Sunshine After Rain

Charles Johnson, the CEO of the Johnson Group, had gone missing. His phone was off, and there had been no word from him. A month later, Charles reappeared at the company, his face cold, his presence exuding a deadly aura. Silence fell over the office. Everyone was afraid to breathe. Leo, his secretary, mustered the courage to ask where he had been. Charles shot him a sidelong glance, a silent warning. That night, he was drinking with friends. Daniel, his best friend since childhood, pressed him for answers. Loosening his tie, Charles's gaze turned stormy. "I was… scammed." The lively chatter around them instantly died down. Daniel gaped, then finally managed to ask, "What did they scam you out of?" Charles gritted out two words. "My body…" Everyone's eyes widened, wondering who had dared sleep with Charles and then vanish. Charles downed his drink in one gulp, teeth grinding audibly, his mind seething with a single thought: 'Just let me run into that woman again!' Far away in Barion, another city, Meredith Brown sneezed. Not long ago, she had met a man at a bar, kept him for a month, and recently dumped him. Returning home, she was greeted by the housekeeper, Sarah, while her husband, Mark Perry, was predictably absent. Meredith glanced at the antique clock in the living room—just past eight, the time when Joanna Harris attended her evening classes. Mark was undoubtedly waiting eagerly to walk her home afterward. A month earlier, while organizing Mark's clothes, Meredith had stumbled upon a box of ibuprofen in his coat. Before she could even ask about it, he had said, out of the blue, "I remember you said you don't get bad cramps during your period, right?" It hit her like a lightning bolt. He was seeing someone else—someone whose cramps were severe enough to need painkillers. Meredith dug her nails into her palm but kept her face neutral, quietly putting the pills back. Later, she followed Mark. The woman, Joanna Harris, was a university student. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but her eyes held a pure, unguarded innocence. Before visiting Joanna, Mark would drive to a secluded spot, shed his expensive suit in the car, and change into a plain white T-shirt and jeans. He'd wipe the gel from his hair with a wet wipe, tousling it casually to appear natural. Then he'd walk a distance before taking the bus to Joanna's campus. The whole act left Meredith in shock. In Barion, the Perry family was elite. Mark had been pampered his whole life. He had probably never even been on a bus. If his family found out, they would be furious. Yet for Joanna, he was willing to go this far. Pretending to be an average guy to win her over?! Meredith couldn't comprehend it. Sitting in her car, she watched silently as Joanna descended from her dorm, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Mark before linking arms with him. Mark tousled her hair with a tenderness he could not hide. Meredith's heart sank with each passing moment. Mark was in love. Leaning back in the car seat, she lit a cigarette. In five years of an arranged marriage he had resented from the start, he had never touched her. In the beginning, Meredith had remained hopeful, believing love could grow with time and effort. She had tried everything a wife should, doing her best to accommodate him. But reality had slapped her hard. Trapped in a dead marriage for five years, Mark had found his true love. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened until her knuckles turned white. The next instant, she hit the gas and sped toward a bar. After downing a dozen drinks, the fury in her chest remained. Through her alcohol-induced haze, she spotted a well-dressed man with striking features lounging on a sofa across the room. He was studying her too. Emboldened by liquor, Meredith strode over and grabbed his chin without hesitation. "You game?"