Eve reacted as though she'd just heard the most ridiculous joke of her life.

"Lowell, who do you think you are? You're nothing but a lousy sales rep!"

"Since you don't know what's good for you, you can kiss your paycheck goodbye!"

With that, she stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door. The lock clicked behind her.

The air in the living room turned suffocating.

Then a wave of dizziness hit me out of nowhere.

I remembered the doctor's warning: my anemia meant I couldn't afford to get worked up.

The room spun. My legs buckled, and I hit the floor.

I needed to call 911, but my phone was still in the bedroom. I dragged myself to the door and tried the handle.

Locked. I knocked.

All I got was Eve's cold, contemptuous laugh from the other side.

"Oh, so now you realize you were wrong? Too late!"

"You're not setting foot in this bedroom tonight!"

Then silence.

Half an hour passed. I was on the verge of losing consciousness when Eve finally opened the door to use the bathroom.

She found me lying on the floor. No concern crossed her face. She nudged me with her foot.

"Keep faking."

She stepped over me and walked into the bathroom.

When she came back out, I still hadn't moved.

Only then did it dawn on her that something might actually be wrong. She fumbled for her phone and dialed 911.

The ambulance arrived, and she was about to ride along to the hospital. But then Gabriel called.

"Evie, I got bitten by a dog on my way home today. What if I get rabies? I'm so scared."

The color drained from Eve's face. She immediately switched to a soothing tone. "Don't worry, I'm coming right now!"

As she turned to leave, a nurse caught her arm.

"Your husband's severely anemic. You're not going with him?"

Eve's expression was frantic. She glanced at me, my face white as a sheet, and pulled her arm free.

"Someone else needs me. He's got you people. That's enough."

"Besides, he's probably faking it. I'm not forgiving him until he apologizes."

She hailed a cab and vanished into the night.

One of the male orderlies watched her go, then looked down at me with a sigh.

"If that were my wife, I'd have filed for divorce a long time ago."

By the time I woke up in the hospital, Gabriel had posted on social media again.

This time he was showing off a watch worth a million dollars.

The caption read: "Thank you to my generous boss lady for this gift. I'll repay you with every ounce of energy I have, every single day."

The comments underneath were a parade of sycophants.

"Only Gabriel could get this kind of attention from Ms. Pruitt!"

"Gabriel, when are you going to replace the husband so we can all come to the wedding?"

There were plenty more where those came from.

My expression didn't change. I closed the app.

A message from one of my people came through: a file. Eve's complete affair timeline.

Last June, while I was hospitalized, Eve and Gabriel had checked into a hotel together. The file included a photo of them in bed.

I remembered that we'd already been splitting everything fifty-fifty for four years by then, but Eve's growing impatience with me had left me craving even the smallest scrap of warmth.

So I'd called her. Told her I didn't have any money on me. Asked if she could come see me and help cover my medical bills.

She'd barely let me finish before hanging up.

"Lowell, I'm on a business trip and I don't have time. Besides, our agreement is crystal clear: neither of us borrows money from the other. It kills motivation. If you're broke, tough it out. Consider it a lesson. Maybe it'll teach you to work harder."

Then there was last November.

The company had organized a team retreat. Eve said she needed to stay behind at the office to meet with clients.

But according to the file, she and Gabriel had spent the entire day going at it in her office.

Now it all made sense. The flush on Eve's cheeks when she came home that night. The hungry way Gabriel's eyes had followed her. It had been right there in front of me the whole time.

I put the evidence away, a cold void settling in my chest.

The betrayal was a done deal. What came next was the reckoning.

After I was discharged from the hospital, I printed out a divorce agreement and headed to the CEO's office at the company.

But when I opened the door, I walked in on her and Gabriel in an intimate embrace.

He had his arms wrapped around her, their clothes half-undone, hands roaming over each other.

Even though my heart was already dead, the sight still sent a surge of fury through me.

I forced it back down.

They both jumped when they saw me. Eve scrambled off him, smoothing her clothes as she blurted out an explanation.

"Lowell, don't get the wrong idea. We were just discussing a client issue."

I let out a cold laugh. "Eve, do you think I'm stupid?"

"Or blind?"

Gabriel rushed to smooth things over.

"Lowell, buddy, don't overthink it. We really were just talking business. Eve twisted her ankle, and I happen to know a massage technique, so I was helping her with the pain."

As he said this, a smirk flickered across his lips.

I ignored him and handed the printed divorce agreement directly to Eve.

The moment she saw it, irritation flashed across her face. She snatched the papers and tore them to shreds.

"Lowell, don't think I can't see right through you. You're doing this because you're jealous of how well I treat Gabriel!"

"Fine, you've got my attention now. Happy? Now get back to work before I dock next month's pay too!"

I stared at the shredded agreement in silence, then turned and printed another copy.

But before I could find Eve again, Gabriel sauntered over to me, looking pleased with himself.

There was an ID badge hanging from his neck now.

It read: Sales Director.

He tilted his chin up with a grin. "Bet you didn't see that coming, Lowell. I'm your boss now."

"Though it's not quite the outcome I was hoping for. Looks like Eve still can't bring herself to divorce you. Guess I'll just have to turn up the heat."

He reached into his pocket and pulled something out.

I looked closer. It was a jade bracelet.

I recognized it instantly. It was my mother's. The one she'd left for me, telling me it was only to be given to my future wife.

I had given it to Eve and told her to keep it safe. I never imagined she'd handed it over to Gabriel.

The thought barely had time to form.

In the next instant, he opened his fingers. The bracelet slipped from his hand, hit the floor, and shattered into pieces.

Something inside me shattered with it.

"You broke it. You're dead."

My fist connected with his face.

He went down with the punch, crumpling to the ground in a heap that looked far too deliberate.

And of course, that was the exact moment Eve came rushing in.

She ran straight to Gabriel's side, her voice thick with concern.

"Gabriel, are you okay?!"

He looked up at her, the picture of wounded innocence.

"Eve, I remember you said this was Lowell's mother's keepsake. I just wanted to return the bracelet so he could have something to remember her by. But he accused me of stealing it and tried to beat me to death."

"He even printed out another divorce agreement. He said if I ever come near you again, he'll divorce you!"

"Maybe I should just resign. I don't want him coming after me."

Eve's face flushed with anger. She whipped around to face me.

"Lowell, I've had it with you!"

"I just gave the bracelet to Gabriel for safekeeping. He was kind enough to return it so you could remember your mother, and this is how you repay him? By slandering him?"

"You really don't know what's good for you, do you? I've decided. You can forget about your salary for the entire year!"

She snatched the divorce agreement from my hands.

"What is this act you're putting on? You keep shoving these divorce papers in my face to threaten me. You're just banking on the fact that I won't sign!"

"You want a divorce? Fine. You've got one!"

She snatched the divorce papers out of my hands and scrawled her signature across them.

Then she hurled the document at my chest.

"Don't forget, Lowell. You work at my company. Without the title of 'my husband,' you're nothing. Less than nothing."

Her voice dropped to ice. "And another thing. You just hit Gabriel. I want you on your knees, groveling for his forgiveness. Otherwise, you're not walking out that door."

I didn't respond. Didn't even look at her. I just bent down, picked up the divorce agreement, and checked her signature.

From this moment forward, Eve Pruitt and I had nothing to do with each other.

And since that was settled, it was time to settle some other debts.

I tucked the papers away, looked at the two of them, and let a faint smile cross my face.

"Oh, I'm not leaving. Now that the personal matter is resolved, I think it's time we discussed your unauthorized use of company funds."

I pulled out my phone and dialed. "Send the corporate legal team over. I have some accounts to settle with Eve Pruitt."