Chapter 4
1054 Words
Over the next two weeks, James turned into a total clinger, and his sick, obsessive need for control burst out into the open.
That day, I'd stayed out late schmoozing with a male CEO from a partnering company to lock in that ten-million-dollar contract.
After the dinner, he had his driver drop me off at home on his way back.
I'd barely stepped through the front door when James smashed the bone china vase sitting by the entryway, into a thousand shards.
"Who was that man?!
"Why were you riding home in his car?"
His eyes were bloodshot red, and he stared daggers into me.
"He's an important client for the company. I only sat in the back seat."
I rubbed at my throbbing temples, bone tired from the long night.
"Even a client is off limits!
"You're a married woman. Don't you know you need to keep your distance from other men?"
He dragged his bad, disabled leg closer and closer to me, grinding his teeth out between every word.
"Emma, I'd die for you. You're the only person I have left in this whole world. You can't betray me!
"You have to stay completely away from every other man!"
Looking at the mess he'd become, the whole thing felt totally absurd.
But right in the middle of his absurd moral rant, his phone on the coffee table lit up.
It was a message from Grace.
The text blared clear as day across the locked screen.
Grace: James, I didn't get to see you today and my head hurts so bad. I miss you so much it's killing me...
I flicked a cool glance at the screen.
James followed my gaze, and his face drained of color in an instant.
He flipped the phone screen down onto the table so fast you'd have thought it burned him.
"Don't get the wrong idea. Grace has severe depression right now. She's incredibly fragile mentally.
"She's just having an episode, that's all. I'm her emotional support. This is part of her treatment!"
James snapped, his voice climbing sharp and defensive.
"I'm saving a life! How is this anything like you socializing with those pretentious, sleazy bastards?"
I stared at his face, too tired to even bother arguing back.
"Do whatever you want."
I turned on my heel and marched upstairs, locking myself inside the study the second I got in.
No sooner had I sat down than a notification popped up: an encrypted email from the private investigator I'd hired.
Leo: Ms. Johnson, we have the final result on the core bid data leak your company suffered last month, just like you requested.
I clicked open the attached files and surveillance footage.
The second I saw what was inside, ice shot through every inch of my body.
Last month, my company spent six months prepping for a major project bid. Then, the night before the bid, our bottom price got leaked.
The competing company stole the deal right out from under us by a hair's breadth.
That leak nearly shattered our company's cash flow completely.
If I hadn't pushed like crazy to lock down that ten-million contract to patch the hole, I would have already gone bankrupt and been left drowning in millions in debt.
I'd spent two whole weeks hunting for the mole inside the company. I never in a million years expected it to be him. James.
He was the one who snuck in and unlocked my computer in the middle of the night, copying all our core bid data.
The email also included full screenshots of James and Grace's chat history.
James: Grace, I just sent you the bottom price for that project.
James: Take this and show it to your boss to prove your worth. They're guaranteed to promote you after that.
James: Once you get that sense of achievement from your career, your depression is bound to get better.
Grace: But... if Emma's company loses this project, won't she go bankrupt? Will she hate me for this?
James: Don't worry. She's so capable. Even if she goes bankrupt, she can bounce back. It's just a little money lost, after all.
James: But you're different. You've already lost the will to live. How can money even compare to your life?
My chest seized up the second my eyes scanned those two lines.
He'd once taken a knife for me, and now he was shoving me into an abyss with his own two hands.
He'd saved my life at the cost of his leg, then used that same injured leg to trap me, before driving a knife right into my back.
This was the deep love he was always going on about.
I closed the laptop.
I sat there in the dark, watching as the first streaks of dawn slowly painted the sky outside my window.
At that moment, James died to me. Completely and utterly.
The next morning came.
James acted like nothing had happened, and had breakfast ready.
"Emma, I'm sorry. I was way too out of line last night," he said.
"I'm going down to the market today to pick up that fish you love from your favorite vendor. I'll make you boiled fish tonight to make it up to you, okay?"
He smiled and edged closer, back to his normal self like last night's fight never even happened.
I knew the truth, though. He wasn't going to the market. He was going to deliver medicine to Grace.
I took a sip of my milk and nodded.
"Okay. I'll come home early tonight."
Once James was gone, I stood up and laid the divorce papers and the evidence for the police report right in the center of the dining table.
Right next to them, I set down the Porsche car key.
I hauled my small suitcase, stuffed with nothing but a few changes of clothes, and walked out of the villa gates.
I slid into a taxi heading for the airport, immediately powered off my phone, popped out the SIM card, and tossed it straight out the window.
The taxi roared down the overpass.
Sunlight cut through the clouds, sharp and blindingly bright.
I squeezed my eyes shut and dragged in a deep gulp of fresh air.
This time, I finally settled the debt I owed him for my life.
- Writer
