kevin was a very clear-headed person. He knew I was bothered, so he wouldn't give Bella any more false hope. Without the CEO's favor, Bella, as an intern, was relegated to the most basic tasks. Before, she'd had a chance to work the front desk. Now, Michael wouldn't even put her on the schedule. I didn't tell anyone to ostracize her. I trusted Kevin to handle it. But in a place like this, I didn't need to. There were plenty of people willing to kiss up and kick down. Within two weeks, the new secretary couldn't handle the fall from grace and the psychological pressure. She lost a noticeable amount of weight. The turning point came after an important board meeting. Bella had been assigned to clean the small conference room by herself. She was on her knees in a skirt suit, painstakingly scraping gum off the carpet with a razor blade. Kevin, who had returned to retrieve something, walked in on this scene. Sensing someone behind her, the girl scrambled to her feet, mortified. Kevin's gaze was deep and cold. His silent stare stripped Bella of the last shreds of her dignity. "Mr. King," she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. She wasn't acting. Kevin was the sun she admired but could never touch. She had almost resigned herself to being marginalized. But to be seen like this… she wanted to push him away and run. In just two weeks, the once cheerful and lively girl had become this fragile. It was the first time I'd ever seen Kevin truly angry. He came home and slammed the glass of water I handed him onto the floor. It shattered. "Why won't you just leave her alone?" he roared. "Mary, I respect you, I love you. I've tolerated your insults and your cruelty towards her time and time again. What kind of pleasure do you get from bullying someone weaker than you?" I remembered then. When Kevin was studying abroad, his younger sister, who was in middle school, had jumped to her death because of school bullying. It was a scar on his heart that would never heal, something he despised with a passion. "Mary, don't let me see you use these tactics to hurt someone ever again. If you do, I won't stand by and watch!" I stared at the man who had lost control. It was the first time since we'd been married that Kevin had lost his temper with me, all for another woman, for something I hadn't even done. It was a terrible feeling. Like shattered glass. Like spilled water that could never be recovered.
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