He Chose Her, I Made Him Bankrupt

Chapter 2

Tina's POV:

Lance spun around sharply. The second his gaze locked with mine, a flash of panic flitted across his sharp, handsome features.

Almost immediately, my phone buzzed. Multiple texts popped up one after another from him.

Lance: What are you doing here? Are you stalking me?

Lance: Get out of here before I lose my temper.

I stared at the messages popping up one by one on my screen, and a bitter, absurd feeling washed over me.

For years, whenever his selective mutism flared up and he couldn't speak, he'd just hold out his phone and let me read his texts instead.

This became our go-to way of communicating with each other.

Three years. We'd exchanged tens of thousands of messages between us. My phone storage filled up over and over again, but I never had the heart to get a new one.

I'd told myself that every little everyday moment we saved was our special memory, proof that we had once loved each other.

Only now do I see the truth. It was never proof of love. It was proof he never loved me at all.

Without thinking, I pressed the power button and shut the phone down. Something deep inside my chest snuffed out right along with the screen, gone for good.

I lifted my head to look at the two of them, my voice cool and even. "If you can talk now, why bother texting? I was on my way to Singapore to close a ten-billion-dollar contract today. I didn't come here to stalk you. I heard everything you two said. I'm not feeling well today, so the deal's off."

Eliza's face twisted with panic, and she hurried over to grab my hand.

"Tina, I know I'm Lance's ex, but you're his wife now! Don't get the wrong idea, what we were just talking about was just a stupid joke, that's all."

I wrenched my hand out of her grip. She stumbled backward, nearly toppling over.

She stared up at me with big, hurt eyes, her voice soft and wobbly. "Tina, I was just trying to clear things up for you. Why did you have to push me that hard?"

Her cheap little act was so transparent anyone could see right through it.

But before I could say a word, Lance's hand flew up and cracked me straight across the face.

Slap!

His face twisted with rage, and he stared daggers at me.

"Who gave you permission to touch her?"

My cheek burned with a searing, throbbing pain. I lifted my head, and there Lance stood, shielding Eliza behind him, glaring daggers at me like he wanted to kill me on the spot. My chest ached as if a sharp knife was tearing and twisting my heart to pieces.

My mind suddenly jumped back to the year I first joined the TV station under Sterling Group.

When older employees bullied me nonstop, Lance stepped forward without hesitation to get them off my back. He gave me the best resources, pushed me up the ranks until I landed a spot as a prime-time anchor.

Whenever I got hurt, he was always right there, taking care of me and nursing me back to health.

And when the board of directors humiliated him, and he had to be punished, I'd thrown myself in front of him and took the blame instead. To this day, I still remember their punishment.

That was the first time I'd ever seen his eyes red with emotion. He held me tight against his chest, his arms wrapped so firmly around me.

"Tina, you're my woman. I'm supposed to be the one protecting you. Don't ever do this again. You matter more than anything in the world to me."

Back then, I was so weak I couldn't even move from the bed, but I didn't feel a single bit of pain. Sweetness had seeped all the way into my bones.

But now, this slap he'd given me? It tore through my heart and left me bleeding, drowning in utter disappointment.

I closed my eyes. "Lance, I'm done being a fool. If you love someone else... then let's get a divorce."